Chester Conlan Carter (born October 3, 1934) is an American film, stage and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the

medic A medic is a person trained to provide medical care, encompassing a wide range of individuals involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of health conditions. The term can refer to fully qualified medical practitioners, such as physic ...

"Doc" in the American

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television series '' Combat!'', for which he was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series is an award presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre, or ...

Life and career

Carter was born in Center Ridge, Arkansas, and grew up on a farm. He attended Matthews High School in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, where he was a state champion

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

er. After graduating from Matthews High School in 1952, he attended

Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Missouri State University (Southeast or SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing t ...

, on a two-year

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

. After serving in the United States Air Force for two years, Carter went to the Bay City Actors Lab in San Francisco, California, for three years, specialising in musical theatre. He supported himself by working as a field auditor for an insurance company, He then appeared in various dramatic and musical productions in California. He took over the title role in an

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

production of the musical '' Pal Joey'' when the original lead actor had to leave the production because of illness. He moved on to work in film and television, first appearing in the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series '' Johnny Ringo'' in 1960. Carter later starred in the

legal drama Legal drama, also called courtroom drama, is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in wh ...

television series '' The Law and Mr. Jones'', playing the

law student Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular j ...

C.E. Carruthers, After the series ended in 1962, Carter guest-starred in other television programs including ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'', '' Rawhide'', ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...

'', '' Outlaws'', '' The Westerner'' and '' Follow the Sun''. He also appeared in films such as '' Quick, Before It Melts'', '' White Lightning'' and '' Dixie Dynamite''. He played "Dub Crick" (lazy, "good-fer-nuthin" son of Lafe Crick) in one episode of the Beverly Hillbillies. Beginning in 1963, Carter played the

"Doc" in the television series '' Combat!'' for four seasons. He retired in 1986. His brother John Carter was also an actor.

Television

* 1969: ''

The Virginian (TV series) ''The Virginian'' (later renamed ''The Men from Shiloh'' in its final year) is an American Westerns on television, Western television series starring James Drury in the title role, along with Doug McClure, Lee J. Cobb, and others. It originall ...

'', season 7 episode 15 "(Death wait)" : Jory Kincaid * 1970: ''

'', season 18 episode 14 "(The Wizard of Aberdeen)" : L. Frank Baum * 1969: '' The Big Valley'' The Battle of Mineral Springs Season 4; Episode 21 (1969)

References

External links

* *
Rotten Tomatoes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Conlan 1934 births Living people Actors from Conway County, Arkansas Male actors from Arkansas American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors American male pole vaulters 20th-century American male actors Southeast Missouri State University alumni Western (genre) television actors 20th-century American sportsmen