Cactus Pryor

Richard S. “Cactus” Pryor, Jr. was a well known Texas media personality for many years. His grandfather, Jonathon Pryor had served in the Union Army out of Illinois during the Civil War. Jonathon made his way to Austin, Texas by 1880, which also was the year he married Carrie Wallace of Hearne, Texas. The couple had at least six children before Jonathon’s death in his early fifties in 1895. Carrie survived him until her passing in 1944. Their second child and oldest son was Richard S. “Skinny” Pryor, born in 1883.

Skinny Pryor was a vaudeville performer for many years. After that, he and his wife, Mary Thompson Pryor, settled in Austin. They had six children of which Richard, Jr. was the second child and also the oldest son. Skinny owned early movie theaters in Austin including the Grand Central Theater and the Cactus Theater downtown. Skinny was said to have allowed children to watch the movies even if they did not have the money for a ticket. One article said he was in the habit of going for coffee or water and leaving the box office unattended. Another one said that he let children into his theater for reasons that he made up like a child having lots of freckles. Mary was house mother for a university fraternity for over thirty years.

Cactus got his nickname from his father’s Cactus movie theater. He graduated from Austin High School in 1941. He attended the University of Texas before entering the United States Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1944.

One of his earliest paid jobs after returning to Austin was working as a broadcaster at radio station KTBC, now known by the call letters KLBJ. He started there after the war, when the station was only a few years old. Lady Bird Johnson had acquired the station in 1942. Cactus began his career by reading local news and playing records on the air. His wit and humor caught on. Cactus was in good company and was one of many individuals who became known for having long careers at KTBC/KLBJ.

Cactus remained with KTBC when it had its first television programming. His was said to be the first face viewers saw on video broadcasts from the station. His personality and appeal made it an easy transition for him to the new medium.

In the 1950s, Cactus was involved in some audio recordings released under the name Cactus Pryor and His Pricklypears. The recordings included at least a dozen songs, country music covers, novelty songs and parodies. Many of them can be found on the internet. Other than Pryor, the names of the other musicians are usually not listed.

He began to do more public speaking and created some personalities that he adopted for his speaking engagements. One alter ego that he used repeatedly was that of a Danish individual named Hans Christoffersen. The June 8, 1962 issue of the Pampa Daily News reported a “delightful hoax” in which the Pampa Lions Club was addressed by a General Hans Christoffersen, a Danish air marshal, accompanied by his lovely wife Olga. It was explained that Olga spoke no English and was a retired ballerina who had formerly appeared with Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet. “Olga” was in reality a model from Amarillo and their appearance was a success.

According to an article on February 27, 1964 in the McKinney Weekly Democrat-Gazette, there was a Chamber of Commerce event honoring three local individuals. The featured speaker was described as a world traveler, former member of the Danish Army, General Hans Christoffersen. The article concluded by saying “You can’t see or believe everything you see or hear unless it’s told you by a Texan.”

In the January 30, 1965 issue of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, there was a special report out of nearby Tulia. The local band director was named “Citizen of the Year” at a Chamber of Commerce banquet. Guest speaker for the event, once again, was General Hans Christoffersen, this time said to be an officer in the Danish Army.

In 1965, writer Paul Crume reported in the Dallas Morning News that the Plano, Texas Chamber of Commerce had engaged a speaker sponsored by the United States Department of State. The speaker’s name was, once again, General Hans Christoffersen. A citizens committee from Plano met him at Dallas Love Field and escorted him to the venue. “Christoffersen” got up to speak in front of the unfurled flag of Denmark. The speaker opened with some witty barbs about area officials. The audience laughed but began to exchange curious glances with one another over his comments. After “the general” concluded his remarks and took his seat, the master of ceremonies announced that there was yet more speaker. Pryor stood up again, pulled off his fake mustache and greeted the group with his Texas accent. The newspaper report said that only one person among the organizers previously had been a party to the ruse.

Pryor was acquainted with President Lyndon Johnson and was often a speaker at events in which Johnson was involved. Cactus was said to be the only pundit who could direct barbs at Johnson and make the President laugh. Pryor also became acquainted with actor John Wayne. Cactus was an emcee for one of several 1967 events in the Dallas-Fort Worth area promoting the opening of the film “The War Wagon.” The film starred Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Bruce Cabot, Howard Keel and many others. Among Pryor’s duties was to announce the Hardin Simmons Cowboy Band and to present roses to a young lady from Abilene who was crowned “Miss War Wagon.”

Pryor was cast in two John Wayne films released the next year, “Hellfighters” and “The Green Berets.” Wayne had noticed his witty remarks while he was in North Texas promoting “War Wagon” and invited him to be part of his next film. The Vietnam themed film was completed first. Wayne also asked Pryor to accept another part in “Hellfighters,”and Cactus agreed. In that film, he played a doctor who treats Wayne’s character after an oilfield fire. One article also said that Pryor had a role in a Peter Fonda film called “Outlaw Blues” but if he had a part, it was uncredited. Cactus appeared in one other film called “Trespasses” in 1986. One of Pryor’s film anecdotes relates to the filming of “The Green Berets.” Something happened on the set to trigger a string of salty language from Wayne. Cactus remarked that although he knew Wayne was a Republican, in this case he sounded a lot like a certain Democrat that he knew (presumably a reference to LBJ).

Cactus was first married to Jewell Elizabeth Allison who died in 1983. The couple had four children. Five years later he married Peggy Dean Davis. Cactus continued to be associated with the Johnson broadcasting interests until his retirement.

In his later years, Cactus suffered from Alzheimer’s disease which contributed to his death in 2011. Cactus and Peggy are interred in the Texas State Cemetery along with Cactus’ brother Wally Prior, the former “Voice of Longhorn Athletics,” and Wally’s wife Edna.

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