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Robert Prosky
Actor
Since 1958 the Potomac Region has been the artistic home base for one of the
most recognizable actors in the American theater. Robert Prosky came to
Washington that year to appear in Arena Stage’s production of The Front
Page. At the time, Arena had a company of actors and Prosky earned a
spot in the company. It proved to be a great training ground for a man
blessed with a strong physical presence which he learned to use to create
memorable characters. By the 1980s Prosky had played over one hundred roles
at Arena and his career began to take him away from his home base, but he
retained his residence here (on Capitol Hill) and returned to play memorable
roles over the decades. |
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Career Highlights: Arena
Stage regular with over one hundred roles to his credit. Known worldwide
from TV (Sgt. Jablonski on “Hill Street Blues) and movies (“Thief,”
“Monsignor,” “Mrs. Doubtfire”). Twice nominated for Tony Awards on Broadway
(Glenngary Glenn Ross, A Walk in the Woods).
After a Broadway debut in
1972 with the short lived comedy Moonchildren (which ran for only 16
performances), Broadway called again in the early 1980s. In 1983, he played
in Arthur Miller’s drama A View From the Bridge which had a much
longer life at nearly 150 performances. The following season he earned his
first Tony Award Nomination, creating the searing portrayal of Shelly Levene
in David Mammet’s Glenngary Glen Ross (the award went to his
cast-mate, Joe Mantegna). Prosky’s next and, so far, final appearance on
Broadway again brought a Tony Award Nomination, playing opposite Sam
Waterston in the two-character play, A Walk in the Woods.
Prosky found success
in the mass media as well. He debuted on the big screen as the crime boss in
Michael Mann’s 1981 movie “Thief” starring James Caan. He now has more than
50 films to his credit, including “Broadcast News,” “Dead
Man Walking,” “Dudley Do-Right,” the 1994 version of “Miracle on
34th Street,” and “Mrs. Doubtfire.” On the small screen, he created the
role of Sgt. Jablonski on Hill Street Blues and then went on to have featured roles in such
series as “Veronica’s Closet,” “Coach,” “Cheers,” “Frazier” and “The
Practice.”
Prosky was born and raised
in Philadelphia and served in the Air Force before coming to Washington. In
2003 Prosky emerged from behind the makeup and characters on stage to write
a letter to the Editor of the Washington Post. In his letter, Prosky gave
his own review of the work now being done in the Potomac Region when he said
“Theater in Washington has advanced greatly both in quantity and above all
in artistic quality since my first days at Arena.”
Potomac Stages reviews
of Robert Prosky’s work, both at Arena Stage, as of 1-05-04:
Shakespeare in Hollywood
An
American Daughter |
