Known for Acting
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.
Born
April 29, 1936
Died
June 13, 2005 (age 69)
Birthplace
Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Filmography
68 films, 34 shows
Well Received the Death of an Artist
Well Received the Death of an Artist
2012 · 1h 24m · US
We follow the career of failed filmmaker, Jeigh Pressley as he humorously drinks himself to death.


WW3
2001 · 1h 40m
Terrorists release a deadly biological-warfare virus in the United States.
The Caprice
The Caprice
2000 · 1h 30m · US
A group of friends meet once a year for a weekend of partying and reconnection. This film centers on the interpersonal dynamics and relationships between this group during their annual reunion.


The Legend of Bagger Vance
2000 · 2h 6m · CH
World War I has left golfer Rannulph Junuh a poker-playing alcoholic, his perfect swing gone. Now, however, he needs to get it back to play in a tournament to save the financially ravaged golf course of a long-ago sweetheart. Help arrives in the form of mysterious caddy Bagger Vance.


Inherit the Wind
1999 · 1h 53m · US
Two great lawyers argue the case for and against a science teacher accused of the crime of teaching evolution.


The Hi-Lo Country
1998 · 1h 54m · UK
An intimate story of the enduring bond of friendship between two hard-living men, set against a sweeping backdrop: the American West, post-World War II, in its twilight. Pete and Big Boy are masters of the prairie, but ultimately face trickier terrain: the human heart.


Getting Personal
1998 · 1h 21m · US
Young professionals Christopher and Melissa meet and fall hard for each other. As their attraction grows, it becomes apparent that in order for their relationship to succeed, they must overcome Christopher's dark secret involving his father, with the help of his best friend and a sharp-edged psychiatrist.


Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy
1997 · 1h 30m · US
Matt and George investigate a series of strange occurrences involving newcomers, who are found to be programmed to carry out someone's dirty work. The method by which they are brainwashed dates back to the slave ship's rebellion group, the Udara, who, we discover, Susan was a part of. Susan and George's lives are further disrupted when Buck enrols in the police academy.


The War at Home
1996 · 1h 59m · US
Jeremy Collier is a Vietnam veteran who has returned home and is struggling to cope with the war experiences that haunt him. He is also at odds with his family, who cannot begin to understand what he has been through. Jeremy's battles with his family finally spiral out of control on Thanksgiving Day, when a bitter secret is revealed


The Scout
1994 · 1h 41m · US
When his star recruit botches a Major League Baseball debut, humiliated talent scout Al Percolo gets banished to rural Mexico, where he finds a potential gold mine in the arm of young phenom Steve Nebraska. Soon, the New York Yankees put a $55 million contract on the table—provided a psychiatrist can affirm Nebraska's mental stability.


The Spy Within
1994 · 1h 27m · US
An explosives expert fleeing his past and a beautiful spy trading sex for secrets find themselves in love and fighting the spy ring out to kill them.


Son in Law
1993 · 1h 35m · US
Country girl Rebecca has spent most of her life on a farm in South Dakota, and, when she goes away to college in Los Angeles, Rebecca immediately feels out of place in the daunting urban setting. She is befriended by a savvy party animal named Crawl, who convinces the ambivalent Rebecca to stay in the city. When Thanksgiving break rolls around, Rebecca, no longer an innocent farm girl, invites Crawl back to South Dakota, where he pretends to be her fiancé.


The Distinguished Gentleman
1992 · 1h 52m · US
A Florida con man uses the recent death of the long time Congressman from his district, who he just happens to share a last name with, to get elected to his version of paradise, the U.S. Congress, where the money flows from lobbyists.


The Mighty Ducks
1992 · 1h 41m · US
After reckless young lawyer Gordon Bombay gets arrested for drunk driving, he must coach a kids hockey team for his community service. Gordon has experience on the ice, but isn't eager to return to hockey, a point hit home by his tense dealings with his own former coach, Jack Reilly. The reluctant Gordon eventually grows to appreciate his team, which includes promising young Charlie Conway, and leads them to take on Reilly's tough players.


Duplicates
1992 · 1h 27m · US
A family falls victim to a scientific institute that removes memories and transfers them to a computer.


