William Stanley Zmitrowicz Jr. (born May 16, 1947), known professionally as Bill Smitrovich ( ), is an American actor.

Personal life

Smitrovich was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Anna ( née Wojna) and Stanley William Zmitrowicz, a tool and die maker. He is of Polish descent. Bill is a graduate of the

University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin University; it retain its own ...

(1972) and holds an MFA from Smith College (1976). He is married to Shaw Purnell from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They have a son, Alexander John, and a daughter Maya Christina, four years younger.

Career

Smitrovich has starred in a number of television series. His first prominent TV series role was in the 1980s series '' Crime Story'' as Det. Sgt. Danny Krychek. He went on to star in the hit drama series '' Life Goes On'' (1989–93). Smitrovich was the lead guest star in the pilot film of the 1980s crime drama hit series ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two M ...

''. He also appeared in the final episode of '' NYPD Blue''. He has also been seen in ''The Henry Lee Project'' with Danny Glover. In 1996, Smitrovich was cast as

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

police lieutenant Bob Bletcher in ''

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

'', created and produced by Chris Carter, the creator of ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...

''. He is perhaps best known for his roles on the A&E series '' A Nero Wolfe Mystery'' (based on the

Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe is a brilliant, obese and eccentric fictional armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery (fiction), mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a luxurious brownstone on West ...

detective stories by

Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and ...

) as Inspector Cramer, and on the ABC hit series ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in ...

'' as Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Walsh and then went on to ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'', where he played the recurring character of Chief Alex Olcyk. In 2010 he starred in the NBC series ''

The Event ''The Event'' (stylized as THE EVƎNT) is an American television series containing elements of science fiction, action/adventure and political allegory. It was created by Nick Wauters and aired on NBC from September 20, 2010 to May 23, 2011. ...

'' as Vice President Raymond Jarvis. Smitrovich has also played a number of characters in military roles. These include '' Independence Day'' (1996), '' Air Force One'' (1997), '' Thirteen Days'' (2000), '' Fail Safe'' (2000), and ''

Eagle Eye ''Eagle Eye'' is a 2008 American action-thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and with a screenplay by John Glenn, Travis Adam Wright, Hillary Seitz and Dan McDermott from a story by McDermott. The film stars Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan ...

'' (2008). He has made many guest appearances on various television shows. His best-known appearances include the two-part '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' third-season episode "

Past Tense The past tense is a grammatical tense whose function is to place an action or situation in the past. Examples of verbs in the past tense include the English verbs ''sang'', ''went'' and ''washed''. Most languages have a past tense, with some ha ...

," '' 24'', ''

Numb3rs ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, for six seasons and 118 episodes. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heu ...

'', '' NYPD Blue'', ''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American fantasy drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced ...

'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...

'', '' Castle'', and the ''Dynasty'' reboot. Smitrovich has also starred in several television movies, playing

Alexander Haig Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; December 2, 1924February 20, 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these ...

in the 2003 biographical TV miniseries ''

The Reagans ''The Reagans'' is a 2003 American made-for-television biographical drama film about U.S. President Ronald Reagan and his family. The network CBS had planned to broadcast the film in November 2003 during fall " sweeps", but was ultimately broad ...

'', as well as filling roles in '' Futuresport'' (1998) and in ''The '60s'' miniseries (1999). On film, Smitrovich's roles include the Stephen King adaptation ''

Silver Bullet In folklore, a bullet cast from silver is often one of the few weapons that are effective against a werewolf or witch. The term ''silver bullet'' is also a metaphor for a simple, seemingly magical, solution to a difficult problem: for example, pe ...

'' (1985), ''Renegades'' (1989), ''

The Trigger Effect ''The Trigger Effect'' is a 1996 American thriller film written and directed by David Koepp and starring Kyle MacLachlan, Elisabeth Shue and Dermot Mulroney. The film follows the downward spiral of society during a widespread and lengthy power ...

'' (1996), '' Gridiron Gang'' (2006), and the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

superhero movie '' Iron Man'' (2008). Bill played the role of Mr. Zimburger in the Johnny Depp film '' The Rum Diary''. He also appeared as the head of the CIA, Hanley, in Pierce Brosnan's movie ''

The November Man ''The November Man'' is a 2014 spy action thriller film based on the novel ''There Are No Spies'' by Bill Granger, which is the seventh installment in ''The November Man'' novel series, published in 1987. A British-American production, it stars P ...

''.

