#William smith actor arm wrestler movie#
#William smith actor arm wrestler series#
#William smith actor arm wrestler tv#

The least known of the three Laredo stars was William Smith, a former child actor, arm wrestler, and bodybuilder. In the last film, he played a blonde surfer-apparently, the producers were concerned that the good-looking Brown would distract female viewers from the film's dark-haired star.Fabian. Between Lawman and Laredo, Brown starred opposite actresses Hayley Mills ( Summer Magic), Ann-Margret ( Kitten With a Whip), and Barbara Eden (Ride the Wild Surf). at the time (others included Cheyenne, Maverick, and Sugarfoot). The show was one of the many Westerns produced by Warner Bros.

#William smith actor arm wrestler series#

He played young deputy Johnny McKay to John Russell's marshal on four seasons of the half-hour series Lawman (1958-62).

#William smith actor arm wrestler tv#

Peter Brown came to Laredo as a TV Western veteran. In his autobiography, Bruce Dern said of Neville Brand: '(He was) the baddest guy I ever met in the business.' (the villain's description of Brand's henchman: 'He's not happy unless he gives pain. He carved an acting career as a tough guy in movies like D.O.A. Neville Brand was one of the most decorated soldiers of World War II. Each of them brought something different to the show.

Still, Laredo owes its success to the Gunga Din camaraderie of the three actors that played the original Rangers. He later lived with Audrey Hepburn for the last decade of her life.

#William smith actor arm wrestler movie#

In real life, Wolders married classic movie actress Merle Oberon in 1975-she was 25 years older than him-for the last four years of her life. Erik was a bit of dandy and surpassed Chad as the best-dressed Texas Ranger on television. According to some sources, the rationale for a fourth Ranger was to lighten Brand's workload. The second season of Laredo added Dutch actor Robert Wolders, who joined the cast as rookie Ranger Erik Hunter. In various episodes, Chad and Joe convince Reese to get into a ring with a lively bull, go undercover to catch villainous French officers, and take over as 'acting captain' when Parmalee is away. The latter often involved Reese being manipulated by his colleagues. Still, Laredo found an audience with its easygoing mix of action and humor. Its time slot, Thursday from 8:30 to 9:30, pitted it against some tough competition: Bewitched on ABC and My Three Sons on CBS. The Laredo TV series debuted on NBC in September 1965. Universal Studios padded the pilot with footage from another Virginian episode ('Ride a Dark Trail') and released it in Europe as a theatrical film called Backtrack. The teleplay was written by Western scribe Borden Chase, who penned film classics such as Winchester '73 (1950), The Bend of the River (1952), and Man Without a Star (1955).

Reese is less comical and Chad isn't the ladies man that he would become.īrown, Doug McClure, Brand, and Smith on The Virginian. As often happens with pilots, the characters here differ slightly from the ones in the eventual Laredo series. Along the way, he runs afoul of Reese, Chad, and Joe-but winds up helping them retrieve stolen money from a train. In 'We've Lost a Train,' Trampas (Doug McClure) travels through Laredo to pick a bull in Mexico for Judge Garth. The original series pilot aired in 1965 as the last episode of the third season of The Virginian. Television veteran Philip Carey played their put-upon boss Captain Parmalee. The series, which currently airs on GetTV, starred Neville Brand as gruff Reese Bennett, Peter Brown as the refined Chad Cooper, and William Smith as the muscular Joe Riley. In contrast to the popular cowboy ballad 'The Streets of Laredo,' the streets depicted in this 1965-67 TV Western were pretty lively thanks to a trio of boisterous Texas Rangers.