Kurtwood Smith was born in 1943 and grew up in New Lisbon, Wisconsin. He made appearances in various television shows and movies in the early 1980s including a guest appearance on The A-Team in 1984, Newhart in 1986 and 21 Jump Street in 1987. He had a role in the film Flashpoint in 1984 and starred as the main villain in RoboCop in 1987. In 1988 he appeared in Rambo III, and in 1989 he was in Dead Poets Society as the strict father to Robert Sean Leonards character. In 1991 he landed a role in Company Business as well as Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Smith had a recurring role on Big Wave Daves in 1993, and in 1993 began voice acting for the childrens show Eek! the Cat. Smith landed a main role on That 70s Show in 1998, remaining for all 8 seasons of the show. Following That 70s Show, he guest stars and voice acts on various shows, including Worst Week in 2008, a main recurring role on 24 in 2009, a short animated film All In The Bunker in which Smith voices Adolf Hitler (also in 2009), and the animated series Neighbors from Hell in 2010. He also appears in the film Hitchcock in 2013.