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Kurtwood Smith

Biography

Kurtwood Smith

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Overview

  • Born
    July 3, 1943 · New Lisbon, Wisconsin, USA
  • Birth name
    Kurtwood Larson Smith
  • Nicknames
    • Woody
    • Kurt
    • Wood
  • Height
    6′ 1″ (1.85 m)

Biography

    • Kurtwood Smith was born on July 3, 1943 in New Lisbon, Wisconsin, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Broken Arrow (1996), RoboCop (1987) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). He has been married to Joan Pirkle since November 5, 1988. He was previously married to Cecilia Souza.

Family

  • Spouses
      Joan Pirkle(November 5, 1988 - present)
      Cecilia Souza(June 26, 1964 - 1974) (divorced, 2 children)
  • Parents
      Mabel Annette Lund
      George Smith

Trademarks

  • Strong authoritative voice
  • Bald head and bold blue eyes
  • Often plays leaders and authority figures
  • Often plays menacing, sinister villains

Trivia

  • Won the role of Red Forman on That '70s Show (1998), which is set near Milwaukee, WI. Smith was the only cast member who actually was from Wisconsin (which is a Native American term for "land of red stone").
  • Originally auditioned for the role of Dick Jones in RoboCop (1987), and when he found out he had been cast, he thought that was the role he had gotten. He later found out that he would be playing Clarence Boddicker.
  • "Kurtwood" is his real first name. According to an interview with him on Caroline Rhea's syndicated television show (April 8, 2003), his mother was a huge 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", said Smith. His mother because she felt there already too many people named Kurt.
  • Has played four different characters in the Star Trek universe: the Federation President in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), Thrax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Annorax on Star Trek: Voyager (1995), and Clar on Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020).
  • Received his Master's degree in Fine Arts from Stanford University in Stanford, California (1969).

Quotes

  • I love playing villains. When you're a bad guy, you get to do many real nasty things. It's a lot of fun.
  • [on the long-standing rumor of Chuck Norris being offered his 'Red Forman' role]: It's not true at all. It certainly was a well-spread rumor. I remember asking the producers about it at one point and they were, 'No, who told you that?' That was all pretty much made up.

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