Robert O. Smith
KAHI
Auburn CA; KHOE Tahoe NV; KOWL South Lake Tahoe NV; KLAV Las Vegas NV; KMBY Monterey
CA 1966; KJR Seattle 1967; KSND Seattle; KOL Seattle 1968-71; KTAC Tacoma 1972;
KVI Seattle 1977; KIXI-FM Seattle; CFMI-FM Vancouver early 1980s; CISL
Vancouver; CKMA Abbotsford; voiceovers; animation; world record power lifter.
***
Pictures:
ROS
in studio One,
ROS
with Lan Roberts Two,
Frightening
isn’t he Three,
1966
KMBY chart with art work by ROS Four and
1968
KOL chart with picture of ROS Five
***
Vancouver
Sun March 26 2003
Robert
O. Smith is 60 going on 16, and just might be the strongest near-senior on the
planet.
The
motor-mouthed former DJ and staple of Vancouver TV and radio commercials just
set a world record in his weightlifting class by bench pressing 420 pounds
recently at the Canadian Powerlifting Championships
in
Smith
has won several world titles in the past from organizations with interesting
titles like the World Drug-Free Powerlifting
Association, the World Natural Powerlifting
Federation and the World Association of Bench Press and Dead Lifters.
But
he's pleased as punch with his latest feat, which came at an event sponsored by
the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF).
"This
IPF [win] is my most prestigious world record yet," he said. "It's
the one some people would say is the only legitimate one."
Smith
is something of a 21st Century Renaissance Man. He's strong as an ox, he's
funny as hell and he dabbles in all sorts of stuff, from animation to art and
music. (Many of his creations can be viewed on his Web site,
www.robertosmith.com.)
Walking
into his apartment is a hilarious experience. The first thing you notice is a
giant painting of a female nude on the wall.
But
it isn't just a regular nude painting, it's a 3D nude
painting. He hands you some 3D glasses, and the body parts come alive, growing
to monumental proportions.
Smith
seems larger than life himself. He's a fairly big guy (five foot nine, 275
pounds), and has an irrepressible personality and infectious sense of humour.
His
quick wit was what brought him to
"I
was morning man for a while, then I was night man, then I was the
dishwasher," deadpans Smith, who was born near
"They
wanted a morning man who was somewhat animated, so they listened to me for two
weeks and offered me the job. I always loved
"Then
as soon as I got here they said, 'Ahhh, you didn't
sound that animated down there. Could you be kinda
calmer? Just don't be so far out, please.' I said 'You want me to be like the
guy you just got rid of?' 'Well, kinda.'"
One
of his strengths on radio was his ability to do countless imitations off the
top of his head. He calls himself "the man of eight-seven and
three-quarters voices," and runs through many of them in a half-hour
visit: JFK, James Mason, Michael Yorke, Jerry Lewis,
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Henry Kissinger and Wolfman
Jack.
Wolfman Jack was one of the inspirations for him
adding "O" to his stage name.
"The
reason I use the O is because there are so many famous Robert Smiths," he
explained. "There's Robert Smith of the Cure, although he's not in my
weight class, and there's a guy who I look more like everyday, Wolfman Jack. Wolfman Jack's real
name was Robert Smith."
But
he declines to say what O stands for.
"O
is for Occupant," he states. "I get more mail that way."
He
stayed at CFMI for seven years, and also did a stint at CISL. But his bread and
butter has become voiceovers for cartoons (he did a guy called Grunt in a GI
Joe series, and recently auditioned for the Bluto
part in a new Popeye cartoon) and commercials.
"I'm
the voice of London Drugs," he said.
"I'm
pretty bombastic on the TV ads. You turn the TV off, and you can still hear
it."
His
weightlifting obsession began in his teens. Life intervened, and he put aside
weightlifting until he was in his mid-40s. when he got
into powerlifting.
His
current goal is to get ready for the International Powerlifting
Federation world championship, which will be held this October in
He
hopes to shed some weight over the summer so he doesn't have to compete with
giants.
"I
plan to compete in the 125 kg (275 pound) class, rather than the 125-plus kg
class, which of course is the Too Fat To Be Alive
class," he said.