Finis Dean Smith (January 15, 1932 – June 24, 2023) was an American track and field athlete, winner of a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the 4 × 100 m relay at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

; he was also an actor and noted stuntman, appearing in many films and TV series.

Early life, education, and sports career

Born in

Breckenridge, Texas Breckenridge is a city and county seat of Stephens County, Texas, Texas, United States. The estimated population was 5,349 as of February 2021. Breckenridge was a stop on the since defunct Wichita Falls and Southern Railroad, one of the properti ...

, Smith won the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

championships in

100 m The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

. At the

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

, he was fourth in the 100 m and ran the leadoff leg for the American gold medal-winning 4 × 100 m relay team. As a sprinter on the Longhorn track team, Smith ran a 100-yard dash in 9.4 seconds, one-tenth of a second off the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

at the time. After graduating from

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

where he ran track and was a member of the Silver Spurs, Smith played professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

and the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

ahead of his career in Hollywood.

Later sports career

Later on, Smith competed in amateur rodeo. His events were bareback bronc riding and calf roping. He won championships in both events. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Associations made him an honorary member. He also participated in the team roping event in Reba McEntire's Pro Celebrity Rodeo in May 1997.

Post-sports/Hollywood career

Following his sports career, Smith performed as a professional

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

cowboy and stuntman in various Western movies such as '' The Alamo'', '' The Comancheros'', '' How The West Was Won'', ''

McLintock! :''See also McClintock (disambiguation)'' ''McLintock!'' is a 1963 American Western comedy film, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. The film co-stars Wayne's son Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers, Jack Kr ...

'', '' Rio Conchos'', ''

Big Jake ''Big Jake'' is a 1971 American Technicolor Western (genre), Western film starring John Wayne, Richard Boone and Maureen O'Hara. The picture was the final film for George Sherman in a directing career of more than 30 years, and Maureen O'Hara' ...

'', ''

El Dorado El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...

'', and ''

Rio Lobo ''Rio Lobo'' is a 1970 American Western film directed and produced by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne, from a screenplay by Burton Wohl and Leigh Brackett. The film was shot in Cuernavaca in the Mexican state of Morelos and in Tucson, Ari ...

''. He also appeared in such Western TV shows as ''

Tales of Wells Fargo ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series starring Dale Robertson in 201 episodes that aired from 1957 to 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until i ...

'', '' Maverick'', ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'', '' Lawman'', '' Have Gun Will Travel'', '' The Iron Horse'' and ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action fiction, action Crime drama, crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both the film and the series starring Chuck Norr ...

''. Some of what '' Variety'' called his "most impressive" stunts included falling out of a two-story building into a hay wagon in ''

'' (1963) starring

Maureen O'Hara Maureen O'Hara (; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was an Irish-born naturalized American actress who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural redhead who was known for playing passionate b ...

. Smith was noticed by famed director

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

when working on the 1958

Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, model, comedian, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary '' Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in ...

project, ''

Auntie Mame ''Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade'' is a 1955 novel by American author Patrick Dennis chronicling the madcap adventures of a boy, Patrick, growing up as the Ward (law), ward of his Aunt Mame Dennis, the sister of his dead father. The book i ...

,'' and as a result went on to be featured in many of Ford's subsequent films.

Honors

In 2006 he was inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame. In 2009 he was inducted into the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum and Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Smith is a member of the Hollywood Stuntman's Hall of Fame. In 1997 he was named "All American Cowboy", and in 1998 he received a Golden Boot Award. In 2007 he received the Silver Spur award for his contributions as a stuntman in the film business.

Personal life

Smith died on June 24, 2023, at age 91.

Competition record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Dean 1932 births 2023 deaths People from Breckenridge, Texas Track and field athletes from Texas American male sprinters American stunt performers Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1955 Pan American Games Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Bareback bronc riders Roping (rodeo) USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Texas Longhorns men's track and field athletes American masters athletes 20th-century American sportsmen