Gregory Everett Proops (born October 3, 1959, in Phoenix, Arizona) is an American actor and stand-up comedian, and works largely in Europe as a comic and improviser. Raised in San Francisco, Proops studied improvisation and acting at San Francisco State University. After graduation, he joined an improv group with Mike McShane, which proved to be his ticket to stardom. Both Proops and McShane impressed producers Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, who put them on their show, Whose Line Is It Anyway?.