Terry Lawrence Frost (October 26, 1906 – March 1, 1993) was an American actor who appeared in dozens of Western films during the 1940s and 1950s.

Biography

Frost was born in

Bemidji, Minnesota Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, Minnesota, Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. According to 2022 census estimates, the ci ...

. Before he became an actor, he spent six years working as a cowboy, jack-of-all-trades, lumberjack, miner, and salesman across the United States. Frost began his entertainment career in vaudeville in 1929. In 1941, his film career began when he portrayed Sam Emery in '' Law of the Range''. He spent the 1940s and 1950s appearing in dozens of

B-movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

westerns for the studios

Monogram A monogram is a motif (visual arts), motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbo ...

and PRC, including roles in ''

The Maverick ''The Maverick'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Thomas Carr and starring Wild Bill Elliott, Myron Healey and Phyllis Coates.Fitzgerald & Magers p.35 Plot Cast * Wild Bill Elliott as Lieutenant Pete Devlin * Myron Healey as S ...

'', '' Outlaws of Texas'', '' The Girl from Monterey'', and ''Desert Legion''. During the 1950s Frost was heavily involved with television. He appeared often in series TV, with feature roles on many, such as '' I Led 3 Lives'', ''Waterfront'', ''

Boston Blackie Boston Blackie is a fictional character created by author Jack Boyle (1881–1928). Blackie was originally depicted as a jewel thief and safecracker in Boyle's stories, and became a private detective in adaptations for films, radio and televisi ...

,'' and '' Mr. District Attorney'', and a recurring role as Sergeant Morris in ''

Highway Patrol A highway patrol is a police unit, detail, or law enforcement agency created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways within a jurisdiction. They are also referred to in many countri ...

''. Frost appeared in almost every Western series ever produced, including ''

The Gene Autry Show ''The Gene Autry Show'' is an American western/cowboy television series which aired for 91 episodes on CBS from July 23, 1950 until August 7, 1956, originally sponsored by Wrigley's Doublemint chewing gum. Overview Series star Gene Autry h ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Rawhide Rawhide may refer to: *Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned * Whip made from rawhide Entertainment * ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe * ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...

'', ''

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

'' (as Dan Naylor in the 1957 episode "Top Hand"), ''

Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American marksman, sharpshooter and folk heroine who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoveris ...

'', and ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...

''. During the 1960s, his acting career slowed considerably, with his last film appearance in ''Magnifico extranjero, El'' in 1967. During this period he taught drama at Patricia Stevens Career Colleges in Pasadena and Los Angeles, authored a text on the art of acting, "Actors Only," and worked in regional theater throughout the United States. He also worked in public relations for a travel company. Frost visited every continent, proclaiming New Zealand the most beautiful place on Earth. Once retired, he became a popular guest speaker at various B-Western conventions in the United States and the British Isles, where he entertained the audiences with reminiscences about everyone from Johnny Mack Brown to

Whip Wilson Whip Wilson (born Roland Charles Meyers, June 16, 1911 – October 22, 1964) was an American cowboy film actor, film star of the late 1940s and into the 1950s, known for his roles in B movies (Hollywood Golden Age)#Cowboys and dogs, B-Westerns. ...

. Frost died of a heart attack in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Selected filmography

* '' Law of the Range'' (1941) – Sam Emery * '' Rustlers' Hideout'' (1944) * '' The Caravan Trail'' (1946) * ''

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

'' (1946) *'' Drifting Along'' (1946) * ''

Silver Range ''Silver Range'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer and written by J. Benton Cheney. The film stars Johnny Mack Brown, Raymond Hatton, Jan Bryant, I. Stanford Jolley, Terry Frost and Eddie Parker. The film was rele ...

'' (1946) * ''

Black Hills The Black Hills is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk Peak, which rises to , is the range's highest summit. The name of the range ...

'' (1947) * '' Stage to Mesa City'' (1947) – Henchman Ed Williams * '' Check Your Guns'' (1948) * '' Dead Man's Gold'' (1948) * '' The Hawk of Powder River'' (1948) * '' Oklahoma Badlands'' (1948) * '' The Pecos Pistol'' (1949) * ''

Thief of Damascus '' Thief of Damascus '' is a 1952 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Will Jason and starring Paul Henreid, John Sutton (actor), John Sutton and Jeff Donnell. The film features a generous use of stock footage from such films as ''Joa ...

'' (1952) – Ali Baba's Aide * ''

'' (1952) – Trooper Westman * ''

Dead Man's Trail ''Dead Man's Trail'' is a 1952 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Lewis D. Collins and starring Johnny Mack Brown, James Ellison (actor), James Ellison and Barbara Woodell.Drew, Bernard A. ''Motion Picture Series and Sequels: A R ...

'' (1952) – Deputy Kelvin * '' Night Raiders'' (1952) – Mike Lorch * '' Waco'' (1952) * ''

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...

'' (1952) * '' The Gunman'' (1952) * '' Siren of Bagdad'' (1953) – Hamid's Man *(1955) -Highway. Patrol SPM * '' Wanted Dead or Alive (TV series)'' (1960) season 2 episode 27 (''The Pariah'') : Ben Bronson *''

'' (1961) – Pollet in S3:E25, "Incident of the Running Man"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frost, Terry 1906 births 1993 deaths People from Bemidji, Minnesota American male film actors American male television actors Male Western (genre) film actors 20th-century American male actors Western (genre) television actors