Quick Flicks

David was born in Los Angeles. In grammar school he wrote poems and stories, participated in stage shows, sang in the chorus, and played in the orchestra. He served in the United States Air Force for four years. After his honorable discharge, he played and sang with bands, and later on acted and sang in Broadway musicals. Those experiences led him into a pop recording career. He sang and wrote many of his own songs, as well as songs for others. He penned his first novel at age 21, and then began to write for television. When he was offered acting parts, The Screen Actor's Guild told him that they already had a David Russell, and that he would be required to choose another name. He chose Hagen Smith, an old family name on his grandmother's side. David became well-known as Hagen Smith in many shows appearing in Combat, Daniel Boone, Rifleman, The Doris Day Show, Stage 67, The Boston Strangler, and many films. Later in his acting career the studios changed his name again, this time to Brad Stewart for starring roles in Starsky and Hutch, The Legend of Frank Woods, and White Justice. Through all this he continued to write novels and screenplays using his birth name, David Allen Russell.