Mr Prosser
Mr L. Prosser is a nervous roadbuilder who would like to do his job: building a bypass right through Arthur Dent's house. Very little is known about the man except for his predilection for fur hats, his marital status (married), a desire to hang axes above the door of his cottage (although Mrs. Prosser would prefer climbing roses), a direct albeit very distant patrilineal descent from Genghis Khan (of which he is unaware), and occasional visions of Mongol hordes, which are a result of his nomadic ancestry. He unfailingly addresses Arthur as "Mr. Dent."
After some negotiation with Ford Prefect (or with Arthur Dent, in the radio series only), he is temporarily persuaded to halt the demolition. This respite does not last, but he is eventually interrupted for good by the Vogon demolition of Earth.
Prosser holds the distinction of having the very first line of dialogue ever in the Hitchhiker's Guide canon, as he is the first character (not counting The Guide itself) to speak in fit the first of the radio series.
Appears in:
- the novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- the computer game The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
On radio, he was played by Bill Wallis and appears in fit the first of the radio series. On television, he appears in episode 1 of the TV series, played by Joe Melia. He is played by Steve Pemberton in the movie version. He appears in fit the twenty-sixth of the radio series, despite not appearing in the novel Mostly Harmless, voiced by Bruce Hyman; this Prosser exists on a parallel Earth where the cottage he wishes to demolish is the home of both Arthur Dent and Fenchurch.
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