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William Prince | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Prince inYoung Doctor Malone, 1962 | |
| Born | William Leroy Prince (1913-01-26)January 26, 1913 Nichols, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 8, 1996(1996-10-08) (aged 83) Tarrytown, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1936–1994 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
William Leroy Prince[1] (January 26, 1913 – October 8, 1996) was an American actor who appeared in numerous soap operas and made dozens of guest appearances on primetime series as well as playing villains in movies likeThe Gauntlet,The Cat from Outer Space andSpontaneous Combustion.
Prince was born inNichols, New York.[2]
When Prince was a senior atCornell University, he left to actinThe Taming of the Shrew as part of aFederal Theatre tour. He gained additional experience with theBarter Theater inAbingdon, Virginia, including a trip to New York for a 1937 production. He also performed in Shakespeare's plays in a company headed byMaurice Evans.[2]
Early in Prince's career, he supplemented his limited income from acting in summer stock productions in Pennsylvania by photographing children professionally. Off-season from summer stock he was an announcer at WQXR radio in New York City.[3]
Prince portrayed Richard inAh, Wilderness! In 1942, he played Private Quizz West inThe Eve of St. Mark.[2] His Broadway debut came inThe Eternal Road.[3] After signing a film contract, he acted inDestination Tokyo,Objective Burma, andDead Reckoning.[2]
Prince worked primarily in television in the 1950s, having moved back to New York. In 1947, he became one of the founding members ofThe Actors Studio.[4] Over the next decade, he made numerous appearances onanthology drama series such asStudio One,The Philco Television Playhouse, andArmstrong Circle Theatre, and in 1955, Prince co-starred withGary Merrill in the second season ofJustice, anNBCdrama about lawyers of the Legal Aid Society ofNew York.
Prince had roles on several soap operas, including one of the lead roles onYoung Dr. Malone from 1958 to 1963,Another World,As the World Turns,The Edge of Night,Search for Tomorrow andA World Apart, often appearing with his actress wifeAugusta Dabney. Two of his film roles were as Christian de Neuvillette in the classic 1950Cyrano de Bergerac starringJosé Ferrer, and as Edward Ruddy, president of the fictional UBS network inPaddy Chayefsky's 1976 film,Network. He also portrayed patriarch AmbassadorJoseph P. Kennedy in the 1977 teleplayJohnny, We Hardly knew Ye. Other films Prince appeared in includeAlfred Hitchcock'sFamily Plot (1976),The Gauntlet (1977) withClint Eastwood,Spies Like Us (1985) withChevy Chase andDan Aykroyd andThe Paper (1994).
Returning to Broadway, Prince had leading roles inJohn Loves Mary andForward the Heart. He appeared as Orlando inAs You Like It, withKatharine Hepburn, and asChristopher Isherwood inI Am a Camera. In 1963, he played Charles Marsden in theActors Studio production ofStrange Interlude. He took leading roles in several plays byEdward Albee, beginning withThe Ballad of the Sad Cafe in 1963. He understudied "Charlie" in the Broadway production ofSeascape (1975), co-starred in the Hartford Stage Company's 1976 revival ofAll Over, appeared opposite Angela Lansbury inCounting the Ways andListening in 1977, and played the title role in the short-livedThe Man Who Had Three Arms in 1983.
During the 1970s, 1980s and into the early 1990s, Prince made guest appearances on dozens of primetime television series and miniseries includingCannon,Hawaii Five-O,Kojak,The Rockford Files,Quincy, M.E.,Matlock andMurder, She Wrote. He also reunited withCyrano starJosé Ferrer for themade-for-television filmsThe Rhinemann Exchange (1977) andGideon's Trumpet (1980). In the latter, Ferrer played attorney for petitioner Gideon,Abe Fortas, and Prince was seen as one of the Supreme Court Justices. In 1992, he appeared on the long-running NBC dramaLaw & Order in the episode "The Working Stiff", playing a corrupt former governor and friend of District AttorneyAdam Schiff involved in a banking scandal.
William Prince died October 8, 1996, at Phelps Memorial Hospital inTarrytown, New York. He was 83, and lived inDobbs Ferry, New York, at the time of his death.[2]
