# Jimmy Smith Dead!



## Phatsupratt

I read old man Jimmy passed away yesterday. Anyone know what happened?


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## axeman73

well you beat me to the punch in the tread no I have not heard what happened I just wonder if he spazed out & has a coronary or something


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## luvatenor

*Jimmy Smith's death*



Phatsupratt said:


> I read old man Jimmy passed away yesterday. Anyone know what happened?



I am curious as to where you read this. Certainly there would be some article if it were true or is it another Ax-Men publicity stunt.


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## MRNDAD

He died of cancer


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## MRNDAD

We are extremely saddened to report that our friend and beloved member of the Ax Men family, Jimmy Smith, passed away yesterday. All of us at HISTORY and Original Productions, along with our Ax Men team, would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Jimmy. From the first day we met Jimmy, we knew America needed to experience this truly one of a kind character. He will be deeply missed by us all. Please join us in sending your thoughts and prayers to Jimmy’s son, James, and the rest of his family.

Jimmy Smith was born on May 3, 1956, and passed away on November 1, 2012.


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## MRNDAD

Words from Shelby Stanga concerning Jimmy Smith's death.....



Shelby Stanga - Ax Men shared History's photo.

We know how many of you felt about Jimmy Smith and how he was portrayed on the show. But he was a man that lived his life the way he wanted and didn't care what people thought about it. This will not be a place to make negative comments, so keep those to yourselves. Who are we to judge a man by the little snippets of his life on a TV show without knowing the real man. Jimmy lost his long battle with cancer on Thursday, November 1st, 2012. Shelby, Donna and all the gang down here in the swamp, send our condolences to the the Smith family and his friends. May he rest in peace.


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## capetrees

Jimmy "Frank" Smith (1956 - 2012) - Find A Grave Memorial


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## luvatenor

capetrees said:


> Jimmy "Frank" Smith (1956 - 2012) - Find A Grave Memorial



He never showed any pain or discomfort. He obviously was more of a man than we gave him credit for-RIP


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## stihlavarna

I read it on Facebook as I "liked" Axmen and they send out updates

IF James reads this our thoughts are with you.


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## checkthisout

stihlavarna said:


> I read it on Facebook as I "liked" Axmen and they send out updates
> 
> IF James reads this our thoughts are with you.



I'll be surprised if it WASN'T a heart attack. 

He acted the same way I have seen several people who have had heart attacks act. 

That freaking out level of agitation where little things appear to be a matter of life or death. I think it's due to the adrenaline the body is pumping out trying to keep the heart alive.


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## luvatenor

checkthisout said:


> I'll be surprised if it WASN'T a heart attack.
> 
> He acted the same way I have seen several people who have had heart attacks act.
> 
> That freaking out level of agitation where little things appear to be a matter of life or death. I think it's due to the adrenaline the body is pumping out trying to keep the heart alive.



I don't believe that he acted in private life the way he was portrayed for the show. I am sure the producers had the final word, and prompted him to behave as we saw him. If indeed he succumbed to cancer, he never showed it.


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## checkthisout

luvatenor said:


> I don't believe that he acted in private life the way he was portrayed for the show. I am sure the producers had the final word, and prompted him to behave as we saw him. If indeed he succumbed to cancer, he never showed it.



I am definitely taken aback that it was cancer. I wonder what sort of cancer?


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## Gologit

What kind? Doesn't much matter now.


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## bigcat

RIP James...condolences to family and friends.


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## 2dogs

I'm sorry for James. It is terrible to lose one's father. RIP Jimmy.


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## OntheLevel

I believe he served in the Navy? also. God bless him for that too!


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## Sport Faller

I know how damn near everyone who saw him on Axmen felt about him, I did too. However I met him at the 2011 Darby Logger Days and I can say that after meeting him in real life, drinking beer with him, and bull####ting about elk hunting for a while with him he seemed like a reasonable dude


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## Sellseverything

*Rip jimmy*

Jimmy was a good man. 
I know he was shown otherwise on tv at times, but he was honestly a good man.

