Hollywood legend to be discussed at meeting

"Tex" Terry

The guest speaker for the meeting will be Ted Osborn.

A Rosedale native, Osborn has been collecting data, posters, photos and other memorabilia of Tex and Isabel Terry for more than six years.

He developed a website, www.TexTerry.com, in 2005.

Osborn is also a volunteer interpreter for the Dana-Thomas state historic site in Springfield, Ill. The Dana-Thomas is a massive prairie house built in 1902 and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Osborn will present the program, "Tex Terry, bad man of the movies."

Edward Earl "Tex" Terry was born Aug. 22, 1902, in Parke County, near the town of Coxville.

As a youngster, he learned to use a whip to drive the mules in the coalmines in the nearby town of Rosedale.

Terry worked in the film industry with some of the biggest names of the time, including Audie Murphy, Forrest Tucker, Sunset Carson, Barbara Stanwyck, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.

Although he was often uncredited in films, Terry was easy to spot due to his distinctive look and style.

He also appeared in many televisions westerns, including "Wagon Train," "Death Valley Days," "The Lone Ranger," and "Gunsmoke."

He married long-time friend and Hollywood agent Isabel Draesemer, who managed the early careers of Buddy Ebsen and Hugh O'Brian, in 1964. Draesemer is most noted for her discovery of Hollywood icon, James Dean.

After Terry left Hollywood, he and his wife returned to Indiana, settling in Mansfield. The Terrys purchased the Mansfield roller mill and other buildings.

In the 1970s, Terry was a big hit in the area schools, where he loved to perform his whip and roping act on stage and discuss his glory days in Hollywood.

In 1979, he and his wife opened Tex's Longhorn Tavern, in Coxville.

Terry died May 18, 1985, after suffering a heart attack at his home. His wife died in April 2002.

For more information regarding the meeting, call 443-1844.