James Ainslie Pryor (February 21, 1921 – May 27, 1958) was an American actor.

Early years

Pryor was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of William E. Prior. He graduated from Christian Brothers College and attended Southwestern and VPI. During World War II, he served with the Merchant Marine.

Career

Radio

Pryor's early entertainment activities came in radio when he worked as an announcer at stations in New Haven, Connecticut, and New York City. He also was program director at WJPR radio in Greenville, Mississippi.

Stage

Before Pryor acted in films, he performed on stage. He organized a school and community theater while he worked in Greenville. He also managed and directed a little theater group in Raleigh, North Carolina. For three years he acted in '' The Lost Colony'' in Manteo, North Carolina, where he befriended Andy Griffith. His performances there, observed by actor Charles Laughton and producer Paul Gregory, led to his Broadway debut as the prosecuting attorney in '' The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial''.

Film and television

He appeared in the films '' The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing'', '' Ransom!'', '' Walk the Proud Land'', '' Four Girls in Town'', '' The Shadow on the Window'', '' The Guns of Fort Petticoat'', '' The Left Handed Gun'', '' Kathy O''' and ''

Onionhead ''Onionhead'' is a 1958 American comedy drama film set on a U.S. Coast Guard ship during World War II, starring Andy Griffith and featuring Felicia Farr, Walter Matthau, Erin O'Brien, James Gregory, Joey Bishop and Claude Akins. It is dir ...

''. On television, Pryor had a regular role as the sidekick of

Wally Cox Wallace Maynard Cox (December 6, 1924 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He began his career as a standup comedian and played the title character of the popular early American television series '' Mister Peepers'' from 1952 to 195 ...

's lead character in the adventure sitcom '' The Adventures of Hiram Holliday''. He portrayed Dr. William Beaumont in the "Who Search for Truth" episode of ''

Medic A medic is a person trained to provide medical care, encompassing a wide range of individuals involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of health conditions. The term can refer to fully qualified medical practitioners, such as physic ...

'' (1956). He also appeared in the series' '' Ford Star Jubilee'', '' Steve Donovan, Western Marshal'', ''

Lux Video Theatre ''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays. Overview The ''Lux Vi ...

'', '' Front Row Center'', '' You Are There'', ''

'', ''

Wire Service A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency ma ...

'', ''

Sheriff of Cochise ''The Sheriff of Cochise'' is an American police crime drama television series of 79 black-and-white episodes broadcast from 1956 to 1958. The show has two seasons of 39 episodes, and there is an additional standalone episode. Each episode run ...

'', '' Meet McGraw'', '' Sugarfoot'', ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'' (In 1957 as “Cole Yankton”, an outlaw who had been Kitty’s first love in S3E4’s Kitty’s Outlaw”), '' Suspicion'', ''

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

'', '' Studio One'', ''

General Electric Theater ''General Electric Theater'' is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations. Radio After an audition show ...

'', ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...

''.

Personal life and death

Pryor was married to Susanne Wellman, and they had three children. Both of them were artists whose work was displayed in North Carolina's State Art Gallery for several years. He died of cancer on May 27, 1958, in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

at age 37.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pryor, Ainslie 1921 births 1958 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Broadway theatre people Male actors from Memphis, Tennessee