I had the chance to take him around florida and get his newest boat done in lake city, florida
my aunt nikki douglas was on the show with him and my cousin nick was suppose to be on there as well, but a big falling out happened and he will no longer be on the show i do not believe.

He was a good guy though, and he will be missed by many


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## luvatenor

*Obituary*



Sellseverything said:


> Jimmy was a good man.
> I know he was shown otherwise on tv at times, but he was honestly a good man.
> 
> I had the chance to take him around florida and get his newest boat done in lake city, florida
> my aunt nikki douglas was on the show with him and my cousin nick was suppose to be on there as well, but a big falling out happened and he will no longer be on the show i do not believe.
> 
> He was a good guy though, and he will be missed by many



Blank	Blank	Blank	Blank	Blank	Blank	Blank
James Frank "Jimmy" Smith
Obituary
Guest Book

"JIMMY R.I.P.! Thanks for all.! Your family and friends miss..."
- Willemina Huinink




For those interested I found his obituary in the Roslyn,Wa. newspaper. Viewing is scheduled for today and tomorrow-interesting reading!!

(Axe Men) James Frank "Jimmy" Smith, 56, a resident of Cle Elum and a former resident of Leavenworth and North Bend, died Thursday November 01, 2012 in Wenatchee.

Jimmy was born on May 03, 1956 to James H. and Leah (Wilson) Smith in Leavenworth. Jimmy spent his early life in Leavenworth and later North Bend where he attended school. He enlisted in the United States Army and after being discharged he returned to North Bend and married Sandra Jackson; Jimmy moved to Farmington, Washington and attended Big Bend Community College. He later moved back to North Bend and later to Cle Elum where he worked as a carpenter until starting S&S Aqua Logging with son James L. Smith. Jimmy was very proud of the fact that for the last five years they were featured on the History Channels TV series "Axe Men".

Jimmy loved hunting, fishing, his dogs, his family and "Axe Men" Logging. He was an avid outdoorsman and was well prepared for the future.

He is survived by his mother, Leah Smith (Ken Buzard) of Wenatchee; his sons, Chad Smith of Seattle and James Smith of Michigan; brother, rob Smith of Leavenworth and sisters, Sylvia Adams-Lance (Mark), Gloria Smith-Williams both of Leavenworth and Rebecca Forsyth (Brian) of Everett; his good friends who helped take care of him, Ken Morgan, Tim Skagen, Scott Burke and Larry Wade and many aunts, uncles nieces, nephews and cousins. Jimmy was preceded in death by his father, James H. Smith; daughter, Katherine Marie Smith and his grandparents, Dud and Viola Wilson and R.R. and Bessie Smith.

A Memorial service of Commemoration to celebrate the life of James Frank "Jimmy" Smith will be held on Saturday November 17, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at Mt. View Cemetery on Icicle Road in Leavenworth. Visitation will be held on November 12th and 13th at Ward's Funeral Chapel, 303 Pine Street, Leavenworth from 1 to 6 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made in Jimmy's name to "Our House" Cancer Care of North Central Washington at 1708 Castle Rock Street, Wenatchee, WA. 98801 or your local Humane Society.

Ward's Funeral Chapel, Leavenworth is in charge of the arrangements


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## Husky77

very sad to read this, we are behind here in the UK and only just heard this.
how he didnt pop a blood vessel I dont know but that could just be for the show


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## GM-GUY

Just goes to show that the media can portray anyone as anything and they'll make it believable.

RIP - sad when anyone goes, doubly so with cancer.


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## innaminnit

...Truly was his own man. His antics on the series helped it become why we watched...


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## Youngbuck20

"Fractured my skull once but that wasnt from loggin, that was from kickin a bull in the nuts" - Jimmy. RIP


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## jropo

There are currently 3867 users browsing this thread. (5 members and 3862 guests)

WOW!

