The athletically gifted 6' 7" Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith played defensive end /defensive tackle for the National Football League's Baltimore Colts (1967-1971), Oakland Raiders (1973-1974), and Houston Oilers (1975-1976). After the conclusion of his football career, Smith moved into a TV & film career, with initial guest appearances on prime time TV shows including "Wonder Woman", "Charlies Angels" and "Eight is Enough".

Smith is best known to international film audiences as the softly spoken police officer "Moses Hightower" from the "Police Academy" series of comedies, in which he has appeared in all but one of the numerous sequels.