Selected filmography

*''Muggable Mary, Street Cop'' (1982, TV movie) - Charlie Hock *''

A Little Sex ''A Little Sex'' is a 1982 American comedy film produced by MTM Enterprises and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Bruce Paltrow and written by Bob DeLaurentis. Plot Young television producer, Michael Donovan, tries to aba ...

'' (1982) – Technician *''

'' (1983) – Police officer *'' Splash'' (1984) – Ralph Bauer *''

Maria's Lovers ''Maria's Lovers'' is a 1984 American drama film directed by Andrei Konchalovsky and starring Nastassja Kinski, John Savage, and Robert Mitchum. The plot follows a soldier returning from World War II who marries the woman of his dreams, but he ...

'' (1984) – Bartender *''

Key Exchange Key exchange (also key establishment) is a method in cryptography by which cryptographic keys are exchanged between two parties, allowing use of a cryptographic algorithm. If the sender and receiver wish to exchange encrypted messages, each ...

'' (1985) – Lenny *''

'' (1985) – Andy Fairton *'' The Beniker Gang'' (1985) – Laundry Truck Driver *'' A Killing Affair'' (1986) – Pink Gresham *'' Band of the Hand'' (1986) – Chavez *'' Manhunter'' (1986) – Lloyd Bowman *''

Her Alibi ''Her Alibi'' is a 1989 American romantic comedy film directed by Bruce Beresford, written by Charlie Peters and starring Tom Selleck, Paulina Porizkova, William Daniels, and James Farentino. Plot Phil Blackwood (Selleck) is an American mystery ...

'' (1989) – Farrell *'' Renegades'' (1989) – Finch *'' Cяazy People'' (1990) – Bruce *''Bodily Harm'' (1995) – Lt. Darryl Stewart *'' Nick of Time'' (1995) – Officer Trust *''

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The char ...

'' (1996) – Uncle Dave Palmer *'' Independence Day'' (1996) – Captain Watson *''

'' (1996) – Steph *'' Ghosts of Mississippi'' (1996) – Jim Kitchens *'' Air Force One'' (1997) – General William Northwood *''Around the Fire'' (1998) – Matt Harris *''Futuresport'' (1998) - Coach Douglas *'' Fail Safe'' (2000) (TV) – Gen. Stark *'' Thirteen Days'' (2000) – General Maxwell Taylor *'' A Nero Wolfe Mystery'' (2001–2002) (TV) – Inspector Cramer *''

'' (2003) (TV) – Alexander Haig *'' The Game of Their Lives'' (2005) – Admiral Higgins *''

Heavens Fall ''Heavens Fall'' is a 2006 American film based on the Scottsboro Boys incident of 1931. Plot In the film, two young white women (portrayed by Leelee Sobieski and Azura Skye) accuse nine black youths of rape in the segregated South. Timothy H ...

'' (2006) – George Chamlee *'' Gridiron Gang'' (2006) – Wainwright *''

The Last Lullaby ''The Last Lullaby'' is 2008 drama/noir film starring Tom Sizemore, and Sasha Alexander. Filming took place in Shreveport, Louisiana. The film won the Best Actress (Sasha Alexander) and Audience Award at the San Diego Film Festival in 2008. Pl ...

'' (2008) – Martin *'' Iron Man'' (2008) – General Gabriel *'' Flash of Genius'' (2008) – Judge Franks *''

'' (2008) – Admiral Thompson *''

Seven Pounds ''Seven Pounds'' is a 2008 American drama film directed by Gabriele Muccino starring actor Will Smith as a man who sets out to change the lives of seven people. Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, and Barry Pepper also star. The film was released in ...

'' (2008) – George Ristuccia *'' The Rum Diary'' (2011) – Mr. Zimburger *'' Ted'' (2012) – Frank *''

'' (2014) – Hanley *''

Ted 2 ''Ted 2'' (stylized as ted2) is a 2015 American comedy film directed by Seth MacFarlane and written by MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, and Wellesley Wild. The second installment in the ''Ted'' franchise, it serves as a sequel to the 2012 film of the ...

'' (2015) – Frank *''

Two And A Half Men ''Two and a Half Men'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. Originally starring Charlie Sheen in the lead role alongside Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones, t ...

'' (2015) – Rick *''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

'' (2016) – Therapist *'' Bitch'' (2017) *''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' (2017–2018) – Thomas Carrington (3 episodes)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smitrovich, Bill 1947 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Male actors from Bridgeport, Connecticut University of Bridgeport alumni American people of Polish descent 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Smith College alumni