William Smithers (born 10 July 1927 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American actor, perhaps best known for his recurring role in the television series Dallas as Jeremy Wendell. He appeared in the series in 1981 and from 1984 to 1989. He attended Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

After his freshman year, he was chosen to play the leading role of Thomas Jefferson in the first production of Paul Green's The Common Glory, presented at Williamsburg, VA. NY Times critic Brooks Atkinson called him "worth encouraging."

In 1951, he made his Broadway debut as Tybalt in the Dwight Deere Wiman production of Romeo and Juliet, starring Olivia de Havilland; for this performance he received a Theater World Award. In 1952 he was accepted as a Lifetime Member of the Actors Studio. In 1957 he received an Obie Award for his portrayal of Treplev in Anton Chekhov's The Sea Gull.

His other Broadway plays included Anouilh's Legend of Lovers, Calder Willingham's End As A Man, (begun as a project at the Actors Studio), Carson McCullers's The Square Root of Wonderful and Terence Rattigan's Man and Boy (performed in London and New York). Off-Broadway, he played leading roles in Frank Gilroy's Who'll Save the Plowboy? (Obie Award, Best Drama), Willingham's End As A Man (before the production went to Broadway), Sean O'Casey's Shadow of a Gunman (also begun as a Studio project) and George Bellak's The Troublemakers.

In 1965 he moved to Los Angeles to do the recurring role of David Schuster in the TV series "Peyton Place." He has guest-starred or appeared in nearly 400 television productions and in six feature films, most notably "Attack!" (Lt. Woodruff) and "Papillon" (Warden Barrot).

As the plaintiff in "Smithers vs. MGM," despite being threatened with blacklisting should he pursue the matter, he sued a multi-million-dollar corporation to protect his contractual rights with regard to star billing in the 1976 TV series "Executive Suite." In so doing, he won a case that was appealed all the way to the California Supreme Court. Now taught in entertainment law courses, this case established in law that star billing has monetary value.

He now lives in Santa Barbara, CA with his wife, acting teacher Lorrie Hull Smithers (author of Strasberg's Method: As Taught by Lorrie Hull, and with him co-producer of the training DVD The Method). From 2003-2005, he created, produced and directed the Santa Barbara Theatre of the Air for KCSB radio, broadcasting works of classic and contemporary playwrights.

Although character actor William (or Bill) Smithers is not recognizable perhaps by name, the face is definitely familiar especially to baby boomer TV fans. A smart, articulate, well-groomed actor with noticeably premature gray hair, Smithers is probably best remembered for his on-again, off-again role as arch-villain Jeremy Wendell who frequently crossed paths with J.R. Ewing on "Dallas" (1978) from 1981-1985. Avid Trekkies will also remember his role as Capt. Merrick in the original "Star Trek" (1966) series. Born in Richmond, Virginia, on July 10, 1927, Smithers received his initial break on stage, making his Broadway debut and winning a Theatre World Award for his performance as Tybalt in "Romeo and Juliet" in 1951. Olivia de Havilland, who played Juliet, also made her Broadway bow in that production. The following year Smithers joined the Actors Studio and became a major exponent of Lee Strasberg's "Method" style of acting. He continued to win acclaim on the stage, earning an Obie award in 1957 for Best Actor for his portrayal of Treplev in the off-Broadway production of "The Sea Gull". He made a successful feature film debut in 1956 as a harried infantry officer in Robert Aldrich's acclaimed war drama Attack (1956), but would make only a handful of large-screen appearances after that, including Trouble Man (1972), Papillon (1973), Scorpio (1973) and Deathsport (1978). Television, of course, was a different story. Smithers has appeared or guest-starred in nearly 400 programs in his nearly five-decade-long career. Often called to play serious-minded executives and other such authority figures, he had a real penchant for playing oily villains. You could find his unscrupulous, cold-hearted white collars on any given 1960s or 1970s crime series - "Mission: Impossible" (1966), "F.B.I., The" (1965), "Mannix" (1967), "Mod Squad, The" (1968), "Name of the Game, The" (1968) and "Barnaby Jones" (1973), to name a few. Less seen since the early 1990s, he is also known for his acting seminars at colleges and universities. Smithers instructs alongside his second wife, noted acting teacher S. Loraine Hull.