Known For
Acting
Born
Jan 15, 1932
Died
Jun 24, 2023
Place of Birth
Breckenridge, Texas, USA
Credits
56 titles
Dean Smith
Biography
Dean Smith was raised in Eliasville, Texas, and later lived in Breckenridge, Texas, where he raised horses and longhorn cattle. He attended the University of Texas at Austin where he competed in track and football. He won an Olympic gold medal for the 400-meter relay in the 1952 Helsinki games and finished fourth in the 100 dash in the closest race in Olympic history. He was the lead-off man on the University of Texas world record relay team, 1954-55, and AAU national champion in the 100-meter dash. He played with the Los Angeles Rams during exhibition season and was traded to the Pittsburg Steelers at which time he decided to enter the movie business. He also won amateur rodeo championships for bareback bronco riding and calf roping. He was an honorary member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, was inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame (2006), the Texas Sports Hall of Fame (1985), Stuntman's Hall of Fame (1980), and the University of Texas Hall of Fame (1980). He was awarded the American Culture Award for Western Movies and Television (2000), the Golden Boot Award in 1998, the Ben Johnson Award in 1993, the All-American Cowboy Award in 1997, and the Head of the Class Alvin Davis Award in 2002. In 2002, he organized the Dean Smith Celebrity Rodeo benefiting the Cowboy Cancer Crusade tribute to Ben Johnson, the Dean Smith Celebrity Rodeo benefiting the John Wayne Cancer Institute honoring John Wayne, and, in 2006, the Dean Smith Celebrity Rodeo benefiting the John Wayne Cancer Institute honoring The Singing Cowboys in Abilene, Texas, the third weekend in October. On April 8, 2006, the John Wayne Cancer Institute honored him with the "Duke Award" for his contributions to cancer research. In 2023, Dean Smith died of cancer, aged 91, in Breckenridge, Texas.
Known For
Filmography
John Wayne: Working with a Western Legend
Self
Keys to Tulsa
Stunts
The Quick and the Dead
Stunts
Maverick
Stunts
Creepshow 2
Mr. Cavenaugh
Raw Deal
Patrovita's Double
Rhinestone
Cowboy Doorman
Christine
Stunts
The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang
Parker Deputy Sheriff
The Concorde... Airport '79
Stunts
The Legend of the Golden Gun
Stunts
Hardcore
Stunts
FM
Stunts
The Captive: The Longest Drive 2
Jess
Mackintosh and T.J.
Bent
Hearts of the West
Stunts
The Great Waldo Pepper
Stunts
Seven Alone
Kit Carson
The Towering Inferno
Stunts
Earthquake
Pool Player (uncredited)
Airport 1975
Stunts
The Sugarland Express
Russ Berry
The Six Million Dollar Man
Major Osterman
Mrs. Sundance
Avery
The Sting
Stunts
Westworld
Stunts
The Train Robbers
Stunts
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
Outlaw
Ulzana's Raid
Horowitz
Hickey & Boggs
Bagman
Squares
Carl
Sometimes a Great Notion
Big Jake
Kid Duffy
The Cheyenne Social Club
The Bannister Gang
Rio Lobo
Bide
Airport
Stunts
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Stunt Double
True Grit
Minor Role (uncredited)
The Stalking Moon
Stunts
The Scalphunters
Stunt Double
The War Wagon
Stunts
El Dorado
Charlie Hagan
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
Stunts
In Harm's Way
Stunts
Rio Conchos
Stunt Double
Cheyenne Autumn
Trooper (uncredited)
McLintock!
Stunt Double
PT 109
Stunts
How the West Was Won
Stunts
Two Rode Together
Stunts