Andre Pragera two-time Emmy Award winner who died this week at the age of 61, was little-known when the hard-boiled police drama premiered on NBC.”Homicide: Life on the StreetHe debuted the coveted post-Super Bowl spinoff on January 31, 1993. He left the series six years later as one of the most wanted men after leading the man who became a star in television series including FX’s “Thief” and TNT’s “Men.” of a Certain,” Brooklyn Nine Nine on Fox/NBC, as well as many other notable roles.
But it began with his years of “killing.” Prager played Detective Frank Pembleton, one of the most memorable characters television has ever produced, thanks to the brilliance of the executive producers. Tom FontanaBarry Levinson and Jim Finnerty describe the killers in the writers’ room (James Yoshimura, Julie Martin, David Simon). The stellar cast includes Ned Beatty, Melissa Leo, and Yaphet Kotto.
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Prager made his name as an actor working as a sharp-witted, sharp-elbowed detective known for his investigative and interrogation skills. Pembleton held court at ‘The Box’, where he investigated murder cases in his spider and fly domain.
The Box had a slightly playful mirror quality, perhaps because the set was located at Fell’s Point Recreation Pier, a sunless relic of better days in Charm City. It was a perfect set for “Homicide’s” band room, many outdoor and indoor areas that captured the show’s gritty vibe and of course, the box.
During my tenure as executive director of NBC Entertainment, I was on hand for an unforgettable photo shoot for “Murder,” led by longtime NBC cameraman Chris Haston, which took place on a sidewalk on a sweltering Saturday in August 1994. Emotions were running high after Haston. He received the shocking news that his mother had just died at the age of 51. As a consummate professional, Haston insisted on continuing filming.
With nine actors and the hair, makeup and wardrobe crew surrendering Saturday for a photo shoot on the grid, it was a hectic day. Chris saved the best for last, setting up the final shot as if it were coming from the point of view of a commentator being interrogated by Braugher’s Pembleton. Braugher is set to be positioned across the table a few feet from the camera. Co-stars Danny Baldwin and Isabella Hoffman flanked him in the background.
Prager entered the room and sat down. Earlier in the day, he was feeling uncomfortable taking the cast gallery selfies that come with the job of working on a network TV show. But his reserve had disappeared. He became Frank Pembleton, speaking silently as he began to interrogate an unseen enemy, slowly at first, then quickly, his face tensed, his body language hardening as he slowly increased the intensity of his entire being, gesturing with pointed fingers and clenched fists, rising from his seat, a storm in the camera’s eye. . His pantomime reached a frightening pitch as he delved into character and the atmosphere thickened. No one on set made a sound, and when we finished, the place was still falling apart.
The cast and other crew who gathered quietly to watch Braugher in action knew they had just seen something special, something real. It came as no surprise to any of us that Prager won his first Emmy Award in 1998 for his work on “Homicide.”
The footage turned out to be amazing. We captured a magical series of moments. Chris and I have done many photo shoots with celebrities over the years, but nothing came close to the drama and emotion of the experience of working with Prager on that sweaty day in Baltimore. Being in the box to watch the great Frank Pembleton give it his all – for the photo ops, no less – was a gift from one of the greatest actors of this generation that none of us who were there will ever forget.
Entertainment industry veteran Paul McGuire spent 10 years at NBC Entertainment, where he worked in communications, publicity and photo publications from 1988 to 1998.
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