Don Terry

Don Terry (born Donald Prescott Loker, August 8, 1902 – October 6, 1988) was an American film actor, best known for his lead appearances in B films and serials in the 1930s and early 1940s. Perhaps his best-known role is Naval Commander Don Winslow in two Universal Pictures serials of the early 1940s, Don Winslow of the Navy and Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (1943).

Early life and background Terry was born Donald Loker in Natick, Massachusetts, in 1902. He was a 1927 graduate of Norwich University. However, Fox screenwriter Charles Francis Coe was at the restaurant and happened to see Terry and thought of the screenplay he had just completed, based on his 1927 novel. Coe introduced himself and asked Terry if he was in the film industry. He gave Terry his business card and invited him to the Fox lot for a screen test. Terry went to the lot expecting only to be able to see some film stars. When Terry's screen test came out of the film laboratory, he was signed as the lead in the 1928 film Me, Gangster, the screenplay Coe had just written. he was signed by Columbia Pictures as a possible replacement for the studio's veteran action star Jack Holt. Terry was one of several tough-guy heroes (including Victor Jory, Paul Kelly, and Charles Quigley) who portrayed "bare-knuckled, sleeves-rolled-up hard hats" in various films. Terry's Columbia "B" features include A Fight to the Finish (1937), Paid to Dance (1937), Who Killed Gail Preston? (1937), When G-Men Step In (1938), and Squadron of Honor (1938). Terry's portrayals are complemented by his distinct New England accent, which he never completely lost.

Don Terry also became a star of serials, his first chapter play being The Secret of Treasure Island, released by Columbia in 1938. He was one of the three male leads in Universal's western serial Overland Mail (1942). Terry's best-known serials are the "Don Winslow" maritime adventures of the early 1940s, Don Winslow of the Navy (1942) and Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (1943).

Terry signed with Universal in 1939, appearing in an incidental role in the W. C. Fields comedy You Can't Cheat an Honest Man. The studio kept him busy in various roles, large and small. Terry appeared in Danger in the Pacific (1942) as a scientist, co-starring Louise Allbritton. Other credits include Fugitives (1929), Border Romance (1929), Barnacle Bill (1941), Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943), and White Savage (1943), his last screen appearance before enlisting in the U.S. Navy. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and was awarded the Purple Heart. He left the Navy in 1946 and never returned to the film industry.

Post-film life and career In 1941, Terry married Katherine Bogdanovich, a daughter of the founder of StarKist tuna.

Loker retired from the company in 1965, and the couple then devoted their time and energies to various philanthropic projects by establishing the Donald and Katherine Loker Foundation. Despite the Lokers' lack of experience in chemistry, Carl Franklin, who was at the time USC's legal vice president, referred them to the university's hydrocarbon research institute, which was established in 1978 with the Lokers' financial aid. In 1983, it was renamed Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute in their honor.

Partial filmography

Me, Gangster (1928) - Jimmy Williams Blindfold (1928) - Buddy Brower Fugitives (1929) - Dick Starr The Valiant (1929) - Policeman (uncredited) Border Romance (1929) - Bob Hamlin Lady with a Past (1932) - Party Guest (uncredited) Whistlin' Dan (1932) - Bob Reid The Billion Dollar Scandal (1933) - Boxer in Fight Montage (uncredited) Her First Mate (1933) - Purser, Albany Night Boat (uncredited) A Fight to the Finish (1937) - Duke Mallor A Dangerous Adventure (1937) - Tim Sawyer Paid to Dance (1937) - William Dennis Who Killed Gail Preston? (1937) - Tom Kellogg When G-Men Step In (1938) - Fred Garth The Secret of Treasure Island (1938, serial) - Larry Kent Squadron of Honor (1938) - District Attorney Don Blane You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939) - Ping-Pong Player (uncredited) Barnacle Bill (1941) - Dixon Mutiny in the Arctic (1941) - Cole In the Navy (1941) - Reef (uncredited) Tight Shoes (1941) - Haystack, Reporter (uncredited) Hold That Ghost (1941) - Strangler (uncredited) Don Winslow of the Navy (1942, serial) - Cmdr. Don Winslow Valley of the Sun (1942) - Lieutenant (uncredited) Unseen Enemy (1942) - Canadian Army Captain William Flynn Hitchcock, aka Bill Flinn, posing as Captain Wilhelm Roering Drums of the Congo (1942) - Captain Kirk Armstrong Escape from Hong Kong (1942) - Rusty Danger in the Pacific (1942) - Dr. David Lynd Top Sergeant (1942) - Sgt. Dick "Rusty" Manson Overland Mail (1942, serial) - Buckskin Bill Burke Moonlight in Havana (1942) - Eddie Daniels Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943) - Howe Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (1943, serial) - Cmdr. Don Winslow White Savage (1943) - Chris (final film role)