‘80s Drama Actor William Smithers Dies at 98

Dallas actor William Smithers has died in Santa Barbara at 98.

Smithers was best known for playing Jeremy Wendell on Dallas. Wendell was an oilman determined to one-up J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) at every turn. Smithers played the villain for 50 episodes, and Wendell quickly made J.R.'s schemes look tame.

Before his acting career, Smithers served in the military during World War II. In 1945, at 18, he enlisted in the Navy and spent 14 months as a Seaman 1st Class until the war ended.

Smithers made his Broadway debut in 1951 as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, winning a Theater World Award. The following year, he became a life member of The Actors Studio. He also won an Obie Award in 1957 for playing Treplev in Anton Chekhov's The Seagull.

After his initial time on and off Broadway, Smithers moved to Los Angeles in 1965. He played David Schuster in Peyton Place, one of America's first soap operas. Smithers acted in nearly 400 television shows and productions throughout his life, including Star Trek, Papillon, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Hawaii Five-O.

While Smithers was playing Anderson Gault on the one-season drama Executive Suite, he sued MGM for violating his contract. His contract with the studio stated that, other than three named exceptions, no other cast member could receive more money than he did.

During the case, Smithers said an MGM executive threatened to blacklist him if he went through with the suit. He did not back down, and the highly publicized case ended with Smithers winning after MGM was found to have violated the contract.

According to Smithers' obituary in the Santa Barbara Independent, "he won a case that was appealed as far as the California Supreme Court, and is now taught in entertainment law courses."

Smithers continued acting until the mid-90s, when he settled in Santa Barbara with his wife, S. Loraine Hull, an acting teacher and writer. They worked in local television and radio in their later years. Hull died in 2022.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 11:35 AM.