My Cousin Vinny
1992 · 1h 59m · US
Two carefree pals traveling through rural Alabama on their way back to college are mistakenly arrested and charged with murder. Fortunately, one of them has a cousin who's a lawyer - Vincent Gambini, a former auto mechanic from Brooklyn who has just passed his bar exam after his sixth try. When he arrives with his leather-clad girlfriend to try his first case, it's a real shock - for him and the Deep South!


False Arrest
1991 · 3h 12m · US
A luxury home, a handsome husband and terrific children. But it all comes crashing down when she is accused of being a mastermind behind a brutal triple-homicide and is arrested and handcuffed in front of her own children. A gripping story of passion and betrayal as a woman fights to clear her name and avoid the death penalty for a crime she didn't commit.


Blind Vengeance
1990 · 1h 40m · US
A man seeks revenge on the white supremacists acquitted in the murder of his son


Air America
1990 · 1h 52m · US
Air America was the CIA's private airline operating in Laos during the Vietnam War, running anything and everything from soldiers to foodstuffs for local villagers. After losing his pilot's license, Billy Covington is recruited, and ends up in the middle of a bunch of lunatic pilots, gun-running by his friend Gene Ryack, and opium smuggling by his own superiors.


Challenger
1990 · 2h 20m · US
A profile of the astronauts, crew, and civilians who were involved in the January 28, 1986 flight of the spaceship, Challenger, that resulted in its explosion upon takeoff. The center point of the film is the safety inspections and arguments surrounding the use of the o-rings that ultimately were blamed for the explosion.


The Final Days
1989 · 2h 30m · US
The Final Days concerns itself with the final months of the Richard Nixon presidency.


Night Game
1989 · 1h 35m · US
A police detective tracks a serial killer who is stalking young women on a beach front after each game that a baseball pitcher wins.


Killer Instinct
1988 · 1h 33m · US
Woody Harrelson stars in the story of psychiatrist Lisa DaVito and her battle to save a tortured man whose past has turned him to violence. One tragic incident seals his fate and shakes Lisa's faith in her profession.


Prison
1987 · 1h 42m · US
After Charles Forsyth was sent to the electric chair for a crime he didn't commit, he forever haunts the prison where he was executed. Flash forward several years when the prison is reopened, under the control of its new warden Eaton Sharpe, a former security guard who framed Charlie. When prisoners are ordered to break down the wall to the execution room, they unknowingly release the angry spirit of Charles Forsyth, a powerful being distributing his murderous rage to all, leading up to the Warden himself.


Weeds
1987 · 1h 55m · US
A San Quentin inmate, sentenced to life without parole, writes a play that catches the interest of a reporter.


A Place to Call Home
1987 · 1h 36m · AU
Sam Gavin decides to relocate his family from Houston, Texas to a sheep station in Australia to protect his eleven children from the "destructive influences" of modern American society. Because of business obligations, he fails to join them and, more or less, abandons his wife, Liz, to the hardships of her new surroundings. Mother and children are determined to make a go of it.


Native Son
1986 · 1h 51m · US
In 1940s Chicago, a young black man takes a job as a chauffeur to a white family, which takes a turn for the worse when he accidentally kills the teenage daughter of the couple and then tries to cover it up.


Terror at London Bridge
1985 · 1h 40m · US
London Bridge, London, England, 1888: Jack the Ripper dies in the Thames river. London Bridge, Lake Havasu, Arizona, 1985: the last original stone used to rebuild London Bridge is laid and all the city is happy...but then some strange murders start happening. Policeman Don Gregory has some suspects, but when he develops a theory that Jack the Ripper has been resurrected, no one believes him.


Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues
1985 · 1h 40m · US
A Wyoming cop teams with a Beverly Hills policeman to track down the killer of her best friend.


Places in the Heart
1984 · 1h 51m · US
In 1935 rural Texas, recently widowed Edna Spaulding struggles to survive with two small children, a farm to run, and very little money in the bank - not to mention a deadly tornado and the unwelcome presence of the Ku Klux Klan. Edna is aided by her beautician sister, Margaret; a blind boarder, Mr. Will; and a would-be thief, Moze, who decides to teach Edna how to plant and harvest cotton.


Red Dawn
1984 · 1h 54m · US
It is the dawn of World War III. In mid-western America, a group of teenagers band together to defend their town—and their country—from invading Soviet forces.


