Cal Pritner (1935 - December 1, 2014), was an educator, writer, administrator, and actor. He chaired two university theatre departments (

University of Missouri-Kansas City A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, 1994–2000) and

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

(1970–1981), and he was the founding artistic director of the

Illinois Shakespeare Festival The Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF) is held in Bloomington, Illinois, United States at Ewing Theatre and in Normal, Illinois, United States at the Center for Performing Arts Theatre at Illinois State University. The Festival began in 1978 and c ...

(1978–1990). He is an elected Fellow of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre. He is the author and co-author of three instructional television series on Shakespeare and poetry; he co-authored Page to Stage:

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

, which won the Wilbur Schramm award as best American instructional series of 1991. With Louis Colaianni he co-authored How to Speak Shakespeare (2001), and with Scott Walters he co-authored Introduction to Play Analysis (2004). Both books are used widely as textbooks in colleges and universities. He is the author of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

and Me Unlearning Racism (2021). Pritner earned membership in the American actors' unions: Actors Equity,

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

, and the

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording ...

. He has appeared in several episodic television series, played leading roles in Shakespeare, and he had a featured role in Robert Altman's film, Kansas City. In addition, he has performed five one-person shows, two of which he authored and continues to tour, Mark Twain Traveling and Mark Twain Unlearning Racism. Students from the Illinois State University Department of Theatre, which Pritner served as founding department chair, include: a majority of the founding members of Chicago's

Steppenwolf Theatre Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theater company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Immaculate Conception grade school in Highland Park, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighbo ...

Ensemble; Tony winners

Judith Ivey Judith Lee Ivey (born September 4, 1951) is an American actress and theatre director. She twice won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play: for '' Steaming'' (1981) and '' Hurlyburly'' (1984). She also received Best Actress In A P ...

and

Rondi Reed Rondi Anne Reed (born October 26, 1952) is an American actress of stage and screen. A longtime member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, she has appeared in more than 50 productions at that theater. Also active on Broadway, she won the 2 ...

; Oscar nominee

John Malkovich John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and ...

; former Steppenwolf Theatre artistic directors

Terry Kinney Terry Kinney (born January 29, 1954) is an American actor and theater director, and a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, with Gary Sinise and Jeff Perry. Kinney is best known for his role as Tim McManus on HBO's prison drama ...

, Jeff Perry, and Randy Arney; and film and television stars

Gary Cole Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American actor. He began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. His breakout role was playing Jack 'Nighthawk' Killian in the NBC series '' M ...

and

Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. Known for playing starring and recurring roles in comedic television, her accolades include one Golden Globe, five Primetime Emmys and two Screen Actors Gui ...

. Cal Pritner a long-time cancer survivor, died December 1, 2014.

Filmography

* The Awakening Land (1978) (Herron, as Calvin Pritner) (Part 2: The Fields) * Hunter (1984) (1985) (Deputy Chief Kazerowsky) (Rape and Revenge: Pt. 1) *

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...

(1985) (Miller) (Mind Games) *

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

(1996) (Governor Park)

References

*Engle, Ron, et al. Shakespeare Companies and Festivals: An International Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995. Page 138 * 1935 births 2014 deaths Male actors from Kansas City, Kansas Illinois State University faculty Writers from Kansas City, Kansas {{US-actor-stub