Lane Smith
Lane Smith was born in 1936 in Memphis, Tennessee. 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.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 27.479 |
Birthday | 1936-04-29 |
Place of Birth | Memphis, Tennessee, USA |
Also Known As |
1992
My Cousin Vinny
7.507/1509
Two carefree pals traveling through Alabama are mistakenly arrested, and charged with murder. Fortunately, one of them has a cousin who's a lawyer - V...
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My Cousin Vinny
1992
The Distinguished Gentleman
6.042/296
A Florida con man uses the passing of the long time Congressman from his district, who he just happens to share a name with, to get elected to his ver...
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The Distinguished Gentleman
1992
The Mighty Ducks
6.548/848
After reckless young lawyer Gordon Bombay gets arrested for drunk driving, he must coach a kids hockey team for his community service. Gordon has expe...
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The Mighty Ducks
1976
Network
7.819/1654
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...
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Network
1981
Dark Night of the Scarecrow
6.452/155
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 hun...
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Dark Night of the Scarecrow
1990
Air America
5.8/561
Air America was the CIA's private airline operating in Laos during the Vietnam War, running anything and everything from soldiers to foodstuffs for lo...
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Air America
1993
Son in Law
5.969/270
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 feel...
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Son in Law
1994
The Scout
5.189/103
When his star recruit botches a Major League Baseball debut, humiliated talent scout Al Percolo gets banished to rural Mexico, where he finds a potent...
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The Scout
1980
The Georgia Peaches
5.5/3
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...
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The Georgia Peaches
1978
Blue Collar
7.4/165
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...
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Blue Collar
1987
Prison
5.75/114
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 s...
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Prison
1989
Night Game
4.3/27
A police detective tracks a serial killer who is stalking young women on a beach front after each game that a baseball pitcher wins.
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Night Game
1987
Weeds
5.2/15
A San Quentin inmate, sentenced to life without parole, writes a play that catches the interest of a reporter.
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Weeds
1983
The American Snitch
6/1
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The American Snitch
1974
Man on a Swing
5.8/26
A small-town police chief investigating a murder is offered help by a self-described psychic. However, when the chief discovers that the "psychic" is...
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Man on a Swing
1994
The Flight of the Dove
5.5/4
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.
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The Flight of the Dove
1989
The Final Days
7.2/4
The Final Days concerns itself with the final months of the Richard Nixon presidency.
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The Final Days
1978
On the Yard
5.8/4
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 po...
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On the Yard
2001
WW 3
5.6/14
Terrorists release a deadly biological-warfare virus in the United States.
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WW 3
1984
Something About Amelia
5.45/10
Counseling helps family deal with the discovery that their child was sexually abused by the closest relative.
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Something About Amelia
1985
Terror at London Bridge
5.1/18
London Bridge, London, England, 1888: Jack the Ripper dies in the Thames river. London Bridge, Lake Havasu, Arizona, 1985: the last original stone use...
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Terror at London Bridge
1977
The Displaced Person
7/2
A conscientious but driven Polish refugee disrupts the hierarchy of power on a Georgia farm in the 1940s.
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The Displaced Person
1978
A Death in Canaan
6.5/2
When a teenager is accused of his mother's murder, the community of Canaan rallies to his defense.
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A Death in Canaan
1991
False Arrest
4.7/3
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 trip...
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False Arrest
1990
Blind Vengeance
0/0
A man seeks revenge on the white supremacists acquitted in the murder of his son
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Blind Vengeance
1986
Native Son
5.6/11
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 teen...
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Native Son
1988
Killer Instinct
6.5/2
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...
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Killer Instinct
1982
The Member of the Wedding
5/1
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...
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The Member of the Wedding
1980
Honeysuckle Rose
5.6/23
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...
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Honeysuckle Rose
1992
Duplicates
5.9/4
A family falls victim to a scientific institute that removes memories and transfers them to a computer.
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Duplicates
1973
The Last American Hero
5.6/33
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...
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The Last American Hero
1984
Red Dawn
6.282/765
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 Sovie...
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Red Dawn
1984
Purple Hearts
5.577/13
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 v...