RIP Jimmy


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## sawbones

Sport Faller said:


> I know how damn near everyone who saw him on Axmen felt about him, I did too. However I met him at the 2011 Darby Logger Days and I can say that after meeting him in real life, drinking beer with him, and bull####ting about elk hunting for a while with him he seemed like a reasonable dude






My freind Bill Pellham said he met Jimmy at the Darby show in 2010 . At our local Shindig logging show here in Sultan Wa July of 2011 Jimmy dropped in by suprise to watch Bill and Natalie run the V8 hotsaws. Sultan is only an hour west of his hometown Levenworth.


He hung out all day and later in the day I got to sit down with him and chat for about 45 minutes . I had never seen an episode of axmen and had never heard of Jimmy till he mentioned the Underwater logging lawsuit going on in Aberdeen.

The lawsuit used to pop up on the local news so I knew a little about what was going on but didnt know it was still pending.

Having never seen the show I asked him what he did on it and he told me about their operation.

He told me he had a bad reputation because of the antics he used but for the most part just did what he was directed to do.

He said regardless of what the show portrays he had a great relationship with James and that his favorite times were to
take his son to the nightclubs and watch the girls flirt with him. :wink2:




Big Bill and Jimmy holding the Disston DA 211 photo op. 2011 Sultan Shindig.

p.s. Big Bill ran log loader for Rygard for a while but managed to stay off the screen.







Jimmy standing near the hotsaw trailer.







Lots of vids of the Hotsaw action on my channel. ric aka mrbigsaw mrbigsaw's channel - YouTube


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## Darin

jropo said:


> There are currently 3867 users browsing this thread. (5 members and 3862 guests)
> 
> WOW!
> 
> RIP Jimmy


http://www.history.com/shows/ax-men/episodes

It's because the news premiered tonight and we are #1 for the search "Jimmy Smith Axmen". Set some records that may never be broken.


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## Rockford

It is a shame that History has to make him out to be such an A hole.
Ive never met the man, but from all accounts on here he was a respectable man.
The bad part is even after his death the show probably wont do anything to show him as he really was.


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## Bronzebird

*RIP Jimmy and say hi to my Dad.*

I just watched the episoid where his son James was made 2nd Captin and Jimmy walked away from a confrontation with James. He had lost a lot of weight and was undergoing chemo. Did not realize he lost the battle until today. 

Prayers to the family.

James you are now 1st Captin as it should be...


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## bigcat

Just caught the first episode, Jimmy looked like hell he went down hill fast.


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## sb47

I haven’t watched the show for a year or more because I quit paying for cable.
I could never understand why he was so angry all the time. It looks like the man never figured out how to let the little stuff go and enjoy life.
I feel so bad for his son having to put up with his fathers nonsense. 
I can only hope that Jimmy finally finds peace in the afterlife.


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## chainsawdad

*R.I.P Jimmy*



MRNDAD said:


> We are extremely saddened to report that our friend and beloved member of the Ax Men family, Jimmy Smith, passed away yesterday. All of us at HISTORY and Original Productions, along with our Ax Men team, would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Jimmy. From the first day we met Jimmy, we knew America needed to experience this truly one of a kind character. He will be deeply missed by us all. Please join us in sending your thoughts and prayers to Jimmy’s son, James, and the rest of his family.
> 
> Jimmy Smith was born on May 3, 1956, and passed away on November 1, 2012.



We will all miss you sad to hear goodbye jimmy.


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## axeman73

I saw him on axmen he didn't look the same the cancer took him real fast


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## old grizzly

*Jimmy Smith*



Phatsupratt said:


> I read old man Jimmy passed away yesterday. Anyone know what happened?



Jimmy died of cancer.


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## old grizzly

*Jimmy Smith*

Its sad about Jimmy passing away,he seemed quite a character.Watching him and his son arguing reminded me of the time I worked with my late Father.I never could do anything right for him and we always argued.In fact he was the worst boss I have ever worked for.:msp_mad:


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## luvatenor

old grizzly said:


> Its sad about Jimmy passing away,he seemed quite a character.Watching him and his son arguing reminded me of the time I worked with my late Father.I never could do anything right for him and we always argued.In fact he was the worst boss I have ever worked for.:msp_mad:



I sincerely doubt that they acted that way in every day life. They acted the way the producers told them to. Someone had written in one of the forums that the main characters(Gabe, Craig, Jimmy, ect.) were paid thousands of dollars per episode-Not bad for someone who might not be able to make a decent living in the depressed logging market.


