John Smith

Acting

John Smith

Born — Died

1931-03-06 — 1995-01-25

Place of birth

Los Angeles, California, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

50 titles

Actor John Smith was born Robert Errol Van Orden in Los Angeles. He began his career singing with The Robert Mitchell Boy Choir, a group which appeared in two Bing Crosby films, Going My Way (1944) and The Bells of St. Mary's (1945). His agent Henry Willson, who also gave Tab Hunter and Rock Hudson their names, changed Van Orden's name to "John Smith". Robert Hofler, author of "The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson", reports that an actress identified as Pocahontas Crowfoot was in the courtroom when the name change was granted. In We're No Angels (1955), Smith had a small role as "Arnaud", the ship's doctor. Aldo Ray, observing the doctor in full dress whites, says "he looks like a glass of …

Known for

Film credits

1960s · 3 titles

1950s · 21 titles

Friendly Persuasion poster
6.7

The story of a family of Quakers in Indiana in 1862. Their religious sect is strongly opposed to violence and war. It's not easy for them to meet the rules of their religion in everyday life but when Southern troops pass the area they are in real trouble. Should they fight, despite their peaceful attitude?

Friendly Persuasion

1956

Wichita poster
6.4

Former buffalo hunter and entrepreneur Wyatt Earp arrives in the lawless cattle town of Wichita Kansas. His skill as a gun-fighter makes him a perfect candidate for Marshal, but he refuses the job until he feels morally obligated to bring law and order to this wild town.

Wichita

1955

We're No Angels poster
7.2

Three convicts escape from prison on Devil's Island just before Christmas and arrive at a nearby French colonial town. They go to the store of the Ducotels, the only store that gives supplies on credit. They initially intend to take advantage of them but have a change of heart after they find the family is in financial troubles.

We're No Angels

1955

The High and the Mighty poster
5.9

Dan Roman is a veteran pilot haunted by a tragic past. Now relegated to second-in-command cockpit assignments he finds himself on a routine Honolulu-to-San Francisco flight that takes a terrifying turn when disaster strikes high above the Pacific Ocean after the point of no return.

The High and the Mighty

1954

Island of Lost Women poster
4.5

A plane crash-lands on a jungle island inhabited by a scientist and his nubile young daughters. Complications ensue.

Island of Lost Women

1959

A Star Is Born World Premiere poster
8.0

A live television broadcast covering the world premiere of A Star Is Born, capturing the arrivals, spectacle, and excitement surrounding one of Hollywood’s most lavish premiere events.

A Star Is Born World Premiere

1954

The Bold and the Brave poster
6.2

An assortment of American types come together in the Italian campaign of 1944.

The Bold and the Brave

1956

Hot Rod Girl poster
4.6

After his kid brother is killed in a street race, a champion drag-racer quits racing. However, a new kid comes to town determined to force him back into racing so he can take his title--and he's already taken his girlfriend.When his younger brother, Steve, is killed racing a hot-rod, Jeff Northup blames himself for the accident since he had built the car for his brother and had encouraged him to race it, with other boys on a special course provided by police detective Ben Merrill, who is working to reduce the city's hot-rod fatalities by providing supervision for the dangerous hobby. Jeff withdraws from participating in races on Merrill's course and, without his leadership, reverts to racing on the streets. "Bronc" Talbott, a newcomer, makes a play for Jeff's girlfriend, Lisa Vernon. Eventually, the taunting-Talbott forces Jeff into a race which results in the death of a bicycling child, and evidence seems to indicate Jeff was at fault.

Hot Rod Girl

1956

Tomahawk Trail poster
6.0

Led by an incompetent Lieutenant, a troop of soldiers is on the Tomahawk Trail in Apache territory. When he lets the Indians steal their horses and gets slightly wounded in a skirmish, Sergeant McCoy takes over command. McCoy successfully gets them to the fort only to find all the soldiers have been murdered by the Apaches. He prepares the troops for an attack knowing if they survive the Lieutenant plans to have him court marshaled.

