Richard Pryor dead at 65
loudwizard
358 Posts
just wow...
loudwizard
358 Posts
Comments
man.
I hate to say this but, in some ways, maybe that's for the best.
R.I.P. to one of the greatest
damn damn damn damn.
rip.
a legend.
Damn. He was one of my idols. Created/Contributed the blueprint.
He was a genius.
REST IN PEACE..............................."Be home by 11:00"
Yesterday I just saw the WattStax movie and lol a lot with dude's remarks.
R.I.P
Peace
In 1970, after several successful years as a nightclub comedian and frequent 'Ed Sullivan Show' guest, Richard Pryor grew tired of doing what he called "white bread humor" and walked off the stage during a show at the Alladin Hotel in Las Vegas and away from a career that had been building for several years.
The comic moved to Berkeley, California where he discovered the writings of Malcolm X and began developing edgier material. He also developed a cocaine habit. "I'd take the dope and pretend I was Miles Davis. But I couldn't have been a junkie because when I wanted to stop I stopped on a dime." (We all know that didn't turn out to be true!)
Richard PryorA string of hit movies ('Silver Streak', 'Greased Lightning') and comedy albums in the mid-Seventies made Richard Pryor a big star. On May 5, 1977 Pryor hosted a brilliant special on NBC featuring guests LaWanda Page, John Belushi, The Pips (who performed a medley of their hits without any lead vocals) and a powerful dramatic performance by poet Maya Angelou. Pryor played his drunk "Willie" character, "Iddi Amin Dada", and a money grubbing television evangelist "Reverend James L. White" who gets the phones ringing off the hook when he announces he's collecting money for a 'back to Africa' campaign.
Richard PryorThe segment with Maya Angelou may be one of the most profound moments in television history. Starting out as a very funny comedy skit with "Willie" getting into a drunken brawl in a bar, the piece suddenly takes a harrowing (and enlightening) turn when Willie gets home to his wife (Angelou). This is something you have to see for yourself, truly one of those moments that remind you of the power that television can have.
The special was a critical and ratings smash. Richard Pryor's appearances on 'Saturday Night' Live over the last few years had been numeric gold for the network as well, so programmers started thinking the unthinkable - giving the most militant and sexually-suggestive comedian of the Seventies his own weekly television series.
The network only gave the star a ten-week contract, in part because there hadn't been a successful variety show launched in half a decade. For reasons only a network executive could divine, 'The Richard Pryor Show' was scheduled on Tuesday nights at 8:00 pm, opposite 'Happy Days' and 'LaVerne and Shirley'. Why would network executives put their most controversial and adult star on during the newly designated 'Family Hour' at 8:00, especially when they specifically promised the star that his show wouldn't start before 9:00pm? You tell me.
This move caused Richard Pryor to have second thoughts about doing a series and he reportedly broke down in an early writer's meeting, confessing: "I bit off more than I can chew" Reduced to tears, the comedian told his new staff, "I don't want to be on TV. I'm in a trap. I can't do this." The writers tried to convince him that he could do something special on television, and labored for days trying to convince the comedian to change his mind and go forward with the show. Finally Pryor relented, but only to do four shows, not the ten that he originally signed for.
A great roster of supporting players was assembled for the variety hour: Sandra Bernhardt, Robin Williams, Marsha Warfeild, Victor DeLapp, Jimmy Martinez, Tim Reid, Paul Mooney, Argus Hamilton and 'Detroit' John Witherspoon. There would be no major guest-stars. The show was produced by John Moffitt and Rocco Urbisci for Burt Sugarman Productions.
Battles with the network censors started as soon as the show went into production. Pryor was shocked to find out that he wouldn't be given free rein to do whatever he wanted after signing his lucrative contract with the network (sound familliar?).[/b] "It's bullshit - there's no other word for it - and lots of it. I think they hire people, about six thousand of them, to do nothing but mess with people." The frustrated star told Ebony Magazine at the time, "The problem with censors is that they don't like for people to communicate. I think it is on purpose and very political. A lot of silly stuff went down about anything I tried to do. It was just frustrating."
To spoof the situation he found himself in, Richard Pryor appeared at the beginning of his first show stating that he will never be compromised. When the camera pulls back, you see he is naked (actually wearing a bodystocking) and his dick is missing.
Richard PryorNBC ordered the 'offensive' scene removed, so it ran instead on the evening news on all three networks. More people saw that 'censored' clip on the news than ever saw the show itself. Another skit on the first episode that caused some flack had Pryor as a flamboyant rock singer who machine guns his all-white audience to death.
