Lane Smith

Also Known As: Лейн Смит

Biography: Lane Smith (April 29, 1936 – June 13, 2005) was an American actor . He graduated from the Leelanau School, a boarding school in Glen Arbor, Michigan, and spent one year boarding at the Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, before going off to study at the Actors Studio in the late 1950s and early 1960s along with Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino; he was recognized in their Hall of Fame. Smith served two years in the United States Army. After graduating, Smith found steady work in New York theater before making his film debut in Maidstone in 1970. During the 1970s, he regularly made appearances in small film roles including Rooster Cogburn in 1975 and Network in 1976. In 1981, Smith appeared in the Sidney Lumet-directed film Prince of the City. He also acted on television, notably playing a United States Marine in Vietnam in the television miniseries A Rumor of War and in the 1980 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie Gideon's Trumpet starring Henry Fonda, José Ferrer and John Houseman. Smith is also credited for playing McMurphy 650 times in the 1971 Off-Broadway revival of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Smith made a major breakthrough in 1984 with significant roles in Red Dawn, Places in the Heart and the television series V. He also played on Quincy, M.E. in season 8, episode 7, "Science for Sale" as an oncologist searching for a cure to cancer. In 1989, Smith gained recognition for his portrayal of Richard Nixon in the docudrama The Final Days. Newsweek praised the performance, writing, "Smith] is such a good Nixon that his despair and sorrow at his predicament become simply overwhelming." Smith earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. He also appeared in the original Broadway stage production of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross as James Lingk. He received a Drama Desk Award for his performance. In 1990, Smith appeared in Air America playing a United States Senator, a role for which he was selected based on his resemblance to then-Minority Leader Bob Dole. Two years later, he played a small-town district attorney opposite Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny, followed by a role as Coach Jack Reilly in The Mighty Ducks. In 1993 Smith landed the role of Perry White in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which he played for four seasons until 1997. In 1994, he portrayed New York Yankees front officeman Ron in The Scout, alongside Albert Brooks and Brendan Fraser. In 1998, Smith appeared in a major role as fictional television anchorman Emmett Seaborn in the HBO miniseries From The Earth to the Moon. His final film appearance was in The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000). Smith was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease) in April 2004. He died of the disease at his home in Northridge, California on June 13, 2005 at the age of 69. He was survived by his wife, Debbie Benedict Smith and his son Robert Smith.

Department: Acting

Place of Birth: Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Adult: No

Birthday: April 29, 1936

Age: 89 years old

Gender: Male

Deathday: June 13, 2005

Popularity:

3.32%

Known For:

My Cousin Vinny
The Distinguished Gentleman
The Mighty Ducks
Network
Dark Night of the Scarecrow
The Last American Hero
Air America
Son in Law
The Crash of Flight 401
The Scout
The Georgia Peaches
Getting Personal
The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training
Prison
The Hi-Lo Country
Places in the Heart
Resurrection
A Place to Call Home
Night Game
Weeds
The American Snitch
Man on a Swing
The Flight of the Dove
Mark, I Love You
On the Yard
WW3
The Displaced Person
Everybody Rides the Carousel
Gideon's Trumpet
The Final Days
Terror at London Bridge
Blue Collar
Something About Amelia
False Arrest
A Death in Canaan
Rooster Cogburn
Blind Vengeance
Native Son
The Legend of Bagger Vance
Killer Instinct
The Member of the Wedding
Honeysuckle Rose
Duplicates
Red Dawn
Purple Hearts
Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues
Inherit the Wind
Unholy Matrimony
The Solitary Man
Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy
Between the Lines
Challenger
On the Nickel
Frances
Prime Suspect
Valley Forge
Disaster on the Coastliner
City in Fear
Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys
Special Bulletin
Over the Edge
Thou Shalt Not Kill
Maidstone
Prince of the City
The Caprice
Well Received the Death of an Artist
The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer