Trivia

Suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) in later years.

Won critical praise and earned a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of a disgraced Richard Nixon in The Final Days (1989). Ardent supporters of Nixon thought that the TV docudrama was a smear campaign, while his worst critics thought that it was far too sympathetic.

He was survived by his wife, Debbie; a 19-year-old stepson; a son from a previous marriage, Lane Smith Jr.; a brother, and a sister.

Father of actor Lane Smith Jr..

Appeared in two films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Network : Main basse sur la TV (1976) and Les saisons du coeur (1984).

Studied drama for two years at what is now named Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh but dropped out for a two-year hitch with the Army.

An alumnus of the Actors Studio, he appeared on the stage in such plays as the original production of David Mamet's play, "Glengarry Glen Ross", and in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

He guest starred in Claire (1975) ("The Rockford Files", S1 E17), which also featured Jackie Cooper. Both Cooper and Smith later played the "Superman" character Perry White, the editor of the Daily Planet: Cooper in Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983) and Superman IV (1987) and Smith in Lois & Clark : Les nouvelles aventures de Superman (1993).

Earned a Drama Desk Award for his role in the Broadway play "Glengarry Glen Ross" in 1984.

He has two roles in common with Frank Langella: (1) Smith played US President Richard Nixon in The Final Days (1989) while Langella played him in Frost/Nixon, l'heure de vérité (2008) and (2) Smith played Perry White in Lois & Clark : Les nouvelles aventures de Superman (1993) while Langella played him in Superman Returns (2006).

Lane Smith attended High School at a boarding school known as "The Leelanau School," A small, Beach front Co-Ed College Prep School located near Glen Arbor, MI, (AW small rural town in Northwest Michigan, approximately 30 miles West of Traverse City Michigan and approximately 255 miles Northwest of Detroit, MI.

Had the distinction of playing two Mayors that openly collaborated with invading enemy forces in the movie L'Aube rouge (1984) and the television series V (1984). Furthermore, both characters shared the surname, "Bates".