The controversy didn't stop there. The second episode featured a long, slow sequence with a woman describing a lesbian experience in the park. One of the most revealing moments of the series came during the fourth show.
Part of the episode was done like a 'roast', only there were no guest celebrities to roast the host, just the supporting cast. It was a long, tense television moment as the regulars either kissed the host's ass or burnt their bridges. Pryor just looked down much of the time, acting like he was writing something down - rarely looking up or sincerely laughing. This did not appear to be a happy group.
After the four episodes were shot, neither the star or the network was willing to continue - 'The Richard Pryor Show' was one of the lowest-rated shows of that year. 'Happy Days' and 'Lavern and Shirley' on the other hand, were the number one and two rated shows in 1977. They were unbeatable and Richard Pryor failed to lure viewers away from the comfortable Cunninghams.
NBC and Richard Pryor announced that the remainder of the contract would be made up of a series of six specials to be broadcast over the next three years. Pryor promised, "I'm going to do them the way I want and then they can kiss my behind." The specials were never filmed.
TVpartyWas Richard Pryor bitter about his television 'career'? No, not at all - he had this to say: "One week of truth on TV could just straighten out everything. One hundred and twenty-seven million people watch television every night; that's why they use it to sell stuff. They've misused it a long time so now it's just a business, that's all. They're not going to write shows about how to revolutionize America. The top rated shows are for retarded people."
That dude changed the game and paved the way for many.
YES, i have the dvd box. Shit iz lava.
His support cast includes
robin williams,tim reid,marsha warfield,sandra bernard,and ice cube's pops from friday.
Dont sleep
And most importantly, Paul Mooney, who was also a key writer for the series and some of Pryor's best material (like the "Word Association" sketck on SNL)
Back in the day, cats would throw on his records at a party and listen to the whole album.
I kept a copy of That Nigger's Crazy in my crate whenever I needed a little intro.
end of an era.
that sucks.
He just walked on stage and started talkin.
I'm old enough to remember when the series first aired. Being in grade-school then, the jokes sailed right over my head, but when it was rerun a couple of times in my teen years, the surreal humor made perfect sense to me. Yes, I have one of the DVD's.
I knew it was coming, but I was still surprised when I heard the news.
my respects
Listening to "Live on the Sunset Strip" right now...fucking hilarious. Will be missed greatly.
Also loaned his writing skills to one of the funniest movies ever...
Damn, damn, damn....
Easily the foremost comedian of his generation, Richard Pryor brought a distinctively ribald tradition in African-American comedy to mainstream audiences. Often cited as a major inspiration by a roster of younger black comedy writer-performers (including Eddie Murphy, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Robert Townsend and Martin Lawrence), Pryor's influence has transformed American comedy by expanding our notions of what may be perceived as funny. Long before the vogue for "performance art", Pryor's material was profane, socially astute and confessional, provoking thought and anger as well as laughter. Though a veteran of 40 films between 1967 and 1991, only his comedy performance films--particularly the first two, "Richard Pryor Live in Concert" (1979) and "Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip" (1982)--accurately conveyed the nature of his genius. A gifted mimic, Pryor often focused on such marginal members of the black community as bums, winos, junkies and street corner philosophers. However, he rarely settled for easy ridicule or condemnation but instead unerringly found the humanity of his characters. His harshest criticism was reserved for his own foibles, be they with drugs, drink or women.
After surviving a childhood that would have given Dickens nightmares (raised in a brothel run by his grandmother where his mother was a prostitute beaten by his ne'er-do-well father; a victim of sexual molestation at age six; abandoned by his mother at age ten; a high school drop-out by 14; a father himself by 17), Pryor began performing stand-up comedy in his native Peoria, IL. He moved to NYC in 1963 and established himself as a successful performer in night clubs and on TV. The young Pryor idolized Bill Cosby and his early stand-up was similarly nice and non-confrontational. Legend has it that, in 1969, he experienced what amounted to a nervous breakdown while performing onstage in Las Vegas. Pryor fled the stage and never performed "safe" comedy again. The following year, Pryor moved to Berkeley, CA, where he became heavily involved in the counterculture and socialized with cutting-edge black writers like Ishmael Reed and Cecil Brown. Pryor reinvented his stand-up routine and went on to win five Grammys for his comedy recordings (reissued on CD in 1995). Unfortunately, his screen career was never as epochal.
