‘Dallas’ Star William Smithers Dead at 98
William Smithers, the veteran character actor best remembered for going toe-to-toe with Larry Hagman's J.R. Ewing on Dallas, has died. He was 98.
Smithers died May 26 in Santa Barbara, California, where he had lived for many years. His passing was first reported June 15 by the Santa Barbara Independent. No cause of death was disclosed.
The Role That Defined His Television Career
Smithers appeared in 50 episodes of Dallas between 1981 and 1989, playing Jeremy Wendell — a ruthless oil baron and chairman of WestStar Oil who became one of J.R. Ewing's most formidable rivals. Wendell was eventually written off the show after being caught on tape discussing an illegal plot, arrested, and sent to prison.
Behind the scenes, the departure was less dramatic but just as final. Smithers later said he was "paid very little" and ultimately walked away over a money dispute. "My agent was convinced that they would come to the figure that we asked for," he said, "but they didn't. So that ended the whole thing." Despite the circumstances, Smithers reflected warmly on the working relationship, noting that scenes with Hagman were "always a challenge" because their characters were perpetual competitors.
A Career Built on Playing the Heavy
Smithers spent decades as one of Hollywood's go-to character actors, specializing in authority figures and antagonists. Among his most memorable film roles was Warden Barrot in Papillon (1973), the Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman prison-break drama, in which his character delivered a chilling speech about the prison's philosophy of breaking men rather than rehabilitating them.
He also guest-starred as Captain R.M. Merik in the original Star Trek episode "Bread and Circuses," which aired in March 1968, and had a months-long arc on ABC's Peyton Place in 1965 and 1966. His television credits stretched across decades and included Mission: Impossible, The Defenders, Ironside, Mannix, The Mod Squad, Barnaby Jones, and Walker, Texas Ranger, among dozens of others.
From Broadway to the Big Screen
Born July 10, 1927, in Richmond, Virginia, Smithers served in the U.S. Navy before launching an acting career that began on the New York stage. He made his Broadway debut in 1951 playing Tybalt opposite Olivia de Havilland in a production of Romeo and Juliet, earning a Theater World Award for the performance. He was a member of The Actors Studio.
His film credits included the 1956 Robert Aldrich war drama Attack, the 1972 film Trouble Man, and the 1973 spy thriller Scorpio.
Away from the screen, Smithers also made legal history. He won a landmark breach-of-contract dispute against MGM that remains a case study in entertainment law to this day.
Smithers continued working through the mid-1990s before settling into life in Santa Barbara with his wife, S. Loraine Hull, an acting teacher and writer. Hull died in 2022. He is survived by family and a body of work that spanned more than four decades.
Curious for more stories that keep you informed and entertained? From the latest headlines to everyday insights, YourLifeBuzz has more to explore. Dive into what’s next.