Paul L. Smith

Paul L. Smith
Born	Paul Lawrence Smith (1936-06-24)June 24, 1936 Everett, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	April 25, 2012(2012-04-25) (aged 75) Ra'anana, Israel
Cause of death	Unspecified
Body discovered	Ra'anana, Israel
Resting place	Unspecified
Nationality	American
Other names	Paul Smith Paul Lawrence Smith
Alma mater	Brandeis University
Occupation	Stand-up comedian, actor, singer, comedian
Years active	1963–1999
Height	6' 4" (1.93 m)
Religion	Jewish
Spouse(s)	Eve Smith (?–2012; his death)

Paul Lawrence Smith (June 24, 1936 – April 25, 2012), better known as Paul L. Smith, was an American stand-up comedian, actor, singer, and comedian, best known for generally portraying villains and "heavies". His most notable roles include Hamidou, the vicious prison warden in Midnight Express (1978), Bluto in Popeye (1980), Gideon in Masada (1981), and Glossu Rabban in Dune (1984). Smith was sometimes credited as Paul Smith.

On April 25, 2012, Smith died in Ra'anana, Israel. Currently, his cause of death is unconfirmed.

Early life

Smith was born Paul Lawrence Smith in Everett, Massachusetts on June 24, 1936. He attended Miami Senior High School in Miami, Florida and graduated in 1954. Afterwards, Smith attended Brandeis University for a short time and transferred to Florida State University on a football scholarship graduating in 1959 with a B.S. degree in Philosophy.

At age 12, Smith weighed 200 pounds and was 6 ft. tall.^[1]

Career

Smith's first acting role was in Exodus, which was filmed in Israel. This was his first visit to the country. In 1967, Smith returned to Israel as a Mahal volunteer in the Six-Day War and stayed there until 1973. In that time, he participated in 5 productions filmed in Israel.

Afterwards, he moved to Italy where, due to his resemblance to Bud Spencer, he made a series of films with Terence Hill lookalike Michael Coby (pseudonym of Antonio Cantafora). One of these films Convoy Buddies was picked up for American release by Film Ventures International where producer by Edward L. Montoro changed Smith's name to Bob Spencer and Cantafora's name to Terrance Hall. Smith sued^[2] successfully arguing that the only thing an actor has is his name and if that's taken away, he has nothing. The judicial system agreed with him and ruled against FVI who paid Smith damages and court costs.^[3]

In 1977, Smith moved to Hollywood, making appearances in such films as 21 Hours at Munich (1976), Midnight Express (1978), as Bluto in Popeye (1980), and as Glossu Rabban in Dune (1984).

Personal life

Smith was of Jewish religion. Paul Smith was raised in Miami, Florida and graduated Miami Senior High School where he played football and became a High School All American. He briefly attended Brandeis University, where he met and married his first wife, Norma Kalman. They had one son, Elliot. Paul and Norma were divorced in 1960. Smith married Eve Smith. In February 2006, they emigrated to Israel, adopting Ra'anana as their new home. After taking Israeli citizenship, the couple adopted Hebrew names: Adam and Aviva Eden.

Death

On April 25, 2012, Smith died in Ra'anana, Israel.^[4] The cause of death is unconfirmed.

Selected filmography

Discography

• I'm Mean (1980)

References

Notes

External links

• Paul L. Smith at the Internet Movie Database
• Paul L. Smith at AllMovie