After making his feature debut in William Castle's comedy, "The Busy Body" (1967), Pryor gained notice as the militant Stanley X in the teen exploitation classic "Wild in the Streets" (1968). He earned acclaim for his dramatic supporting role as "Piano Man" in "Lady Sings the Blues" (1972) and went on to enliven a host of urban romps such as "Uptown Saturday Night" (1974) and "Car Wash" (1976). Pryor co-scripted the classic Mel Brooks western spoof, "Blazing Saddles" (1974), but lost the promised lead role to Cleavon Little. One of his better comic character roles was playing Negro League ballplayer Charlie Snow in "The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings" (1976). African-American director Michael Schultz helmed Pryor's early star vehicles "Greased Lightning", a comedy-drama biopic about black racecar driver Wendell Scott, and "Which Way Is Up?" (both 1977), an American version of Italian director Lina Wertmuller's 1972 comedy "The Seduction of Mimi". Both films were deemed flawed and did disappointing business. He also played the title role in Sidney Lumet's reviled film version of "The Wiz" (1978). Pryor's powerful portrayal of a Detroit auto worker driven to rob his own union in Paul Schrader's "Blue Collar" (also 1978) suggested that his talents would have been better served by more dramatic film roles.
TV was another medium which provided an uncomfortable fit for Pryor. The squeaky clean comic was a regular on "Kraft Summer Music Hall" (NBC, 1966), a family-oriented variety series. Fellow comic Lily Tomlin took a chance and hired the transformed Pryor as a writer and performer for her two acclaimed comedy-variety specials "The Lily Tomlin Show" and "Lily" (both CBS, 1973). The writing team was nominated for an Emmy for the first outing and took home the prize for the second. Pryor received more exposure on two specials starring Flip Wilson in 1974 and 1975. He wrote and hosted his own hilarious showcase, "The Richard Pryor Special?" (NBC, 1977), before being briefly afforded his own comedy-variety series "The Richard Pryor Show" (NBC, 1977). Network interference and disappointing ratings soon sent Pryor back to the movies.
Pryor teamed with Gene Wilder in a series of mild but (initially) popular buddy movies including "Silver Streak" (1976) and "Stir Crazy" (1980). He segued to feature directing with "Richard Pryor Here and Now" (1983), his third and least impressive concert film. Pryor became less active as the 80s progressed, due partly to ongoing substance abuse and personal problems and the serious burns he suffered in 1980 while drinking and freebasing cocaine. Matters were made worse by the onset of multiple sclerosis in 1986 (which he did not publicly acknowledge until 1991). At the peak of his commercial powers, Pryor's choice of material was often appalling but audiences kept coming long after the work warranted attention. He was reportedly paid more ($4 million) for his role in the forgettable "Superman III" (1983) than was the star Christopher Reeve ($3 million). The profoundly insensitive would-be comedy "The Toy" (1982)--in which Pryor became the willing slave of the young son of millionaire Jackie Gleason--was viewed as the artistic nadir of his film acting career.
Ironically, while Pryor points to Walter Hill's lackluster 1985 remake of "Brewster's Millions" as the first film he made totally sober (though some associates claim that the comic was never totally sober), his earlier film appearances in which he was often drunk or stoned were far more compelling. Pryor served as producer, writer, director and star of the semi-autobiographical but highly sanitized "Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling" (1986). Critical and commercial reception was lukewarm to what Pryor apparently viewed as his "All That Jazz". By the time of "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" (1989), a limp pairing with Wilder, his reign as a box office champ was definitely over. Later that year, he looked frail and sickly as Eddie Murphy's mentor in "Harlem Nights" (1989). Pryor was paired with Wilder again for "Another You" (1991) but it hardly registered.
Despite persistent rumors of being near death, a broken but unbowed Pryor has remained on the scene to make rare TV guest shots ("Martin", "Chicago Hope") and receive heartfelt tributes from his peers. He co-wrote a memoir of his remarkable life entitled "Pryor Convictions and Other Life Sentences" in 1995. The following year there was even talk of him returning to the screen in several projects at various stages of development.