Tomahawk Trail

1957

Quincannon, Frontier Scout poster
5.2

A young woman hires a frontier scout to help her discover if her brother died in an Indian attack on a remote fort.

Quincannon, Frontier Scout

1956

The Crooked Circle poster
6.5

A young prizefighter finds himself being squeezed on all sides to throw a fight.

The Crooked Circle

1957

The Lawless Eighties poster
7.0

After deceitful Indian agent Grat Bandas has his men shoot Brother Van, gunfighter Linc Prescott saves the peaceful circuit rider and agrees to help him put a stop to Bandas's plans to start an Indian war and grab their land for himself. Meanwhile, Prescott takes a shine to the daughter of a local rancher.

The Lawless Eighties

1957

The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm poster
6.4

Ma and Pa do their bit to hook lumberman Brad Johnson up with spoiled socialite Sally Flemming. Ma teaches Sally how to behave like a hick so she'll be compatible with Brad.

The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm

1957

The Women of Pitcairn Island poster
4.2

The widows and children of survivors of the H.M.S. Bounty rule Pitcairn Island, fighting off sailors and intruders.

The Women of Pitcairn Island

1956

Seven Angry Men poster
6.0

Rise, fall and execution of John Brown, fanatic abolitionist.

Seven Angry Men

1955

No artwork available
NR

Tom Gorman and Mike Gilbert take on jobs involving most anything underwater. The don't make much money at it. Constantly annoying them is eighteen year old Marty.

Sea Divers

1958

Rebel in Town poster
7.1

Ex-Confederate Bedloe Mason and his four sons ride into a small Western town with robbery in mind. Hearing a suspicious "click," Wes Mason whirls and shoots dead a boy playing with a cap pistol. The Mason clan then flees but Gray Mason, feeling remorse, decides to return to the town. He winds up at the home of John and Nora Willoughby who, unknown to him, are parents of the dead boy. Nora recognizes him as one of the Confederates but keeps quiet, wishing to avoid more violence. However, when John learns of Gray's true identity, he determines to avenge his son's death

Rebel in Town

1956

Handle with Care poster
8.2

A law student working on a class project discovers a real-life crime.

Handle with Care

1958

Desert Sands poster
5.0

The French Foreign Legion battles rebellious Arabs in North Africa.

Desert Sands

1955

Fury at Showdown poster
5.6

After serving a year for a killing in self-defense, gunfighter Brock Mitchell tries to help his younger brother save his ranch but a crooked lawyer has other ideas.

Fury at Showdown

1957

Ghost Town poster
5.1

A stage headed West with a group of passengers is attacked by Cheyenne Indians, and takes refuge in a nearby ghost town.

Ghost Town

1956

Series credits

The Virginian poster
6.5

The Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming Territory of the 1890s is owned in sequence by Judge Henry Garth, the Grainger brothers, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie. It is the setting for a variety of stories, many more based on character and relationships than the usual western.

The Virginian

1962

Adam-12 poster
7.1

Adam-12 is a television police drama that followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12.

Adam-12

1968

Emergency! poster
7.9

The crew of Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 51, particularly the paramedic team, and Rampart Hospital respond to emergencies in their operating area.

Emergency!

1972

Police Woman poster
6.5

Sergeant “Pepper"” Anderson, an undercover cop for the Criminal Conspiracy Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department, poses undercover from mob girl to prostitute.

Police Woman

1974

Marcus Welby, M.D. poster
6.6

Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television program that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969, to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner and James Brolin as the younger doctor he often worked with, and was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell. The pilot, A Matter of Humanities, had aired as an ABC Movie of the Week on March 26, 1969.

Marcus Welby, M.D.

1969

Alfred Hitchcock Presents poster
7.8

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

1955

Gunsmoke poster
6.7

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.

Gunsmoke

1955

Father Knows Best poster
6.7

Family man Jim Anderson copes with the everyday problems among his wife Margaret and their three children as they experience day-to-day changes.

