Dean Smith(I)
- Stunts
- Actor
Dean Smith was raised in Eliasville, Texas, and currently lives between
Graham and Breckenridge, Texas, where he raises 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 has also won
amateur rodeo championships for bareback bronco riding and calf roping.
He is an honorary member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association,
has been 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 has been 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 put together 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, 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.