Paul L. Smith

Paul L. Smith
Smith in 1973
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
Nationality	American
Other names	Paul Smith Paul Lawrence Smith
Alma mater	Brandeis University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1963–1999
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Spouse(s)	Norma Kalman (m. ?–1960; divorced) Eve Smith (m. ?–2012; his death)

Paul Lawrence Smith (June 24, 1936 – April 25, 2012), most frequently credited as Paul Smith or Paul L. Smith, was an American actor. Burly, bearded and imposing, he appeared in films and occasionally on television since the 1970s, generally playing "heavies" and bad guys. His most notable roles include Hamidou, the vicious prison guard in Midnight Express (1978), Bluto in Robert Altman's Popeye (1980), Gideon in the ABC miniseries Masada (1981) and Glossu Rabban in David Lynch's Dune (1984).

Early life

Born in Everett, Massachusetts, Smith was raised in Miami, graduating in 1954 from Miami Senior High School where he played football and became a High School All American. He transferred from Brandeis University to Florida State University on a football scholarship graduating in 1959 with a B.S. degree in Philosophy.

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 Michael Coby (pseudonym of Antonio Cantafora), Terence Hill lookalike. 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^[1] 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.^[2]

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. 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 immigrated 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.^[3] The cause of death is unconfirmed.

Selected filmography

Discography

• I'm Mean (1980)

References

External links

• Paul L. Smith on IMDb
• Paul L. Smith at AllMovie