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## dooby

*awwwwww!*

I myself am not a fan of Axgirls. I had a dad who who behaved that way all of my youth. Jimmy's kid is going through the crap for sure. As soon as you notice some talent they pull some b.s. pre-planned skit. Cant seem to get through a full episode and that is after the commercials have been dubbed. I want to believe he died with regret, accepting that big corp. money to broadcast the portrayal of "reality logging". And while i am at it , maybe the Brownings could use that money for some new equipment and anger management. The history channel should rename it. Its not doing the timber industry any favors. He is dead, so what!!!!!!!!Now his son can have chance to grow his spine out.


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## bootboy

I always hated Jimmy on the show, but I saw a recent episode that showed Jimmy obviously in poor health. Last year, I watched my dad suffer a series of debilitating strokes. My dad was a strong, active, and robust 170lb guy. The night he died he weighed 108 lbs.
While my father was pretty much the opposite of Jimmy, the epitome of kindness, wisdom, temperance; Seeing jimmy go through a similar struggle made me empathize a little bit. Say what you will about the show,
I don't watch it with any sort of regularity anymore, but it's just a reminder that life is precious and you never know when it can be taken from you.


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## Zeus103363

Very shocked! Seems last time I saw the show Jimmy has a staph infection or something......RIP Jimmy!


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## luvatenor

Zeus103363 said:


> Very shocked! Seems last time I saw the show Jimmy has a staph infection or something......RIP Jimmy!



That 'something' turned out to be cancer of the gall bladder,I believe.


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## MANORMAN

Very sad to hear. RIP


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## arrius

*Very sorry to learn of this*

I am a bit late to this thread, unfortunately in the real world I tend to work way to much. I signed up for this sight solely to express my sympathies to James Jr. on his loss. Many would not fully understand that relationship but I can assure you regardless of how things may have appeared , their was love there as well as respect. Many would say no way but I assure you all it was there in their own special and unique way. I know this without doubt.

I grew up the youngest of four brothers and am now 49 years old. Our father was a commercial drywall contractor and tough as nails. It would be accurate and suffice to say that God never put anything on this earth that he feared and I mean anything. As my brothers and I grew up working for him was a requirement as long as we still lived at home. Need I say the word commercial generally equals heavy duty drywall. We very often worked with 12 foot long 5/8" firecode drywall board . For those who have never lifted it , should try it sometime .Very often when we lifted it , we were doing so to cathedral ceilings at times 50 feet from the floor. Doing that all day long while holding your end with one hand as you nail it or screw it with the other hand is no picnic. At the days end, 200 or more sheets of that and your tired to say the least.

In my young rebellious years I recall many times where I walked off the jobs. Though my father employeed many men at one time, his sons were the ones he focused on and expected the most out of. He felt that we should set the bar, the example for all the others. At that time I disagreed figuring why should I have to work harder than everyone else simply because my father owns the company. Now that I look back though he was 100% right in his thinking. I needed to work harder and did eventually, to set that example for all the other guys. In hindsight, if the others were to see his own sons lowering the bar rather than raising it what reason would they have to respect him?

Jimmy and James were in that very same relationship.His father simply wanted him to succeed and set that bar high so that he could take pride in the Son he had. James though like I and my brothers felt that we were being treated unfairly by an overbearing father . Bottom line is though I am certain James will tell you , at the days end when the cameras were off , tv crew gone, they were a father and son simple as that. It was the same in my case , once the day was done , all the other workers gone, he was my father and I respected and admired him. No matter how many time I walked off of a job site, at days end he always knew that I would be back and I always knew I was going back. Though it may look much worse to outsiders their is a method there that works and it works very well.

