Stanley Prager

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title: "Stanley Prager" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-theatre-directors", "american-television-directors", "male-actors-from-new-york-city", "1917-births", "1972-deaths", "20th-century-american-male-actors", "hollywood-blacklist"] description: "American actor and director" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Prager" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actor and director ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Stanley Prager
image	Stanley Prager in Behind Green Lights.jpg
caption	Prager in Behind Green Lights (1946)
birth_date
birth_place	New York City, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
occupation
years_active	1939–1972
spouse
children	4
::

| name = Stanley Prager | image = Stanley Prager in Behind Green Lights.jpg | image_size = | caption = Prager in Behind Green Lights (1946) | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | occupation = | years_active = 1939–1972 | spouse = | children = 4

Stanley Prager (January 8, 1917 – January 18, 1972) was an American actor and a television and theatre director.

Career

Prager was born in New York City. He spent three years at Johns Hopkins University before working in summer stock and on Broadway, where he appeared in The Skin of Our Teeth and The Eve of St. Mark. He appeared in the film version of Eve of St. Mark and spent the remainder of the decade acting in mostly B-movies, with occasional roles in better films such as A Bell for Adano, Gun Crazy, In the Meantime, Darling, and A Foreign Affair. He told an interviewer in 1969 that as an actor he appeared in “all the parts that Phil Silvers wouldn't play.”

Prager returned to Broadway and won critical praise in 1951 for his performance in the Comden and Green revue, Two on the Aisle. He played Faker Englund in a 1953 revival of Room Service, and in 1954 he was Prez in The Pajama Game.

Blacklisting and subsequent career

In the early 1950s, Prager was blacklisted. In March 1953, former screenwriter Bart Lytton, told the House Un-American Activities Committee that Prager was among the persons he had seen at Communist Party meetings.

In August 1955, Prager and other performers refused to answer questions when called before the Committee, saying that "I believe that what I think and what I say and with whom I associate is not this committee's concern." In July 1956, Prager was one of seven witnesses, including playwright Arthur Miller, who were cited for contempt of Congress of Congress by the House of Representatives. The other six included stage actress Sarah Cunningham, her husband John Randolph, and actors Lou Polan and George Tyne.

Critic Howard Kissel recounted in 1998 that the backers were wary of casting Prager for the play. The director George Abbott called a meeting of the creative staff and told them of the backers' concerns. He decided to retain Prager. According to a 1976 newspaper account, Abbott decided to renew Prager's contract early in 1955 so that he would not be fired when he appeared before the committee. According to Kissel, Prager was given a run of the play contract in 1954 despite his blacklisting,

He subsequently began directing with Neil Simon's Come Blow Your Horn in 1961. Additional theatre directing credits include Bravo Giovanni, Minnie's Boys, Don't Drink the Water, and 70, Girls, 70.

Prager's television directing credits include The Love Song of Barney Kempinski for ABC Stage 67, Car 54, Where Are You?, and The Patty Duke Show. For producer Sidney Pink, Prager directed two films in Europe: Madigan's Millions the first film to star Dustin Hoffman, and Bang Bang Kid starring Tom Bosley and Guy Madison.

Personal life

Prager married actress Georgann Johnson in 1956. They remained together until his death on January 18, 1972, while on a business trip to Los Angeles. The couple had four daughters, Carol, Ann, Sally and Molly.

Filmography

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1944	The Eve of St. Mark	Pvt. Glinka
Take It or Leave It	Herb Gordon
In the Meantime, Darling	Lt. Philip 'Red' Pianatowski
Something for the Boys	Corporal	Uncredited
1945	Junior Miss	Joe - Elevator Operator
A Bell for Adano	Sgt. Trampani
Doll Face	Flo's Aide
1946	Behind Green Lights	Ruzinsky - Milkman
Do You Love Me	Jay Dilly
Gentleman Joe Palooka	Rapadsky
1947	The Shocking Miss Pilgrim	Office Lookout	Uncredited
Stork Bites Man	Invisible Stork	Voice
1948	Here Comes Trouble	Cartoonist	Uncredited
A Foreign Affair	Mike
They Live by Night	Short Order Man	Uncredited
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All	Reporter
You Gotta Stay Happy	Jack Samuels
Force of Evil	Wally
1949	The Lady Takes a Sailor	Taxi Driver	Uncredited
1950	Gun Crazy	Bluey-Bluey
Joe Palooka in Humphrey Takes a Chance	Ward	Uncredited
I'll Get By	Song Plugger	Uncredited
Dark City	Sammy	Uncredited
Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle	TV Announcer
Three Husbands	Sharpy - Tout	Uncredited
1951	M	Police Detective	Uncredited
::

References

References

1. (1972-01-19). "STANLEY PRAGER, DIRECTOR, WAS 54". The New York Times.
2. (27 March 1953). "Silver City Movie Man Defies Quiz". The Los Angeles Times.
3. (16 August 1955). "Broadway Performers Balk at Red Probe". The Meriden Record.
4. (July 26, 1956). "House Cites Arthur Miller For Contempt". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Associated Press).
5. (20 September 1998). "The Banned Played On". Daily News.
6. (17 February 1972). "Never a More Welcome Contract". The Herald Statesman.
7. (8 February 1956). "TV Actress to Wed Comedian". Daily News.

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