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Acting

John Smith

Born
Mar 6, 1931 · Aged 63
Died
Jan 25, 1995
Place of birth
Los Angeles, California, USA
Gender
Male
Movie credits
29
TV credits
21
Also known as (1)
  • Robert Errol Van Orden

Biography

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",…