Antony Hamilton

Antony Hamilton
Born	Antony Hamilton Smith (1952-05-04)4 May 1952 Liverpool, England
Died	29 March 1995(1995-03-29) (aged 42) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	AIDS-related pneumonia
Resting place	Ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean
Other names	Anthony Hamilton Tony Hamilton
Citizenship	British Australian
Education	Scotch College Australian Ballet School
Occupation	Actor, model, dancer
Years active	1972–1995

Antony Hamilton "Tony" Smith (4 May 1952 – 29 March 1995), known professionally as Antony Hamilton, was an English-born Australian actor, model, and dancer. Hamilton began his career as a ballet dancer with The Australian Ballet before becoming a model. He later transitioned into acting and won his first notable role in the 1984 television film Samson and Delilah. That same year, he took over the lead role in the series Cover Up after the death of the series' lead actor, Jon-Erik Hexum. One of Hamilton's best known roles was that of Max Harte, an agent in the 1988 revival of Mission: Impossible.

In March 1995, Hamilton died of AIDS-related pneumonia at the age of 42.

Hamilton was born in Liverpool, England and was orphaned when he was two weeks old. He was adopted by Donald Smith and his wife Margaret as a baby and named Antony Hamilton Smith. His adoptive father was a highly decorated Australian Squadron commander who fought in World War II. His adoptive mother was an English nurse. When he was three years old, his father retired to Southern Australia where Hamilton grew up on a 640-acre sheep farm. He attended Scotch College in Adelaide, where dance and ballet were a significant part of the curriculum. As a teenager, he played cricket, basketball and other sports but proved to have a talent for ballet.

At the age of 15, he won a scholarship at the Australian Ballet School. After leaving school, he began a career as a professional dancer with The Australian Ballet Company where he toured Europe and the Soviet Union for two years.

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