Obituary

Kevin Smith (II)
Nickname: Smithy

Date of birth (location): March 16, 1963,; Auckland, New Zealand
Date of death: February 15, 2002,; Beijing, China. (Injury due to a fall on the set)

Family: Parent: father, Geoff; mother, Yvonne; Wife: Suzanne (1986 - his death 2002); Son: Oscar, Tyrone, and Hillard

Kevin Smith died on February 15, 2002 in a Beijing hospital from head injuries after falling three storeys from a tower on February 6, 2002. The 38 year old New Zealand actor passed away in his sleep.

Smith on February 6, 2002 had completed his last day of working on the set of movie Warriors of Virtue II. He had drank a couple of beers and ate dinner. While wait for a ride back to his hotel, he walked around the Central China Television film studio in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China. He climbed the tower of castle prop and fell to the castle prop base with head injuries.

Smith was sent to a local hospital and transfer to Beijing in the early hours of February 6. He went into a coma and never regain consciousness.

Smith wife, Suzanne; father, Geoff; mother, Yvonne; and brother in law were with him at the hospital.

Kevin and his wife Sue had make their home in Auckland, New Zealand and are the proud parents of three boys Oscar, 11; Tyrone, 9; and Willard, 3.

Smith was best known for his role as the god Ares on the television series "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys", "Xena: Warrior Princess", and "Young Hercules". Smith on "Hercules" and "Xena" worked with Kevin Sorbo who was Hercules, and Micheal Hurst who was Iolaus, and Lucy Lawless who was Xena.

Anthony Quinn, who had the role of Zeus before Smith was an actor on Hercules and Xena, played the same character in as Smith in a play. Both Smith and Quinn had the role of Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee William's play "Streetcar Named Desire". Quinn had the role of Kowalski before Smith was born.

One reason Smith eagerly accepted movie role in China that it gave him an oppportunity to learn from the stunman who had worked on the movie, "Crouching Tiger: Hidden Dragon".

His next movie role would had been Bruce Willis action film Man of War with filming locations in Hawaii. Smith was going to enter a Navy SEALS boot camp to prepare for his role. The movie could had been his big break in a Hollywood blockbuster.

Actor and director Micheal Hurst was the coordinator of a public memorial to Kevin Smith at Aotea Centre, Aucland, New Zealand on February 28, 2002 with tributes and performances by Lucy Lawless, Kevin Sorbo, Craig Parker, Oliver Drver, Mark Ferguson, Jennifer Ward-Lealand, Simon Prast and members from New Zealand's theatre community. The Aotea centre opened at 3:30 pm for the 4 pm event. The public was welcome to attend. The memorial had more than 1000 mourner.

Public relation agent Bridge de Launay banned News photographer at the memorial but it was film for television

He was born on March 16, 1963 in Auckland, North Island, New Zealand and spent his early childhood in Auckland. When he was 11 year old his, his family moved to the small rural town of Timaru in South Island, New Zealand.

Smith started playing in rock and roll bands during high school. He had no ambition to become an actor. He passionately loved playing rugby and he dreamed to become a member of New Zealand's world famous rugby team, 'All Black'.

Smith at 17 years moved to Christchurch South Island, New Zealand and worked at various jobs before enrolling in Canterbury University at the age of 20.

Smith married his high school sweetheart, Sue in 1986.

Sue help Smith to fall into acting by accident. Smith suffered a concussion while playing college rugby in 1987 and forced sitting on the sideline for almost three weeks. It was his third rugby concussion and he feared becoming mentally impaired. Sue saw a casting call advertisement for the touring musical tribute Elvis Presley, 'Are You Lonesome Tonight'. Sue signed up Kevin for an audition. He got the role of bodyguard JoJoe and was the lead understudy. Smith had done Elvis impersonation at parties before ever considering acting as career helped him get the role. The musical closed in 6 weeks.

Kevin for the next three years was the new young leading man for Christchurch's Court Theatre. His stage titles include "Three Musketeers", 'Let's Do It", "Arsenic and Old Lace", "Much Ado About Nothing" as Don Pedro, "A Street Car Named Desired" as Stanley Kowalski, "After the Crash", "The Boys From Syracuse", "Philadelphia Story", "Bright Birds", "Lettice and Lovage", "Blood Brothers", and "Europe". Kevin was also on stage in Auckland, New Zealand at Watershed Theatre, Mercury Theatre, Co-op Theatre, and Herald Theatre.

He has played in a number of New Zealand's alternative rock bands in and he was until his death one of the lead singers of The Wide Lapels, a local band which has earned rave reviews and a devoted following for campy performances of the worst songs of the '70s -- songs like Take a Letter, Maria, Tell Laura I Love Her and Billy, Don't be a Hero -- which qualify for the group's repertoire on the basis of having bad lyrics that don't get better with time.

During the 1989 season of New Zealand hit primetime soap opera Gloss , Kevin had the role of the handsome scoundrel Damian Vermeer.

