This morning, the “Battlestar Galactica” fandom received the sad news that Terry Carter, best known for his iconic role as Colonel Tigh in the original 1978 hit television series, had passed away. The news was confirmed by Carter’s son, Miguel Carter DeCoste, who stated that he died peacefully in his home in Los Angeles. Carter’s magnetic charisma had spanned a six-decade-long career, including “The Phil Silvers Show” and “McCloud“
Born in 1928, Carter launched his career in the late 1950s with a series of guest appearances on popular television shows before landing the role of Officer “Sugie” Sugarman on “The Phil Silvers Show,” starting in 1955. Carter was also a trailblazer in the industry, being one of the first African American actors to have a lead role in a television series, setting a significant precedent for future generations. As the second in command, playing alongside Lorne Greene as Commander Adama, Carter’s Tigh served to continue science fiction’s support of African Americans in command roles, a decade after “Star Trek’s” Nichelle Nichols. It was his portrayal of Colonel Saul Tigh that truly catapulted his career into the pop-culture zeitgeist.
Beyond the screen, Carter was known for his versatile acting abilities, taking on a wide variety of roles throughout his long career, including several Broadway productions, such as “Finian’s Rainbow” and “Mrs. Patterson“.
After decades onstage and onscreen, Mr. Carter formed his own production company in 1975 and made educational documentaries. In the 1980s, he expanded into more sophisticated documentaries for PBS, the Library of Congress, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
In 1988, his two-part documentary, “A Duke Named Ellington,” for the PBS American Masters Series, became the United States entry in television festivals around the world. Narrated and directed by Mr. Carter, it used recorded interviews with Ellington, who died in 1974, and filmed performances by his orchestra. It won the CINE Golden Eagle and Golden Antenna awards and an Emmy nomination.
Carter is survived by his son, his wife, Selome Zenebe, his daughter, Melinda, and one granddaughter. Terry Carter was 93.