Purple Hearts
1984 · 1h 56m · US
A Navy surgeon and a nurse fall in love while serving in Vietnam during the war. Their affection for one another provides a striking contrast to the violence of warfare.


Something About Amelia
1984 · 1h 40m · US
Counseling helps family deal with the discovery that their child was sexually abused by the closest relative.


Special Bulletin
1983 · 1h 43m · US
An evening of TV programming is interrupted by breaking news: in Charleston, South Carolina, two Coast Guard personnel and two members of a local news team have been taken hostage by a group of terrorists who are seeking to destroy the triggers of all local nuclear devices. Moreover, the terrorists threaten to detonate their own device if their demands are not met.


The American Snitch
1983 · 1h 22m · US
Satire spoof about a "National Enquirer"-type tabloid, featuring a cast of celebrity look-alikes.


The Member of the Wedding
1982 · 1h 52m · US
12-year-old tomboy Frankie Addams dreams of going away with her brother and his bride-to-be on their upcoming honeymoon. [Taped live in performance at the James K. Polk Theater, Nashville.]


Frances
1982 · 2h 20m · UK
The true story of Frances Farmer's meteoric rise to fame in Hollywood and the tragic turn her life took when she was blacklisted.


Thou Shalt Not Kill
1982 · 1h 40m · US
A man is wrongly convicted for murder and sent to prison, where he is accused of murdering a brutal guard he killed in self-defense.


Prime Suspect
1982 · 1h 36m · US
A respectable businessman becomes the prime suspect in the abduction and murder of several young girls. He is hounded by the media and disowned by his friends and neighbours.


Dark Night of the Scarecrow
1981 · 1h 37m · US
Bubba, an intellectually disabled man, is falsely accused of attacking a young girl. Disguised as a scarecrow, he hides in a cornfield, only to be hunted down and shot by four vigilante men. After they are acquitted due to lack of evidence, the men find themselves being stalked one by one.


Prince of the City
1981 · 2h 47m · US
New York City detective Daniel Ciello agrees to help the United States Department of Justice eliminate corruption in the police department, as long as he will not have to turn in any close friends. In doing so, Ciello uncovers a conspiracy within the force to smuggle drugs to street informants.


Mark, I Love You
1980 · 1h 40m · US
A distraught widower is caught in a bitter custody battle with his late wife's parents over his 10-year-old son, following his plans to remarry and move off to California with the boy.


The Georgia Peaches
1980 · 1h 40m · US
A Southern gal who runs her family's auto repair shop, her aspiring country singer sister, and their stock-car racing friend who runs moonshine on the side are conned into working as government undercover agents to track down a dangerous criminal in this pilot to a prospective series.


Resurrection
1980 · 1h 43m · US
The story of a woman who survives the car accident which kills her husband, but discovers that she has the power to heal other people. She becomes an unwitting celebrity, the hope of those in desperate need of healing, and a lightning rod for religious beliefs and skeptics.


Honeysuckle Rose
1980 · 1h 59m · US
Buck Bonham is a country singer on the road caught in a romantic triangle with Dyan Cannon and Amy Irving, the daughter of one of his longtime musical sidekick.


On the Nickel
1980 · 1h 36m · US
Sam, a recovering alcoholic, feels dissatisfied with his life of sobriety and goes back in search of the good times he enjoyed with his wino friends on "the Nickel" of Los Angeles' skid row.


Gideon's Trumpet
1980 · 1h 44m · US
True story of Clarence Gideon's fight to be appointed counsel at the expense of the state. This landmark case led to the Supreme Court's decision which extended this right to all criminal defendants.


City in Fear
1980 · 2h 16m · US
A psycho-on-the-loose story, about a burned-out newspaper columnist and his circulation-hungry publisher who wants him to turn the killer into Page One news.


Disaster on the Coastliner
1979 · 1h 29m · US
A deranged engineer, bent on revenge for the deaths of his wife and daughter, sets two passenger trains on a collision course, and con-man William Shatner puts his life on the line to ward off the crash.


The Solitary Man
1979 · 1h 36m · US
A family man must make an adjustment after his wife of fifteen years one day blurts out that she wants a divorce and leaves him to construct a new life.


