Kurtwood Larson Smith (born July 3, 1943) is an American television and film actor. He is known for playing Clarence Boddicker in ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Fer ...

'' (1987), Robert Griggs in ''

Rambo III ''Rambo III'' is a 1988 American action film directed by Peter MacDonald and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also reprises his role as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. A sequel to '' Rambo: First Blood Part II'' (1985), it is the third in ...

'' (1988), and Red Forman in ''

That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television period teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, ...

'' (1998–2006), as well as for his many appearances in science fiction films and television programs ('' Lou Grant'', ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'', ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

''). He also starred in the seventh season of '' 24''. He voiced Gene on ''

Regular Show ''Regular Show'' (known as ''Regular Show in Space'' during its eighth season) is an American animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel for Cartoon Network. It ran from September 6, 2010, to January 16, 2017, over the course of eight seasons a ...

'' (2012–2017), Leslie Claret on ''

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

'' (2015–2018), and Old Man Peterson on '' The Ranch'' (2017–2020).

Early life

Smith was born in New Lisbon, Wisconsin, the son of Mabel Annette Lund (née Larson) and George Smith. Smith's mother was a fan of a country singer named Kurt (or Curt) in the early 1940s. However, she thought "Kurt Smith" was too short a name, so she added "wood" ("she just tacked it on to the end", he said); Smith has said that he is likely the only Kurtwood. Smith's father was a Major during the Second World War and was killed in Europe. Smith grew up in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

and graduated from

Canoga Park High School Canoga Park High School is a high school located in Canoga Park in the western San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is in the Los Angeles Unified School District. It is located at the start of the ...

Canoga Park, California Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and the ...

in 1961; he was class president in his senior year. Smith graduated from San Jose State College (now San José State University) in 1965 with a B.A. and

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

in 1969 with an M.F.A.

Career

On stage, Smith won three

Drama-Logue Award The Drama-Logue Award was an American theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would rece ...

s for his performances in ''

Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'' is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quickl ...

'', '' Idiot's Delight'', and ''

Green Grow the Lilacs Green Grow the Lilacs is a folk song of Irish origin that was popular in the United States during the mid-19th century. The song title is the source of a folk etymology for the word ''gringo'' that states that the Mexicans misheard U.S. troops si ...

''. In his film career, he portrayed Clarence Boddicker in

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...

's science fiction

action movie Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

'' and the father role as Red Forman on the Fox sitcom ''

'', which ran from 1998 to 2006. After ''That '70s Show'' ended, Smith played Senator Blaine Mayer in the seventh season of the action thriller '' 24'', and portrayed Dick Clayton in the CBS series '' Worst Week''. He enjoyed a recurring role as a rogue FBI agent in Seasons 3–5 of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

(later CBS) series ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation * Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium ...

'', appearing in later episodes as a ghost after his character's death. He played the main character Henry Langston in the ABC sci-fi/drama ''

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

'' which ran for two seasons (2014–15). Currently, he is a regular on the Amazon original dramedy series ''

''. His other roles included playing the leader of the Ku Klux Klan, Stump Sisson, in '' A Time to Kill''. He also played the role of Mr. Sue on Fox's "espionage comedy" '' The New Adventures of Beans Baxter'' in 1987. He also starred as the strict father of Robert Sean Leonard's Neil in 1989's ''

Dead Poets Society ''Dead Poets Society'' is a 1989 American drama film directed by Peter Weir, written by Tom Schulman, and starring Robin Williams. Set in 1959 at the fictional elite conservative boarding school Welton Academy, it tells the story of an English ...

''. He made a number of appearances in the ''

'' franchise, playing the President of the

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

in '' Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'', a

Cardassian The Cardassians () are a fictional extraterrestrial species in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. They were devised in 1991 for the series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' before being used in the subsequent series '' St ...

named Thrax in the ''

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from ...

'' episode " Things Past", and a Krenim scientist named Annorax in the '' Star Trek: Voyager'' two-part episode " Year of Hell". He also has an extensive

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talen ...

résumé, appearing in computer games such as '' Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel'', and '' FreeSpace 2'', and on a number of animated series. He played a recurring role on the

claymation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...

series '' Gary & Mike'' as the vengeful Officer Dick and voiced the dinosaurian military commander character General Galapagos in the Savage Steve Holland produced Fox animated series ''

Terrible Thunderlizards ''The Terrible Thunderlizards'' is a segment that aired in the United States as part of '' Eek! Stravaganza'' on the Fox Kids programming block, and in Canada on YTV. It aired from November 20, 1993, to July 28, 1997. The series was originally in ...

''. He played the voice of Bob Johnson on '' Squirrel Boy'' and provided the voice of Kanjar Ro in '' Green Lantern: First Flight'' and starred as the sheriff in ''

Last of the Dogmen ''Last of the Dogmen'' is a 1995 American Western film written and directed by Tab Murphy (in his feature directorial debut). It stars Tom Berenger, Barbara Hershey, Kurtwood Smith, and Steve Reevis. Set in the mountains of northwest Montana, ...

''. Smith appeared on the Netflix series '' The Ranch'' as Mr. Peterson, a farmer dying of

brain cancer A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and second ...

. Smith worked in the stop-motion

AMC+ AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

series ''

Ultra City Smiths AMC+ is an American subscription video on demand streaming service owned by AMC Networks that was launched on June 11, 2020. The service is a premium bundle that includes the live feeds and program libraries of the company's television networks ...

'' where he voiced Carpenter K. Smith.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Kurtwood 1943 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors College of San Mateo alumni Male actors from California Male actors from Wisconsin People from New Lisbon, Wisconsin People from Glendale, California People from the San Fernando Valley San Jose State University alumni Stanford University alumni