Kurtwood Larson Smith is an American television and film actor. He is known for playing Clarence Boddicker in RoboCop and Red Forman in That '70s Show, and for his appearances in the genre of science fiction. He also starred in the seventh season of 24.
Joan Pirkle (m. 1988), Cecilia Souza (m. 1964–1974)
Children
Laurel Garner, Shannon Smith
Parents
George Smith, Mabel Annette Lund
Nicknames
Kurtwood Larson Smith , Wood , Woody , Kurt
Movies
RoboCop, Dead Poets Society, Rambo III, Citizen Ruth, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, True Believer, The Crush, Hitchcock, A Time to Kill, Girl, Interrupted, Boxing Helena, Broken Arrow, Deep Impact, Cedar Rapids, To Die For, Last of the Dogmen, Company Business, Fortress, Green Lantern: Fir...
TV Shows
That '70s Show, Resurrection, Worst Week, Squirrel Boy, Neighbors from Hell, Beware the Batman, The Zeta Project, Big Wave Dave's, Eek! The Cat, CHAOS, Agent Carter, The Renegades, Battle Force: Andromeda
Star Sign
Cancer
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Trademark
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Often plays menacing, sinister villains
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Often plays leaders and authority figures
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Bald head and bold blue eyes
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Deep authoritative voice
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Quote
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I love playing villains. When you're a bad guy, you get to do many real nasty things. It's a lot of fun.
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Fact
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Joan Pirkle, the second wife of actor Kurtwood Smith appeared opposite him in 1987's RoboCop (1987) as the secretary he hits on before trying to arrest Ronny Cox's character Dick Jones.
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Currently lives in Glendale, California.
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Has one granddaughter, named Abby.
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Is a huge fan of video games.
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In the 20th Anniversary DVD release of RoboCop (1987), he claimed that the scene where he was taken into the precinct was the first scene he had done, and proposed the spitting of blood and swearing to give the scene more punch.
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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.
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Despite being known for playing villains and generally unlikable characters, he is known to co-stars and crew members as an extremely nice and friendly man who is nothing like the characters he plays.
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His mother named him "Kurtwood" because she felt there already too many people named Kurt.
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Received his Master's degree in Fine Arts from Stanford University in Stanford, California (1969).
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Received his Bachelor's degree in Theatre from San Jose State College in San Jose, California (1965).
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Attended and graduated from Canoga Park High School in Canoga Park, California (1961).
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Has played the father of Eric Forman on That '70s Show (1998) and played the father of a patient treated by Dr. Eric Foreman on House M.D. (2004).
Kurtwood's daughter, Laurel Garner, is also an actress.
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Parents are George Smith and Mabel Annette Lund.
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Won the role of Red Foreman on That '70s Show (1998) when the original choice, Chuck Norris, was unavailable because of his commitment to filming Walker, Texas Ranger (1993). Set near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he was the only cast member to actually be from the state. Wisconsin is a Native American term for "land of red stone".
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Tends to play well-meaning but stubbornly misguided characters, like Mr. Perry in Dead Poets Society (1989) and the Captain-Nemo-like alien Annorax on Star Trek: Voyager (1995).
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Currently doing voice-over work for the Chicago White Sox in a series of radio ads.
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Presented actress Barbara Bain with the California Lottery's "Hero in Education" Award on "The Big Spin" show on December 18, 2004.
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His son, Shannon Smith, who goes by the stage name Dr. Sauce, hosted a radio show at Stanford University in the mid-to-late 1990s and played guitar in a band called The Vulcaneers.
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"Kurtwood" is his real first name. According to an interview with Smith 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. He noted that he is likely the only Kurtwood.
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Attended and graduated from Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California.
$10 Million