Over the Edge
1979 · 1h 35m · US
A group of bored teenagers rebel against authority in the community of New Granada.


The Crash of Flight 401
1978 · 1h 35m · US
True story recounting the crash of Eastern Airlines, Flight 401, which crashed in the Everglades while on approach to Miami in December 1972. Accurate in many respects, the movie goes through the events leading up to the crash, the crash itself, and the rescue effort afterwards.


On the Yard
1978 · 1h 42m · US
Chilly is "top con" on the yard, a title that gives him absolute power. Power to make the rules. Power to kill. When a young con confronts Chilly's power, he learns the vicious price of defiance.


A Death in Canaan
1978 · 2h 5m · US
When a teenager is accused of his mother's murder, the community of Canaan rallies to his defense.


Blue Collar
1978 · 1h 54m · US
Fed up with mistreatment at the hands of both management and union brass, and coupled with financial hardships on each man's end, three auto assembly line workers hatch a plan to rob a safe at union headquarters.


The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer
1977 · 1h 14m · US
General Custer is on trial for the deaths of his men at the Battle of Little Bighorn.


The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training
1977 · 1h 40m · US
A troubled, rebellious teen drives his rambunctious baseball team out to Houston where they play an exhibition game and the boy meets his estranged father, and hires him as the teams coach.


Between the Lines
1977 · 1h 41m · US
The staff of the Back Bay Mainline, a Boston underground newspaper that rose to prominence in the 1960s, struggles with the shifting social climate of the '70s amid rumors that the paper is about to be sold to a media giant.


The Displaced Person
1977 · 57m · US
A conscientious but driven Polish refugee disrupts the hierarchy of power on a Georgia farm in the 1940s.


Network
1976 · 2h 2m · US
When veteran anchorman Howard Beale is forced to retire his 25-year post because of his age, he announces to viewers that he will kill himself during his farewell broadcast. Network executives rethink their decision when his fanatical tirade results in a spike in ratings.


Everybody Rides the Carousel
1976 · 1h 12m · US
"Everybody Rides the Carousel" invites the viewer along on eight "rides" through the different stages of life. Based on the work by Erik Erikson, one of the most influential psychoanalytic theorists of this century, the film explores the inner feelings and conflicted emotions experienced during each stage of personality development. With distinctive and poetic animation, John and Faith Hubley visualize the conflicts, joys, problems and delights we all experience on the carousel of life.


Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys
1976 · 1h 40m · US
In 1930s Alabama, nine young black men are accused of raping two white women. The judge in the case, unlike the rest of the town, comes to believe that the boys are innocent and, against all advice from his friends and family, sets them free, which turns the entire community against him.


Valley Forge
1975 · 1h 15m · US
George Washington struggles to hold his army together at a critical point during the Revolutionary War.


Rooster Cogburn
1975 · 1h 48m · US
After a band of drunken thugs overruns a small Indian Nation town, killing Reverend Goodnight and raping the women folk, Eula Goodnight enlists the aid of US Marshal Cogburn to hunt them down and bring her father's killers to justice.


Man on a Swing
1974 · 1h 50m · US
When a young schoolteacher is found dead in her car in a parking lot in broad daylight, police chief Lee Tucker can find no clues pointing to her killer. Flamboyant self-proclaimed psychic Franklin Wills offers his help to the skeptical policeman, and, when his supposed visions about the case begin to reveal clues and information that only the killer could possibly have known, he becomes a suspect himself.


The Last American Hero
1973 · 1h 35m · US
A young hell raiser quits his moonshine business and tries to become the best NASCAR racer the south has ever seen. Loosely based on the true story of NASCAR driver Junior Johnson.


Maidstone
1971 · 1h 46m · US
Over a booze-fueled, increasingly hectic five-day shoot in East Hampton, Norman Mailer and his cast and crew spontaneously unloaded onto film the lurid and loony chronicle of U.S. presidential candidate and filmmaker Norman T. Kingsley debating and attacking his hangers-on and enemies. This gonzo narrative, “an inkblot test of Mailer’s own subconscious” (Time), becomes something like a documentary on its own making when costar Rip Torn breaks the fourth wall in one of cinema’s most alarming on-screen outbursts.


Unholy Matrimony
1966 · 1h 18m · US
Sexual indiscretions are used as a basis for blackmail.