[2] He was invited to view the launch of Apollo 17 in 1972 from the VIP area at the Kennedy Space Center.

He amused reporters with his skeptical comments, asserting that "th' ain't nobody goin' t' no moon.

[1] The first film, "Charlie Smith at 131" (30 minutes) was made 1973 and directed by Michael Rabiger for the BBC "Yesterday's Witness" series.

[citation needed] Smith's "life story" (which he took great delight in relating to interviewers and visitors) was dramatized on film in 1978 in a 90-minute episode of the PBS television series Visions titled "Charlie Smith and the Fritter Tree."

Tricked into slavery, he later escapes, joins the Union army and, after the war, heads out west where he chases Billy the Kid and rides with Jesse James.