Nicholas Pryor

{{Infobox person

| name = Nicholas Pryor

| image = Nicholas Pryor 1964.JPG

| caption = Pryor in 1964

| birth_name = Nicholas David Probst

| birth_date = {{birth date|1935|01|28}}

| birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|10|7|1935|01|28}}

| death_place = {{nobr|Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.}}

| other_names = Nick Pryor

| education = Gilman School
Yale University

| occupation = Actor

| years_active = 1955–2021

| spouse = {{marriage|Christine Belford|1993}}

| children = 1

}}

Nicholas David Pryor (born Probst; January 28, 1935 – October 7, 2024) was an American character actor. He appeared in various television series, films, and stage productions.

Early life and career

Pryor was born Nicholas David Probst in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Dorothy (née Driskill) and J. Stanley Probst, a pharmaceutical manufacturer.

His early film credits include appearances in The Happy Hooker (1975), Smile (1975), and as nervous college professor Samuel Graves in the 1976 film The Gumball Rally. Notable film credits included appearing alongside William Holden and Lee Grant in Damien - Omen II (1978), as one of the sick passengers in Airplane! (1980), the role of Joel Goodson (Tom Cruise)'s father in the hit movie Risky Business (1983), and as Julian Wells (Robert Downey Jr.)'s estranged father in Less than Zero (1987). His other film credits include The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), Pacific Heights (1990), Executive Decision (1996), The Chamber (1996) and Collateral Damage (2002).{{Cite web|url=https://www.fandango.com/people/nicholas-pryor-545585/film-credits |title=Nicholas Pryor Filmography and Movies |website=Fandango}}

Pryor's most notable television role was that of A. Milton Arnold, the Chancellor of California University, in the television series Beverly Hills, 90210. Pryor's character, who appeared on the show from 1994 to 1997, was a widower and the father of one daughter, Claire (portrayed by Kathleen Robertson). His other television appearances included The Adams Chronicles (1976), Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977) and Gideon's Trumpet (1980).

In 1964, Pryor was an original cast member of the new soap opera Another World, playing Tom Baxter until the character was killed off after six months. In 1973 Pryor was the second actor to play the role of P.I. Joel Gantry on The Edge of Night. For several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he played the role of Victor Collins on General Hospital and its spin-off, Port Charles.

Personal life and death

Pryor's fourth wife was actress Christine Belford, whom he married in July 1993. He had a daughter from an earlier marriage. Belford announced Pryor's death by sharing a note written from the actor. The humble message, Pryor said, was to be delivered to The Hollywood Reporter after his death. The note was shared by the widow, in which he wrote "Nicholas Pryor was enormously grateful to have been, for nearly 70 years, a working actor." Pryor is survived by his daughter, Stacey Pryor, and his grandchildren Auguste and Avril Bas. {{Cite web |title=Nicholas Pryor, veteran actor who starred in 'Risky Business' and 'Port Charles,' dies at 89 |url=https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/2024/oct/11/nicholas-pryor-veteran-actor-who-starred-in-risky/ |date=October 11, 2024 |newspaper=Texarkana Gazette |language=en}}

Pryor died of cancer at his home in Wilmington, North Carolina, on October 7, 2024, at the age of 89.{{cite web |last=Barnes |first=Mike |title=Nicholas Pryor, Actor in 'Risky Business' and 'Beverly Hills, 90210,' Dies at 89 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/nicholas-pryor-dead-risky-business-beverly-hills-90210-1236027800/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=October 8, 2024}}{{cite web |title=Nicholas Pryor, of Port Charles, 90210 and Risky Business, Dead at 89: 'He Was an Actor's Actor' |url=https://tvline.com/news/nicholas-pryor-dead-beverly-hills-90210-port-charles-obituary-1235347860/ |website=TV Line |date=October 8, 2024}}

Partial filmography

class="wikitable sortable"

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class = "unsortable" | Notes

1961

| Alfred Hitchcock Presents

| Dane Rosse

| Season 6 Episode 14: "The Changing Heart"

1970

| The Way We Live Now

| Lionel Aldridge

1974

| Man on a Swing

| Paul Kearney

rowspan=2|1975

| The Happy Hooker

| Carl Gordon

Smile

| Andy

1976

| The Gumball Rally

| Professor Samuel Graves, Cobra Team

rowspan="2"|1977

| Washington: Behind Closed Doors

| Hank Ferris

Night Terror

| Man in Sports Car

| Television film

rowspan=2|1978

| Damien - Omen II

| Charles Warren

Rainbow

| Bill Gilmore

| TV movie

1979

| The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh

| George Brockington

1980

| Airplane!

| Mr. Jim Hammen

1981

| Splendor in the Grass

| Dr. Judd

| TV movie

1982

| Little House: A New Beginning

| Royal Wilder

1983

| Risky Business

| Mr. Goodson

1984

| Second Sight: A Love Story

| Mitchell McKay

| TV movie

rowspan=2|1985

| The Falcon and the Snowman

| Eddie

Knight Rider

| Vince

| Season 4 Episode 8: "Many Happy Returns"

rowspan=2|1986

| On Dangerous Ground

| John Pilgrim

Murder in Three Acts

| Freddie Dayton

| TV movie

rowspan=2|1987

| Morgan Stewart's Coming Home

| Tom Stewart

Less than Zero

| Benjamin Wells

1988

| A Stoning in Fulham County

| Baxter

| TV movie

rowspan=2|1990

| Brain Dead

| Man in Bloody White Suit / Ramsen / Ed Conklin

Pacific Heights

| Hotel Front Office Manager Neil Spisak

1992

| Hoffa

| Hoffa's Attorney

1993

| Sliver

| Peter Farrell

rowspan=2|1994

| Murder Between Friends

| Judge Lamartine

| Roberta Bernstein, "Murder Between Friends", in Variety and Daily Variety Television Reviews, 1993–1994, January 11, 1994, [https://books.google.com/books?id=PS1g1rnX7rsC&pg=RA9-PA12 p. 12]

Hail Caesar

| Bidwell

rowspan=2|1996

| Executive Decision

| Secretary of State Jack Douglas

The Chamber

| Judge Flynn F. Slattery

1997

| Murder at 1600

| Paul Moran

rowspan=2|1999

| Molly