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Charles Martin Smith is an American film actor, writer, and director. He is known for his roles in American Graffiti, Never Cry Wolf, Starman, and The Untouchables. Smith was born in Van Nuys, California. His father, Frank Smith, was a film cartoonist and animator, while his uncle Paul J. Smith... was an animator as well as a director for the Walter Lantz Studios. Smith spent three years of his youth in Paris where his father managed the English-language branch of a French animation studio. He received his high school diploma from Grover Cleveland High School, Reseda, California. He attended California State University, Northridge and was awarded a B.A. in Theatre. Smith was discovered by a talent agent while acting in a school play, Man of La Mancha. After a few years of working in film and television, he landed the role of Terry "The Toad" Fields in George Lucas's 1973 film American Graffiti, a role he would reprise in the film's 1979 sequel, More American Graffiti. In 1974 he starred with Ron Howard again in The Spikes Gang, filmed in Spain, along with Lee Marvin and Gary Grimes; and in 1978 he earned a starring role in Cotton Candy, directed by Ron Howard.
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