William (or Bill) Smithers, a character actor with a familiar face, particularly among baby boomer TV fans, is a smart, articulate, and well-groomed individual with noticeably premature gray hair. Despite not being instantly recognizable by name, his on-screen presence is undeniable. One of his most notable roles is that of arch-villain Jeremy Wendell, who frequently clashed with J.R. Ewing on the popular TV series Dallas from 1981 to 1985.
Born on July 10, 1927, in Richmond, Virginia, Smithers began his career on stage, making his Broadway debut and winning a Theatre World Award for his performance as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet in 1951. His co-star, Olivia de Havilland, also made her Broadway bow in that production. The following year, Smithers joined the Actors Studio and became a prominent exponent of Lee Strasberg's "Method" style of acting. He continued to receive acclaim on stage, earning an Obie award in 1957 for Best Actor for his portrayal of Treplev in the off-Broadway production of The Sea Gull.
Smithers made his feature film debut in 1956 as a harried infantry officer in Robert Aldrich's acclaimed war drama Attack. Although he appeared in only a handful of films after that, including Trouble Man, Papillon, Scorpio, and Deathsport, television was a different story. With nearly 400 programs under his belt, Smithers has guest-starred or appeared in a wide range of TV shows, often playing serious-minded executives and authority figures. He had a knack for portraying oily villains, and his unscrupulous characters could be found on any 1960s or 1970s crime series, including Mission: Impossible, The F.B.I., Mannix, Mod Squad, The Name of the Game, and Barnaby Jones.
Last seen on camera in the early 1990s, Smithers is highly respected as a teacher and for his acting seminars at colleges and universities. For many years, he instructed alongside his second wife, S. Lorraine Hull (aka Lorrie Hull Smithers),a noted acting teacher who taught at the Strasberg Institute.
