Dean Smith, Olympic Champion Sprinter and Stuntman for John Wayne, Dies at 91

Dean Smith, a Hollywood stuntman who worked in dozens of Westerns after winning a gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, died on Saturday, his son Finis announced on social media. Smith was 91.

Born and raised in Texas, Smith competed in track and football for the University of Texas at Austin and qualified for the Olympics at the age of 20. While he finished just off the podium in the 100-meter dash by landing in fourth place, he claimed the gold medal in the 4×100-meter relay as part of a team with 1948 100-meter Olympic gold medalist Harrison “Bones” Dillard, 1952 100-meter gold medalist Lindy Remigino, and 1952 200-meter gold medalist Andy Stanfield.

After playing running back for the Texas Longhorns and helping the team win the 1953 Cotton Bowl, Smith had a brief career in the NFL as a scout team player. After that, he moved into motion pictures and worked as a stuntman who caught the eye of John Ford while working on the 1960 film “The Alamo.”

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Impressed by Smith’s athleticism, Ford hired him as a regular stuntman on all of his films going forward, allowing him to develop a close friendship with film legend John Wayne. Smith’s credits include “The Alamo,” “McLintock!” “Rio Lobo,” “The Comancheros” and “How the West Was Won.” He also appeared in Western TV shows such as “Gunsmoke” and “Maverick,” as well as in Chuck Norris’ “Walker, Texas Ranger.”

“I lived pretty dangerously for 35 or 40 years,” Smith told NPR’s StoryCorps in 2014. “Guys like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry and John Wayne…they were all like my relatives, and I woke up one morning and they were all gone.”

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When not working on film sets, Smith was a regular on the Texas rodeo circuit, becoming a member of the Professional Cowboy Riders Association. He was inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2006, the Reel Cowboys’ Silver Spur Award and the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum and Hall of Fame in 2009 for his work in both rodeo and Western cinema. In 2013, he released his memoir “Cowboy Stuntman,” reflecting on his career in both rodeo and in pictures.

“I’d like to be remember as the cowboy who could run, ride and jump with anybody in the world,” Smith told StoryCorps.

Smith is survived by his wife Debby and his son, Finis.

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