* Also Credited As:
Richard Franklin Lenox Thomas Pryor
* Born:
on 12/01/40 in Peoria, Illinois
* Job Titles:
Actor, Comedian, Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Drummer, Billiard hall attendant, Meat packer, Truck driver
Family
* Children: has seven children by six different women
* Daughter: Elizabeth Pryor. born c. 1967
* Daughter: Rain Pryor. mother Shelly Bonus; born July 16, 1969; co-star of "Head of the Class"
* Daughter: Renee Pryor. born 1957; fathered by Pryor when he was 17
* Father: Buck Carter. WWII veteran; married Pryor's mother when Pryor was three; reportedly beat Pryor's mother and other prostitutes; died in 1968
* Grandmother: Marie Carter. paternal; one of 21 children; supervised prostitution in a series of brownstones on Peoria's North Washington Street; gained custody of Pryor after mother left
* Mother: Gertrude Pryor. left Pryor and his father due to the latter beating her when Pryor was ten years old; died in 1967
* Son: Franklin Matthew Mason. born c. 1987; in 1991 court upheld prior decision that Pryor must pay $4,500 in child support for his son by Geraldine Mason
* Son: Kelsey Pryor. born c. 1987
* Son: Richard Pryor. born c. 1962; mother Patricia Price
* Son: Stephen Michael Pryor. born c. 1984
* Step-mother: died in 1969
Significant Others
* Wife: Deboragh McGuire. fourth wife; married in 1977; divorced in 1978; born c. 1955
* Wife: Flynn Pryor. married in October 1986; divorced; remarried on April 1, 1990; slated to produce, direct, write and star in "The Three Muscatels" for Peacock Films; separated; Pryor took out an order of protection against her
* Wife: Jennifer Lee. fourth wife; married in 1982; divorced; wrote autobiography, "Tarnished Angel: Surviving in the Dark Curve of Drugs, Violence, Sex and Fame" (1991) in which she claimed that Pryor physically abused her during their 14-month marriage and 14-year relationship (date approxmate)
* Wife: Patricia Price. married in 1960; divorced
* Wife: Shelly Bonus.
* Companion: Geraldine Mason. had one son together in 1987
* Companion: Pam Grier. together in the 1970s
Milestones
* 1956 As a teen, impregnated his girlfriend (who gave birth to his first daughter); subsequently learned that his father had also been having sex with her (date approximate)
* 1958 In West Germany with airborne division of US Army; discharged for slashing another soldier with a switchblade
* 1963 Moved to New York, began performing at "Cafe Wha?" in Greenwich Village
* 1964 First TV appearance, "On Broadway Tonight", a variety show hosted by Rudy Vallee featuring new talent
* 1966 Appeared as standup comic on the Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin and Ed Sullivan shows (date approximate)
* 1967 Film acting debut, "The Busy Body", a comedy directed by William Castle
* 1968 Gained critical notice as Stanley X in the classic youth exploitation film, "Wild in the Streets"
* 1969 Reportedly suffered a nervous breakdown of sorts while performing his popular Bill Cosby-like standup routine onstage at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas; fled the building
* 1970 Moved to Berkeley, CA; began socializing with writers Ishmael Reed and Cecil Brown (date approximate)
* 1974 First film as screenwriter (with Mel Brooks), "Blazing Saddles"; lost promised lead role to Cleavon Little
* 1977 Suffered his first heart attack while dallying with a prostitute
* 1978 Shot up the car of Deboragh McGuire, then his wife, with a gun when she attempted to leave him
* 1980 "Accidentally" set himself on fire while freebasing cocaine; suffered third-degree burns over half his body; later revealed that he began freebasing again three weeks after leaving the hospital; admitted to Barbara Walters in a 1986 interview that the incident was a suicide attempt
* 1980 Started his own production company, Indigo, at Columbia Pictures; put Jim Brown, his best friend at the time, in charge (date approximate)
* 1981 First film as co-producer, "Bustin' Loose"
* 1983 First film as director, "Richard Pryor Here and Now"
* 1986 First diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; went public in 1991
* 1988 Made an abortive attempt to put together a standup routine
* 1990 Suffered a heart attack on an Australian golf course
* 1991 Underwent triple-bypass heart surgury
* 1993 Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
* 1995 Appeared with daughter Rain in episode of CBS medical drama "Chicago Hope" as a patient with multiple sclerosis in November
* 1995 Wrote autobiography "Pryor Convictions"
* 2003 Hosted "Richard Pryor: I Ain't Dead Yet", featured clips of his concert appearances, recordings and diary excerpts as well as his comic pals
* Began performing a more honest, confessional and profane brand of standup comedy
* Began performing as nightclub comedian in Peoria's Harold's Club, owned by the most powerful black man in town
* Began performing for classmates at age 11
* Molested in an alley at age six
* Named after a series of "uncles" (actually pimps); raised in a brothel owned by his grandmother; watched his mother perform "tricks" with white men
* Performed as professional nightclub drummer from age 7
* Set to produce an upcoming biopic based on his life (lensed 2005)
* Stage acting debut in little theater production of "Rumpelstiltskin" at age 12
* Worked in a meat packinghouse
* Wrote TV scripts for "Sanford and Son," "The Flip Wilson Show" and Lily Tomlin specials and Flip Wilson
See you later Richard, I love you.