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Purple Hearts
1999
Inherit the Wind
6.3/31
Two great lawyers argue the case for and against a science teacher accused of the crime of teaching evolution.
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Inherit the Wind
1966
Unholy Matrimony
4/2
Sexual indiscretions are used as a basis for blackmail.
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Unholy Matrimony
1979
The Solitary Man
8/2
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 lif...
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The Solitary Man
1997
Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy
5.7/21
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...
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Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy
1990
Challenger
6.2/5
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 e...
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Challenger
1977
Between the Lines
5.053/19
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...
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Between the Lines
1982
Frances
6.868/102
The true story of Frances Farmer's meteoric rise to fame in Hollywood and the tragic turn her life took when she was blacklisted.
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Frances
1980
On the Nickel
6/1
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 o...
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On the Nickel
1982
Prime Suspect
6.6/4
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...
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Prime Suspect
1975
Valley Forge
0/0
George Washington struggles to hold his army together at a critical point during the Revolutionary War.
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Valley Forge
1979
Disaster on the Coastliner
5.3/14
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 Sha...
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Disaster on the Coastliner
1980
City in Fear
6.2/5
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 On...
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City in Fear
1976
Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys
6/1
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 tha...
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Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys
1979
Over the Edge
7.2/122
A group of bored teenagers rebel against authority in the community of New Granada.
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Over the Edge
1983
Special Bulletin
6.976/21
A TV reporter and cameraman are taken hostage on a tugboat while covering a workers strike. The demands of the hostage-takers are to collect all the n...
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Special Bulletin
1982
Thou Shalt Not Kill
6.5/2
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.
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Thou Shalt Not Kill
1971
Maidstone
4.2/8
Over a booze-fueled, increasingly hectic five-day shoot in East Hampton, Norman Mailer and his cast and crew spontaneously unloaded onto film the luri...
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Maidstone
1981
Prince of the City
7/148
New York City detective Daniel Ciello agrees to help the United States Department of Justice help eliminate corruption in the police department, as lo...
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Prince of the City
2000
The Caprice
0/0
A group of friends meet once a year for a weekend of partying and re
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The Caprice
2012
Well Received the Death of an Artist
0/0
We follow the career of failed filmmaker, Jeigh Pressley as he humorously drinks himself to death.
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Well Received the Death of an Artist
1998
Getting Personal
2/1
Young professionals Christopher and Melissa meet and fall hard for each other. As their attraction grows, it becomes apparent that in order for their...
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Getting Personal
1998
The Hi-Lo Country
6.1/83
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 I...
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The Hi-Lo Country
1980
Resurrection
6.512/41
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...
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Resurrection
1984
Places in the Heart
7.155/148
In 1930s Texas, a widow and her family fight to save their home by harvesting cotton.
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Places in the Heart
1987
A Place to Call Home
7/2
Sam Gavin decides to relocate his family from Houston, Texas to a sheep station in Australia to protect his eleven children from the "destructive infl...
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A Place to Call Home
1980
Mark, I Love You
0/0
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 mo...
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Mark, I Love You
1975
Everybody Rides the Carousel
5.8/5
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 o...
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Everybody Rides the Carousel
1980
Gideon's Trumpet
6.2/10
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 whic...
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Gideon's Trumpet
1975
Rooster Cogburn
6.5/187
After a band of drunken thugs overruns a small Indian Nation town, killing Reverend Goodnight and raping the women folk, Eula Goodnight enlists the ai...
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Rooster Cogburn
2000
The Legend of Bagger Vance
6.55/856
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 tourn...
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The Legend of Bagger Vance
1978
The Crash of Flight 401
7.5/2
True story recounting the crash of Eastern Airlines, Flight 401, which crashed in the Everglades while on approach to Miami in December 1972. Accurate...
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The Crash of Flight 401
1977
The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training
5.9/39
A troubled, rebellious teen drives his rambunctious baseball team out to Houston where they play an exhibition game and the boy meets his estranged fa...
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The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training
2003
Out of Order
0/0
A distinctive look at a modern, troubled marriage—told from the point of view of the husband who is torn between his love of a clinically depressed wi...
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