Father Knows Best

1954

Laramie poster
6.7

Laramie is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1963. A Revue Studios production, the program originally starred John Smith as Slim Sherman, Robert Fuller as Jess Harper, Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy and Robert L. Crawford, Jr., as Andy Sherman.

Laramie

1959

The Ford Television Theatre poster
7.8

This show started in New York City, with Broadway actors and actresses. It then moved to Hollywood, California, where Hollywood actors and actresses headed the cast.

The Ford Television Theatre

1952

The Millionaire poster
5.8

An anthology series that explored the ways sudden and unexpected wealth changed life for better or for worse. It told the stories of people who were given one million dollars from a benefactor who insisted they never know him, with one exception.

The Millionaire

1955

Telephone Time poster
6.5

Telephone Time is an American anthology drama series that aired on CBS in 1956, and on ABC from 1957 to 1958. The series features plays by John Nesbitt who hosted the first season. Frank C. Baxter hosted the 1957 and 1958 seasons. The program was directed by Arthur Hiller.

Telephone Time

1956

The Wonderful World of Disney poster
7.9

Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different titles since 1954. The original version of the series premiered on ABC, Wednesday night, October 27, 1954. The show, which was hosted by Walt Disney until his death and then from 1996 to 2002 by then-CEO Michael Eisner (with one-off hosts or no hosts during other periods) has since aired continually as either a weekly program or an irregular series of specials on several networks and streaming services, most recently on ABC and Disney+. The show is the second longest showing prime-time program on American television, behind its rival, Hallmark Hall of Fame. However, Hallmark Hall of Fame was a weekly program only during its first five seasons, while Disney remained a weekly program for more than forty years.

The Wonderful World of Disney

1954

The Wonderful World of Disney poster
7.9

Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different titles since 1954. The original version of the series premiered on ABC, Wednesday night, October 27, 1954. The show, which was hosted by Walt Disney until his death and then from 1996 to 2002 by then-CEO Michael Eisner (with one-off hosts or no hosts during other periods) has since aired continually as either a weekly program or an irregular series of specials on several networks and streaming services, most recently on ABC and Disney+. The show is the second longest showing prime-time program on American television, behind its rival, Hallmark Hall of Fame. However, Hallmark Hall of Fame was a weekly program only during its first five seasons, while Disney remained a weekly program for more than forty years.

The Wonderful World of Disney

1954

Frontier poster
7.5

Frontier is an American Western anthology series that aired on NBC from September 1955, to September 1956. The series de-emphasizes gunplay and focuses on the hazards of the settlement of the American West. It was only the second anthology Western series in television history, having been preceded by Death Valley Days. Frontier aired premiered on September 25, 1955, and ran sporadically in its last five months. Walter Coy narrated the series and starred in occasional episodes, which are dramatizations based on actual events. The program was produced by Worthington Miner.

Frontier

1955

Letter to Loretta poster
6.6

Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to June 1961 for a total of 165 episodes. The filmed show was hosted by Loretta Young who also played the lead in various episodes. Letter to Loretta was sponsored by Procter & Gamble from 1953 through 1960. The final season's sponsor was Warner-Lambert's Listerine.

Letter to Loretta

1953

Wire Service poster
9.0

Wire Service is an American drama series that aired on ABC as part of its 1956-57 season lineup.

Wire Service

1956

Hondo poster
6.9

Hondo is a 17-episode Western television series starring Ralph Taeger that aired in the United States on ABC during the 1967 fall season. The series was produced by Batjac Productions, Inc., Fenady Associates, Inc., and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television.

Hondo

1967

Cimarron City poster
6.3

Cimarron City is an American Western television series, starring George Montgomery as Matt Rockford and John Smith as Lane Temple, that aired on NBC from October 11, 1958 until April 4, 1959. The name "Cimarron City" refers to a boom town in Logan County north of Oklahoma City. Rich in oil and gold, Cimarron City aspires to become the capital of the future state of Oklahoma, created in 1907.

Cimarron City

1958

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars poster
7.2

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

1951

General Electric Theater poster
6.8

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.

General Electric Theater

1953