One of the young unknown "stars" of the patriotic hodge-podge- musical Stage Door Canteen, blandly handsome William Terry (born William Thienes) had begun his acting career with the famed Pasadena Playhouse. After playing juveniles in such Broadway plays as Straw Hat (1937) and Out of the Frying Pan (1941), he starred in the short subject Private Smith, U.S.A., an entry in the This Is America series. Stage Door Canteen, which also "introduced future B-Western star Sunset Carson and Lon McCallister, was the natural next step, as were roles in such America-at-War entertainment as Gangway for Tomorrow (1943) and Three Little Sisters (1944). Stardom, however, eluded him and he returned to the stage (The Magic Touch, 1947) and also appeared on early television. Terry died at California's Patton State Hospital.
William Terry
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