- Janos Prohaska
Janos Prohaska (
October 10 ,1919 –March 13 ,1974 ), born inBudapest , Hungary, was an actor andstunt performer on American television from the 1960s until his untimely death. He usually played the roles of animals ormonster s.He is best-remembered for his recurring comic role as "The Cookie Bear" on the "
The Andy Williams Show " from 1969 to 1971. (Ironically, "bear" is often used as a production term for "monster," as well.) Prohaska also appeared more than once in such TV series as "The Outer Limits ", "Lost in Space ", and ', although his turns as the Horta in "Star Treks "The Devil in the Dark", and the Mugato in "A Private Little War", are the best known of these. He made an appearance as himself on an episode of "What's My Line? " in 1969, where he wore a monkey costume that he had made.He and his son Robert were killed along with 34 others on Wednesday,
March 13 ,1974 at 8:28 p.m. in the crash of a chartered Sierra Airlines Convair CV-440 aircraft nearBishop, California while filming "The Ascent of Man " television series. The plane flew into a mountain ridge in darkness, but the exact cause of the crash was never determined. [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19740313-0]A background character in
Raymond E. Feist 'sKing of Foxes is the minornoble Janos Prohaska, named in honor of the Star Trek actor.The title character in DC Comics' Blackhawk is named Janos Prohaska.
The rare
sentient Mugato, Ensign Janos, a regular character in the licensed "" novels, is also named for Prohaska.External links
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