When my own father died, he left me with a ton of wonderful memories. The work we did was hard to say the least lol would kill many healthy people. In the end though I looked back and regardless of how hard the work was I was and am so very glad that I was a part of that. How many kids are lucky enough to work with their fathers. Many kids have fathers who work all the time and are rarely home so their children see them little. I now look back at the many many many days my brothers and I were able to spend with our dad and through thick and thin those days and those memories are truly priceless.

James , you have this now, hold onto it my friend , its a priceless gift that very few will ever have. Bottom line is no matter how often you two argued or disagreed, his memories were of the times you made up. No matter how many times you stormed off, your memories will be of the times you laughed with one another. You spent very valuable time with your Dad and that will form many good memories for you . They will not be the memories that a world saw on tv, they will be the memories that only you and he knew . My sincere sympathies to you and your family on the loss of a great guy .

Randy


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## arrius

*One more things\*

Hey James , IF you find yourself in need of a smile. Close your eyes and picture your dad out there with Captain Phil. Their arguing over the boat venturing out for crabs or will it be logs . Now that would be a boat to be on


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## Gologit

arrius said:


> James , you have this now, hold onto it my friend , its a priceless gift that very few will ever have. Bottom line is no matter how often you two argued or disagreed, his memories were of the times you made up. No matter how many times you stormed off, your memories will be of the times you laughed with one another. You spent very valuable time with your Dad and that will form many good memories for you . They will not be the memories that a world saw on tv, they will be the memories that only you and he knew . My sincere sympathies to you and your family on the loss of a great guy .
> 
> Randy



Or, then again, maybe James' dad really _was_ an evil tempered, judgemental, immature, irresponsible, law breaking ####head who spent his last days stoned to the eyeballs, seeking validation, begging forgiveness, fearing what lay beyond...and the kid is better off without him.


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## 2dogs

Dood, who whizzed in your Cherios? Ya better get back on the ganja.


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## arrius

*Could be ?*



Gologit said:


> Or, then again, maybe James' dad really _was_ an evil tempered, judgemental, immature, irresponsible, law breaking ####head who spent his last days stoned to the eyeballs, seeking validation, begging forgiveness, fearing what lay beyond...and the kid is better off without him.



Who knows and whose to say . Some years ago our Gov took US tax money and they trained me on the fine art of shooting. Go figure , perhaps I was simply not smart enough for another mo. Either way that's where they believed my skill set lay. Funny thing though, when you look at another human life through a scope there is no room for judgement one way or another . Perhaps maybe their families or relatives were better off without them perhaps not. In the split second that it takes judgement as well as many other emotions cannot and do not exist. If those people in your scope were to be judged in that split second it might save their life and that would be unacceptable to those who placed their faith in you. So for whats its worth , what is the value of judgement ? Is it worth that persons life ?, likely not. Does it have any value?, likely not. 

Very nice user logo though, a bit modified but nice. The boots similar, hard hat similar to the helmet. Only element vastly different is the chain saw when compared to yesteryears M16s in my brothers time and todays socom issued scars in my time.


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## Gologit

2dogs said:


> Dood, who whizzed in your Cherios? Ya better get back on the ganja.



No ganja...those days are long gone. 

My statement is just another way of looking at things. When a person dies, regardless of what they were when they were alive, somebody always tries to deify them.

Dying doesn't automatically make somebody into a saint.


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## Gologit

arrius said:


> Who knows and whose to say . Some years ago our Gov took US tax money and they trained me on the fine art of shooting. Go figure , perhaps I was simply not smart enough for another mo. Either way that's where they believed my skill set lay. Funny thing though, when you look at another human life through a scope there is no room for judgement one way or another . Perhaps maybe their families or relatives were better off without them perhaps not. In the split second that it takes judgement as well as many other emotions cannot and do not exist. If those people in your scope were to be judged in that split second it might save their life and that would be unacceptable to those who placed their faith in you. So for whats its worth , what is the value of judgement ? Is it worth that persons life ?, likely not. Does it have any value?, likely not.
> 
> Very nice user logo though, a bit modified but nice. The boots similar, hard hat similar to the helmet. Only element vastly different is the chain saw when compared to yesteryears M16s in my brothers time and todays socom issued scars in my time.



