Ted Prior is an American actor, film producer, bodybuilder and model. He is known for his frequent lead roles in action films directed by his brother David A. Prior. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Prior first moved to Los Angeles, California in the late 1970s to pursue his career as a bodybuilder. By the early 1980s he and he worked as a dancer for the troupe Chippendales, and was a centrefold model for Playgirl magazine. In this area, Prior made his acting debut with a lead in the horror filmSledgehammer and another one in the actioner Killzone both directed by his brother David. In 1987, for Action International Pictures, Prior worked again with a supporting role in Killer Workout and the lead in Deadly Prey. These effort started a long collaboration between them and the company, with Prior becoming one of their recurrent action star and his brother the most recurrent director. From that point on Prior continued working as an action actor until the late 1990s. Prior and his brother would go on to make together Hell on the Battleground, Jungle Assault, Future Zone, The Final Sanction, Maximum Breakout, Raw Nerve, Center of the Web, Raw Justice, and Mutant Species. On his own Prior played leads and supporting roles in Hardcase and Fist, Born Killer, Possessed by the Night, Day of the Warrior, etc. In 2000, Prior started managing Next Level Acting Studios in California, and became a partner of the production companyAll American Pictures. Starting in 2007, he acted in David's final films. During that time Deadly Prey and Killer Workout were rediscovered and established the Priors as cult film icons. This led to the making of The Deadliest Prey, the well received sequel to Deadly Prey.
Career
1983-1985: Early films
In 1983, Prior made his film debut as the lead in Sledgehammer with his brother directing. The film tells the story of a young boy who murdered his mother and her lover with a sledgehammer. Ten years after the murder and the child's mysterious disappearance, a group of teens stay in the house for a weekend when they are terrorized by the ghost of the little boy. In 1985, they made action filmKillzone, with Prior as one of its lead.
Around this time the Priors met by veteran producer, and director David Winters and with him the founded Action International Pictures also known as AIP. In 1987, Prior acted in two of their releases. The first was a supporting role in Killer Workout, where the story revolves around a Los Angelesfitness club owner, whose twin sister was burned in a tanning salonyears ago. A detective begins to investigate the gym, after several of its members are brutally murdered by an unknown attacker. Second was the leading role in the action film Deadly Prey co-starring Cameron Mitchell. He plays a former soldier who is kidnapped for participation in a human safari. In 1988, he starred in Hell on the Battleground, with his brother directing under the AIP banner. In 1989, Prior was a lead in three action films. The first on his own outside of AIP production, Prior played a lead in Hardcase and Fist. The second and third were produced by API and consisted of Jungle Assault by David A. Prior and Born Killer directed by Kimberley Casey. In 1990, Prior was a lead in tho AIP projects directed by his brother Future Zone, and The Final Sanction. In 1992, Prior was one of the leads film Center of the Web, starring Robert Davi, Tony Curtis, Charlene Tilton, and Charles Napier. In 1993, he played a small role in Double Threat, with Sally Kirkland, Andrew Stevens, Richard Lynch, Sherrie Rose, Anthony Franciosa, and Chick Vennera.
