Nicholas Pryor, 'Airplane!' Passenger & 'Risky Business' Dad, Dies at 89

Nicholas Pryor, a veteran character actor remembered as the dad in "Risky Business" and as Jim, who really shouldn't have had that second cup of coffee in "Airplane!," has died at 89.

Pryor's actor friend Jon Lindstrom made the same announcement on Instagram late Tuesday, writing, "It is my solemn task to announce the passing of the great Nicholas Pryor. Nick was an Actor's actor, and an exceptional friend. He passed on October 7, 2024, surrounded by loving family."

He went on, "Nick may be best known for his role as the father of #TomCruise in #RiskyBusiness, or as the same to #RobertDowneyJr in #LessThanZero. He shared the screen with the likes of #JackNicholson #KurtRussell#EwanMcGregor Too many to name really. He starred on #Broadway and delivered terrific work in Film and TV for over 60 years. But to me, he was my friend. One of the best I've ever had. He was a mentor, a sounding board, a trusted confidant, and even a father-figure beyond, yes, playing my own father on #GH and #PortCharles. And he was one of the funniest people you could hope to spend time with over a bottle of good wine and a great meal. I will miss him terribly, as will his beautiful wife Christina, his daughter Stacey, and his two grandchildren, Gus and Avril. R.I.P. #FlightOfAngels#RIP @generalhospitalabc."

THR reports that Pryor hand-wrote his own obituary, which reads, "Nicholas Pryor was enormously grateful to have been, for nearly 70 years, a working actor.”

Pryor was born January 28, 1935, in Baltimore. After appearing on Broadway four times in the '50s, he made his debut in 1958 on the soap "The Brighter Day" on his way to an incredible 170-plus film and TV credits.

His most important TV roles were as Chancellor Arnold on more than two dozen episodes of "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1994-1997) and as Victor Collins on nearly 350 episodes of the soap "Port Charles" (1997-2002).

Among his other TV work, he recurred on "Another World" (1964), "The Nurses" (1965-1967), "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" (1967), "All My Children" (1971), "The Edge of Night" (1973), "Eight Is Enough" (1979-1981), "Dallas" (1985), "The Bronx Zoo" (1987-1988), "L.A. Law" (1991-1992), and "Party of Five" (1995-1999).

Pryor was one of the hapless passengers in the broad comedy "Airplane!" in 1980. His character overrides his wife's (Lee Bryant) insistence that he won't have a second cup of coffee, a parody of a ubiquitous TV ad for Yuban. When he begins vomiting, his wife's deadpan response is one of the film's best gags.

He was the dad in both "Risky Business," the 1983 film that made Tom Cruise a star, and 1987's "Less Than Zero."

Pryor was also in the features "Smile" (1975), "The Happy Hooker" (1975), "The Gumball Rally" (1976), "Damien: Omen II" (1978), "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh" (1979), "The Falcon and the Snowman" (1985), "Pacific Heights" (1990), "Collateral Damage" (2002), and his final film, 2021's "Halloween Kills."

He is survived by his fourth wife, the actress Christine Belford (Rose Nylund's daughter Kirsten on a 1986 episode of "The Golden Girls"), to whom he had been wed for more than 30 years. He is also survived by his daughter and two grandkids.