Oh...we're talking about you now? I thought the post was about Jimmy Smith.


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## redprospector

Gologit said:


> No ganja...those days are long gone.
> 
> My statement is just another way of looking at things. *When a person dies, regardless of what they were when they were alive, somebody always tries to deify them.
> 
> Dying doesn't automatically make somebody into a saint*.



My dad used to say that if they were an ass hole when they were living, they're just a dead ass hole when they die. 

Andy


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## Alex D

Gologit said:


> Or, then again, maybe James' dad really _was_ an evil tempered, judgemental, immature, irresponsible, law breaking ####head who spent his last days stoned to the eyeballs, seeking validation, begging forgiveness, fearing what lay beyond...and the kid is better off without him.



Did you actually know the guy though? As browsing through this thread it seems that all the people who actually met him IRL said that he was not like the show portrayed him to be. And quite frankly I believe them as that show loves drama and gimmicks etc... the fact that they selected him to be the village idiot or the show's clown is rather unfortunate and i dont doubt that many of his antics were staged.

That is a rather insensitive comment though i mean ur father would have had to off been a real c%nt for you to be better off without him and i dont really see what led you to this conclusion about Jim Smith. 

Anway thats just my .02.


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## twochains

Alex D said:


> Did you actually know the guy though? As browsing through this thread it seems that all the people who actually met him IRL said that he was not like the show portrayed him to be. And quite frankly I believe them as that show loves drama and gimmicks etc... the fact that they selected him to be the village idiot or the show's clown is rather unfortunate and i dont doubt that many of his antics were staged.
> 
> That is a rather insensitive comment though i mean ur father would have had to off been a real c%nt for you to be better off without him and i dont really see what led you to this conclusion about Jim Smith.
> 
> Anway thats just my .02.



Of course he didn't act like an assho;e in public! Heck Jimmy was prolly getting paid big bucks to be where ever these people said they met him. I'm glad I never saw him anywhere, like a logging convention or chainsaw expo. I prolly would have been like, "Can you even start a chainsaw? How a bout sharpen one??" ...logger my ass! 

You are right about one thing, James would have not been better off w/o him...he has prolly had to have someone hold his hand all through life, with Jimmy being dead, James will prolly have to go to something like a retirement home so someone else can give him constant home care and supervision. Clearly he has no sense to him at all...he is like a little duckling waking up to a new world everyday.


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## luvatenor

twochains said:


> Of course he didn't act like an assho;e in public! Heck Jimmy was prolly getting paid big bucks to be where ever these people said they met him. I'm glad I never saw him anywhere, like a logging convention or chainsaw expo. I prolly would have been like, "Can you even start a chainsaw? How a bout sharpen one??" ...logger my ass!
> 
> You are right about one thing, James would have not been better off w/o him...he has prolly had to have someone hold his hand all through life, with Jimmy being dead, James will prolly have to go to something like a retirement home so someone else can give him constant home care and supervision. Clearly he has no sense to him at all...he is like a little duckling waking up to a new world everyday.



A while ago I posted Jimmy Smith's obituary. Interestingly, if you read it you will see that James
lives in Michigan not Washington or Florida. It is obvious they flew him in to act as he did. I am sure he is doing well in Michigan-curious as to what he does there.


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## 056 kid

Caught a glimpse of the show today. Last time I saw Jim on there he was a half pot bellied dude. Today he looked like he was a few pen strokes away from buying the farm. Sad how people just fall apart
I saw the fat man smack and dent a mirror of a ford too, didn't get to see what that was all about though. How do you stay that fat in the woods anyhow? Go through everyone's noseboxes and stand in the yarder shade all day?


Anyway rip Jimmy.


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