Often seen as THAT military actor, Tucker Smallwood can actually say he has been there and done it. With many years of military life under his belt – including Vietnam, he became an actor, writer, singer and guitar player. The man is the real deal and has delivered some amazing performances and saved many a series or movie by bringing his instant credibility to the cinematic front-line! A true hero of cult!
Tucker Smallwood was born in Washington, D.C. on 22nd February 1944. From 1967 to 1970 he served in the United States Army Airborne Infantry. Commanding a Mobile Advisory Team during the Vietnam War, he was wounded in action. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
After recovering from the injuries, Smallwood moved to New York City where he studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse and established a career as a performer in Broadway productions, films and television.
His returned to his war experiences decades later – this time as a writer – Return To Eden was the final result – an eanthology of 33 personal essays describing his tour of duty in Vietnam, his life as performer and his return to Vietnam in 2004. Some of these essays previously appeared in magazines. In 2006, the mp3 version of Return to Eden was first runner-up in the audio/spoken word category at the Fifth Annual DIY Book Festival, which celebrates independent authors and publishers.
As an actor he made his first appearance on television in 1976 on Somerset, in the role of Sgt. Frank Evans. Further roles followed in Jabberwocky, Contract on Cherry Street, Guiding Light, For Ladies Only, and in As The World Turns.
In 1984, Smallwood appeared as Kid Griffin in the hit movie The Cotton Club. This was followed up the following year with an appearance in the cult movie Turk 182!
Further big screen appearances include Contact, Deep Impact, Larry David’s Sour Grapes, Traffic, Quigley, Spectres, Pixels, Evan Almighty, The One, Panic, False Prophets, Hoods of Horror, Flight of the Living Dead, and Black Dynamite.
On television, he has been a regular and made guest appearances on many series, including Space: Above and Beyond, Millennium, Babylon 5, The X-Files, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Friends, The Sarah Silverman Program, Malcolm in the Middle, Level 9, Send Me: An Original Web Series, Modern Family, Suspense, The First Family, My Name Is Earl, The Invisible Man, The Others, As Darkness Falls, and Malcolm & Eddie.
As well as acting Smallwood is a gifted singer and guitar player. This was shown several times during his role as Commodore Ross in Space: Above and Beyond, as Commodore Ross. His character on Millennium sang Seasons in the Sun to victims before euthanizing them. Away from film and TV, Smallwood is the vocalist in the blues band Incarnation with guitarist Arlen Roth. Their self-titled first album, produced in 1994 at Clark Dimond’s Dimond Studio in Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains, is a tribute to the music of Delta Blues King Robert Johnson with 15 tracks written by or associated with Johnson.
More Stories
Conrad Veidt: The Enigmatic Master of Horror on Screen
Walter R. Booth: The Illusionist who Shaped Cinematic Wonders
Georges Méliès: The Alchemist of Light