Herman Arthur "Harry" Lauter[1] (June 19, 1914 – October 30, 1990)[2] was an American character actor.
Early years
Lauter was born in White Plains, New York. He worked as a model for a professional photographer[3] and was a rodeo rider before moving into acting.[4]
Lauter came from an entertainment-oriented family, with his father and grandfather having been part of The Flying Lauters trapeze act.[5]
Career
Lauter (right) with Willard Parker in Tales of the Texas Rangers, 1957.
Lauter's acting break came with a role in The Magnificent Rogue (1946), in which he played a model.[3]
He was a much seen presence in supporting roles in low-budget films, serials (where he was often cast because of his facial resemblance to stuntman Tom Steele, who would double for him), and seemingly inumerable television programs in the 1950s. Only once did he really come close to stardom, as Clay Morgan, one of the leads in the CBStelevision seriesTales of the Texas Rangers,[6]: 1051 which aired fifty-two episodes from 1955 to 1958. His co-star was Willard Parker as Ranger Jace Pearson.
In a departure from his appearance in westerns, he played the character of Atlasand, chief officer to Cleolanta the evil Suzerain of Ophesius, in several episodes of Rocky Jones, Space Ranger in 1953.
He appeared in "The Wild Wild West" S3 E17 "The Night of the Headless Woman" as Marshal (1967). His last screen appearance was in 1979 as Marshal Charlie Benton in James Arness's ABC series How the West Was Won.
Most of his career was spent as a capable second lead as a hero or a heavy, though he continued to play bit parts in larger pictures, including an uncredited part as a plain-clothes policeman in the 1949 crime drama White Heat, which starred James Cagney and Edmond O'Brien. He also had an uncredited, non-speaking role in the 1963 Stanley Kramer comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World as a police dispatcher.
The son of an artist, Lauter devoted much of his energy late in his life to his own painting and the operation of an art gallery.[4]
Personal life
Lauter was married to Barbara Ayres.[7] They divorced in February 1975,[8] and in November of that year, he married fellow painter Doris Gilbert.[9][10]
Death
Lauter died of a heart attack on October 30, 1990, in Ojai in Ventura County, California, at age 76.[11] He was survived by his wife, two children and two step-children.[2]
^ abTerrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 914. ISBN978-0-7864-6477-7.
^Gwynn, Edith (April 18, 1949). "Hollywood". Pottstown Mercury. Pennsylvania, Pottstown. p. 4. Retrieved June 9, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^"California Divorce Index, 1966-1984," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPBV-ZS5 : 15 May 2014), Barbara J Ayres and Herman A Lauter, Feb 1975; from "California Divorce Index, 1966-1984," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2007); citing Los Angeles, California, Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento.
