Terry Carter's acting career started in 1952 with a leading role in Edward Chodorov's Decision, at the Greenwich Mews Theatre in Greenwich Village. He would star in several Broadway plays like Mrs. Patterson, Finian's Rainbow and the tile role in Richard Adler's Kwamina. In 1955, Terry joined the cast of The Story of Ruby Valentine, radio's first all-black soap opera series, for the National Negro Network, in which he played the role of a doctor suffering from amnesia.
In 1957, Terry played the title role in "Bob Thomas of the Philadelphia Inquirer", part of The Big Story series which focused on the outstanding achievements of journalists. A non-smoker, Terry had to learn to smoke in order to play key scenes in the teleplay which was broadcasted live. In 1959, Terry appeared in the Hollywood motion picture, Parrish and featured as "Gabriel" in The Green Pastures. In 1965, Terry was a guest star as a G.I. in the episode "The Long Wait" of Combat!. Terry was the only Black actor ever to have appeared on that series in its entire run.
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In 1965, Terry was hired by WBZ-TV Eyewitness News in Boston on a three-year contract, and became the world's first Black TV anchor newscaster.
While summering in Rome in 1967, Terry was introduced to director Tinto Brass, who asked him to star in his movie, Nerosubianco. His first role on arriving in Hollywood in 1968 was as a detective named "Jaffie", in the Universal Studios made-for-TV movie Company of Killers. |
In 1970, Terry was offered the unique opportunity to choose a role in one of three different new television series. Though he had no special preference in story lines, he had heard that the series named McCloud would star the actor Dennis Weaver, whose work Terry admired. Terry went on to star as "Sgt. Joe Broadhurst", Weaver's sidekick on McCloud from 1970 until 1977.
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When McCloud ended, creator Glen Larson and producer Leslie Stevens approached Terry for the part of "Lt. Boomer" on a new sci-fi made-for-TV movie called Battlestar Galactica: Saga of a Star World. Terry broke his ankle in a roller skating accident and the part was re-cast. Later Terry was casted for antoher part, that of "Colonel Tigh", the right hand of "Commander Adama". The show was cancelled afer one season but Terry made a reprise, now as "President Tigh", in 1999 in the Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming trailer, Richard Hatch' attempt to revive the series.
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Though Terry spends most of his time producing and directing nowadays, he also still acts. In 1998, he starred the Swedish international thriller movie and TV miniseries Hamilton, in which he played "Texas Slim", head of the CIA.