Roger Pryor

Biography

Actor Roger Pryor was considered the "poor man's Clark Gable" at Universal and Columbia studios where he held long-term contracts during the 30s and 40s. The son of the popular composer/band leader Arthur Pryor (1869-1942) and his wife Maude Russell, the mustachioed leading man used his slick, roguish looks to good effect, enabling him to become a durable co-star of breezy "B" level musicals and stylish dramas. Born in New York City (Manhattan) close to the turn of the 20th century on August 27, 1901, Roger made his stage debut at 18 in a New Jersey stock play called "Adam and Eva." He went on to also work with the Myskle-Harder Stock Company in Connecticut. After years of touring in repertory companies, he finally hit the Broadway lights in 1925 with a production of "The Back Slapper" and went on to appear with Ruth Gordon in "Paid (1926), as well as "Saturday's Children" (1927), "The Royal Family" (1927), "See Naples and Die" (1929), "Up Pops the Devil" (1930) and "Here Goes the Bride" (1931). While he did a fine job replacing Lee Tracy in the popular classic "The Front Page," it was his role in the 1932 play "Blessed Event" that got the Universal New York movie studio paying special attention. Taking his initial film bow opposite lovely Mary Brian in the second-string Universal musical Moonlight and Pretzels (1933) , Roger was sent straight to Hollywood where he starred in the musical I Like It That Way (1934) and the sparkling comedy I'll Tell the World (1934) both paired with equally lovely Gloria Stuart. Roger was also Heather Angel's leading man in the light comedy Romance in the Rain (1934) before appearing in his biggest pre-Code picture as one of Mae West's paramours, the prizefighting Tiger Kid, in her bawdy vehicle Belle of the Nineties (1934). Roger continued on the "B" Hollywood romantic path for the next several years. He was part of a vaudeville trio act in the musical Wake Up and Dream (1934) with ill-fated Russ Columbo and pert blonde June Knight; appeared in Lady by Choice (1934) opposite Carole Lombard; starred in Strange Wives (1934) with June Clayworth; headlined both Straight from the Heart (1935) and Dinky (1935) opposite Mary Astor; appeared in The Headline Woman (1935) again with Heather Angel; starred in $1000 a Minute (1935) with Leila Hyams; and was front and center in To Beat the Band (1935) co-starring Helen Broderick. Married in 1926 to Priscilla Mitchell, the mother of his only child, Roger fell in love with his co-star Ann Sothern of the romantic musical comedy The Girl Friend (1935). They were wed the following year (1936) months after his divorce was finalized. Experiencing the height of his cinematic career, Roger went on to play reporters in both The Return of Jimmy Valentine (1936) and Missing Girls (1936), an amnesiac in the comedy Ticket to Paradise (1936) and a songwriter in Sitting on the Moon (1936). As he began to decline into second leads and support roles (often as a heavy), Roger turned more and more to radio hosting, possessing a perfectly rich voice that suited the medium quite well. He also carried on the family tradition as a dance band leader and trombonist. At one time, wife Ann Sothern briefly toured with Pryor's band but the union began to crumble and they divorced in 1943. Roger's film career continued throughout WWII with secondary roles in such secondary films as I Live on Danger (1942), A Man's World (1942), Smart Alecks (1942), Submarine Alert (1943) and High Powered (1945). Occasional leads still came his way occasionally with Gambling Daughters (1941) and The Kid Sister (1945). The actor made his last appearance on film with the Roy Rogers/Dale Evans oater Man from Oklahoma (1945). Though his work as a bandleader was personally satisfying, it wasn't profitable and it drove Roger into bankruptcy. In 1947, he retired from show business altogether and turned to business, finding a comfortable niche as an ad executive and vice president in charge of broadcasting at Foote, Cone and Belding advertising agency. Roger remarried a third time and the couple settled comfortably in Florida. He died of cardiac arrest at age 72 on January 31, 1974, while in Puerta Valarta, Mexico. His elder brother, Arthur Pryor, Jr. (1897-1954) was a radio pioneer who ran a prime agency in the 1930s and 1940s.