Which actor provided the voice of Smaug in the 1977 animated film The Hobbit?

Richard Boone provided the voice of Smaug in the 1977 animated film The Hobbit.

The film was produced by Rankin/Bass and directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr. It adapted Tolkien’s 1937 novel in a television-animation style, with Orson Bean voicing Bilbo Baggins and John Huston voicing Gandalf.

Richard Boone was an American actor known for screen and television roles, including the title role in Have Gun – Will Travel. His deep, authoritative delivery suited Smaug, Tolkien’s calculating dragon who guards the treasure beneath the Lonely Mountain.

The voice is sometimes misattributed to Christopher Lee because Lee played Saruman in later live-action Tolkien films and had a major connection with the franchise. The 1977 animated production had a separate cast and predates those films by decades.