Born in born in Breckenridge, Texas, Smith had placed fourth in the Olympic 100m final before winning the relay as part of the United States team that had Harrison Dillard, Lindy Remigino and Andy Stanfield.

His athletics career shifted to American football later, where he represented Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers after graduating from the University of Texas.

Smith has appeared in over 100 movies and Texas roots meant he was a regular at John Wayne Westerns.

He was inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2006 and was also part of the Hollywood Stuntman's Hall of Fame.

Smith has worked in several Oscar-winning Western films, including True Grit, How the West Was Won, The Quick and the Dead, El Dorado and Rio Lobo.

He has also collaborated with famed film maker John Ford and was a stuntman for television series like Tales of Wells Fargo, Maverick, Gunsmoke, Law Man, Have Gun Will Travel and Chuck Norris' Walker, Texas Ranger.

He was a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and was inducted into National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum and Hall of Fame in 2009.

Other awards and recognitions for Smith include the All American Cowboy award in 1997, the Golden Boot Award in 1998 and the Silver Spur award in 2007.

According to a Story Corps interview from 2014, Smith wanted to be remembered as a "cowboy".

"I would like to be remembered as the cowboy that could ride, run and jump with anybody in the world," he said.

"I’d like to do it again.

"That’s what I’d like."