Janos Prohaska

Janos Prohaska , Hungarian János Prohászka (born October 10, 1919 in Budapest , Hungary , † March 13, 1974 in Bishop , California ) was a Hungarian- American film actor and stuntman .

Life

Early life

Prohaska emigrated to the USA at an early age to start a career in show business. After working as a stuntman in the early 1960s - among other things, he was the double for Peter Falk in A total, total crazy world from 1963 - he made his debut as an actor in an episode of the short-lived television series Bourbon Street Beat in 1960 .

Career

But after just a few film roles, it was clear that Prohaska's real talent was to slip into human-sized monkey or bear costumes and thus be present in feature films. He also founded a small company that produced such costumes. Long before Rick Baker or Richard Taylor designed all kinds of creatures for television or the big screen, Prohaska was the expert in this field.

When science fiction films and series became popular at the end of the 1960s , Prohaska also often had to create and portray aliens, and so in 1965 and 1966 she stood in front of the camera twice in Lost Between Alien Worlds . Prohaska's four appearances in the series Raumschiff Enterprise between 1966 and 1969 were also worth mentioning . The best-known feature film in which Prohaska was seen was the sci-fi film Escape from the Planet of the Apes from 1971, where he was in his star role, as a monkey, was seen.

death

In March 1974 there was Janos Prohaska and his 27-year-old son Robert Prohaska , who had started shortly before. also working as an actor and stuntman while filming the four-part documentary Primal Man in Bishop, California. On March 13, 1974, the film crew was to be flown back to Los Angeles by plane . Shortly after take-off at 8:28 p.m., the machine crashed in the White Mountains . All 32 passengers and the four crew members were killed. Another known fatality was the Emmy- nominated makeup artist Rolf Miller . The cause of the worst airplane accident in Inyo County's history has not yet been clarified.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Prohaska, Janos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Prohászka, János
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Hungarian-American film actor and stunt performer
DATE OF BIRTH	October 10, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH	Budapest , Hungary
DATE OF DEATH	March 13, 1974
Place of death	near Bishop , California