John Everett DeCoste (December 16, 1928 – April 23, 2024), known professionally as Terry Carter, was a pioneering black American actor and filmmaker, known for his roles as Sgt.

Raised in a bilingual home,[1][5] his mother, Mercedes, was a native of the Dominican Republic,[3][4][5] and his father, William DeCoste, was of Argentinian and African-American descent[3][5] who operated a radio repair business.

[5][7][8] Following his initial Northeastern stint, Carter also completed two years of coursework at St. John's University's School of Law (which either waived the requirement of a Bachelor's degree for Carter or had not yet implemented that prerequisite for admission prior to the widespread implementation of the graduate-level Juris Doctor in lieu of the nominally undergraduate Bachelor of Laws) before leaving to become an actor.

His first breakthrough screen role was as the sole black regular cast member of The Phil Silvers Show (popularly known as Sergeant Bilko), appearing as Pvt.

[14] In his longest-running role, starting in 1970, Carter starred in the TV detective series McCloud as NYPD Sergeant Joe Broadhurst, partner of the title character played by Dennis Weaver.

[citation needed] He played the role of CIA chief "Texas Slim" in Hamilton, a multinational action-adventure Swedish film (1999).

[14] More recently, Carter had a recurring role in Hotel Caesar, Norway's most popular soap opera,[14] as Solomon Tefari, an Ethiopian businessman and father of one of the main characters.

[citation needed] In 1975, Carter started a small Los Angeles corporation, Meta/4 Productions, Inc.[4] for which he produced and directed industrial and educational presentations on film and videotape for the federal government[4] -- including the National Endowment for the Arts and the Library of Congress -- and for PBS television.

[10] Carter was president of Council for Positive Images, Inc., a non-profit organization he formed in 1979, dedicated to enhancing intercultural and interethnic understanding through audiovisual communication and within media.

[2][3][10][14] Under the council's auspices, Carter produced and directed award-winning dramatic and documentary programs for presentation on PBS and distribution worldwide.

[2][3][10] In the 1980s, Carter created, directed and produced the TV miniseries K*I*D*S, about a diverse group of teens, struggling with the intense conflicts facing American youth of the era.