William Smithers Dies: ‘Dallas’ & ‘Papillon’ Actor Was 98

William Smithers, the actor known for his roles in Dallas and Papillon, is dead at 98.

On June 15, the Santa Barbara Independent reported that he died on May 26. A cause of death was not revealed.

Smithers was best known for playing Jeremy Wendell in Dallas; he appeared in 50 episodes of the show from 1981 to 1989. Wendell was one of J.R. Ewing’s (Larry Hagman) brilliant nemeses and the chairman of WestStar Oil. The character was written out of Dallas after he was caught on tape discussing an illegal plot, arrested, and then sent to prison.

Ultimately, Smithers said he was “paid very little” and left the prime-time soap over money disputes, per The Hollywood Reporter. “My agent was convinced that they would come to the figure that we asked for,” he said. “But they didn’t. So that ended the whole thing.”

We are sharing the sad news that William Smithers (Jeremy Wendell) has passed away at age 98. Sending thoughts to his loved ones. Here he is in a scene with Victoria in #Dallas S10E24 ‘Some Good, Some Bad’ pic.twitter.com/eJYOhUOR0A

— Victoria Principal Fans (@Principal_Fans) June 15, 2026

Additionally, Smithers played Warden Barott in the 1973 prison-break adventure drama Papillon alongside Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory, Don Gordon, Anthony Zerbe, Robert Deman, Bill Mumy, George Coulouris, Ratna Assan, and others.

Smithers also starred as Captain R.M. Merik in an episode of the original Star Trek, titled “Bread and Circuses,” in 1968. Other notable acting credits included the 1956 film Attack, the 1972 film Trouble Man, the 1973 film Scorpio, the TV series Executive Suite, and more.

In 1951, Smithers made his Broadway debut in Romeo and Juliet. He also appeared in Legend of Lovers, End as a Man, The Square Root of Wonderful, and The Shadow of a Gunman.

Dallas aired for 14 seasons from 1978 to 1991. In addition to Smithers and Hagman, it starred Ken Kercheval, Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray, Barbara Bel Geddes, Steve Kanaly, Howard Keel, Victoria Principal, Charlene Tilton, Susan Howard, Deborah Rennard, Sherril Lynn Rettino, Omri Katz, Priscilla Presley, Deborah Tranell, and more.