Kevin had the role of Paul Cosic during the last two seasons of the primetime drama Marlin Bay from 1994 to 1995. He won for his role on Marlin Bay the 1995 New Zealand Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Filmography as: Actor, Notable TV guest appearances
Actor - filmography (2000s) (1990s) (1980s): Lawless 3: Beyond Justice (2001) (TV) .... John Lawless; Happy Birthday 2 You (2000) (TV) (archive footage) .... Himself; Lawless 2: Dead Evidence (2000) (TV) .... John Lawless; Jubilee (2000) .... Max Seddon; Channelling Baby (1999) .... Geoff DeSilva; Lawless (1999) (TV) .... John Lawless; "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" (1998) TV Series; "Young Hercules" (1998/II) TV Series .... Ares; Flatmates (1998) (TV); Young Hercules (1998/I) (V) .... Ares/Pellas; Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus (1998) (V) (voice) .... Ares; "City Life" (1996) TV Series; McLeod's Daughters (1995) (TV) .... Rod Morgan; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) TV Series .... Ares, God of War; "Heartland" (1994) (mini) TV Series .... Shorty Carmichael ... aka "Burned Bridge" (1994) (mini) (Australia); Desperate Remedies (1993) .... Lawrence Hayes; "Away Laughing" (1991) TV Series .... Various Characters; Mon Desir (1991); "Gloss" (1987) TV Series prime time soap opera ... Demian Vermeer
Filmography as: Actor, Notable TV guest appearances
Notable TV guest appearances: "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Be Deviled" (episode # 601) 9/27/1999; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Revelations" (episode # 522) 5/17/1999; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Fade Out" (episode # 520) 5/3/1999; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Stranger And Stranger" (episode # 513) 2/1/1999; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Redemption" (episode # 511) 1/23/1999; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Jerry Patrick Brown, Head Writer" in episode: "For Those of You Just Joining Us..." (episode # 509) 1/9/1999; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Reunions" (episode # 422) 5/11/1998; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Iphicles" in episode: "War Wounds" (episode # 419) 4/20/1998; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "One Fowl Day" (episode # 417) 4/4/1998; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Porkules" (episode # 416) 3/16/1998; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Jerry Patrick Brown, Head Writer/Ares" in episode: "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Hercules" (episode # 415) 2/23/1998; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Armageddon Now: Part 2" (episode # 414) 2/16/1998; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Armageddon Now: Part 1" (episode # 413) 2/9/1998; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Hercules on Trial" (episode # 410) 1/19/1998; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Two Men and a Baby" (episode # 406) 11/3/1997; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Stranger In A Strange World" (episode # 405) 10/27/1997; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "End of the Beginning, The" (episode # 319) 4/21/1997; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "When a Man Loves a Woman" (episode # 314) 2/17/1997; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Judgement Day" (episode # 315) 2/17/1997; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Encounter" (episode # 313) 2/10/1997; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Iphicles" in episode: "Surprise" (episode # 312) 2/3/1997; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Iphicles" in episode: "Wedding of Alcmene, The" (episode # 221) 4/29/1996; "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995) playing "Iphicles" in episode: "What's in a Name?" (episode # 203) 9/25/1995; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares, God of War" in episode: "Soul Possession" (episode # 620) 6/4/2001; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Path of Venegeance" (episode # 614) 2/12/2001; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "You Are There" (episode # 613) 2/5/2001; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "God You Know, The" (episode # 612) 1/29/2001; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Old Ares Had a Farm" (episode # 610) 1/15/2001; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Coming Home" (episode # 601) 10/2/2000; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Motherhood" (episode # 522) 5/15/2000; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Eve" (episode # 521) 5/8/2000; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Livia" (episode # 520) 5/1/2000; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Looking Death in the Eye" (episode # 519) 4/24/2000; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Amphipolis Under Siege" (episode # 514) 2/19/2000; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Eternal Bonds" (episode # 513) 2/12/2000; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "God Fearing Child" (episode # 512) 2/5/2000; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Seeds of Faith" (episode # 509) 1/10/2000; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Succession" (episode # 503) 10/11/1999; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Chakram" (episode # 502) 10/4/1999; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Deja Vu All Over Again" (episode # 422) 5/17/1999; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Sacrifice: Part 2" (episode # 322) 5/19/1998; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Sacrifice: Part 1" (episode # 321) 5/10/1998; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Forget Me Not" (episode # 317) 3/8/1998; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Bitter Suite, The" (episode # 312) 2/2/1998; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Quill Is Mightier..., The" (episode # 310) 1/19/1998; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Deliverer, The" (episode # 304) 10/20/1997; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Dirty Half Dozen, The" (episode # 303) 10/13/1997; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Furies, The" (episode # 301) 9/29/1997; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Xena Scrolls, The" (episode # 210) 1/13/1997; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Ten Little Warlords" (episode # 208) 11/18/1996; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Ties That Bind" (episode # 120) 4/29/1996; "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) playing "Ares" in episode: "Reckoning, The" (episode # 106) 10/16/1995; "Young Hercules" (1998/II) playing "Timor" in episode: "Con Ares" (episode # 135) 2/1/1999; "Young Hercules" (1998/II) playing "Bacchus" in episode: "Lyre, Liar" (episode # 119) 11/3/1998; "Young Hercules" (1998/II) playing "Bacchus" in episode: "Fame" (episode # 1.18) 10/31/1998; "Young Hercules" (1998/II) playing "Bacchus" in episode: "Lure Of The Lyre, The" (episode # 117) 10/30/1998; "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" (1998) 1998; "F/X: The Series" (1996) playing "Ricky Delacruz" in episode: "Vigilantes" (episode # 213) 2/9/1998; "Adventures of Sinbad, The" (1996) playing "Warrior" in episode: "Sacrifice, The" (episode # 201) 9/22/1997; "City Life" (1996) playing "Damon South"(episode # 101) 1996

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