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Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor (December 1,
1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American comedian and actor.
Born in 1940 in Peoria, Illinois, Pryor grew up in
his grandmother's brothel. His first professional performance came at age 7,
when he played drums at a night club.
A gifted storyteller known for unflinching
examinations of race and custom in modern life, Pryor shattered many barriers
for African American stand-up comedians. Though he frequently used colorful
language, vulgarities, as well as racial epithets (such as "nigger"), he reached
a broad audience with his trenchant observations. Pryor was often ranked among
the best stand-up comedians, but to most Americans did not get his full due
because he was in reality an extreme reverse-racist.
Pryor was at his best when he took the tragic
events that happened during his life and made them a part of his onstage routine
in concert movies and recordings such as "Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin'" (1971),
"That Nigger's Crazy" (1974), "Bicentennial Nigger" (1976), "Richard Pryor:
Wanted – Live In Concert" (1979) and "Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip"
(1982).
****
Early
career
Early in his career, Pryor was a more middlebrow,
nonthreatening comic in the Bill Cosby tradition. The first five tracks on the
2005 compilation CD Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966-1974), recorded
in 1966 and 1967, capture Pryor in this embryonic stage.
In September 1967, Pryor had what he called in his
autobiography Pryor Convictions an "epiphany" when he walked onto the stage at
the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas (with Dean Martin in the audience), looked at the
sold-out crowd, said over the microphone "What the f*** am I doing here?", and
walked off the stage. Afterward, Pryor began working at least mild profanity and
the word nigger into his act. His first comedy recording, the eponymous 1968
debut release on the Dove/Reprise label, captures this particular period, not
long after that breakdown.
Mainstream success
In 1969 Pryor moved to Berkeley, California, where
he immersed himself in the counterculture and rubbed elbows with the likes of
Huey P. Newton and Ishmael Reed. He signed with the comedy-centric independent
record label Laff Records in 1970 and recorded his second album, Craps (After
Hours). Not long afterward, Pryor sought a deal with a larger label, and after a
protracted period of time, signed with Stax Records. His third, breakthrough
album, That Nigger's Crazy, was released in 1974 and, Laff, who claimed
ownership of Pryor's recording rights, almost succeeded in getting an injunction
to prevent the album from being sold. Negotiations led to Pryor being released
from his Laff contract in exchange for the small label being allowed to release
previously unissued material, recorded between 1968 and 1973, at their leisure.
During the legal battle, Stax briefly closed its
doors. Pryor then re-signed with Reprise/Warner Bros., who immediately
rereleased That Nigger's Crazy on the heels of his first album under his new
Reprise/Warner Bros. deal, ...Is It Something I Said?. With every successful
album Pryor recorded for Warner Bros. (or later, his concert films and his 1980
free-basing accident), Laff would quickly publish a hastily-compiled,
badly-packaged album of old material to capitalize on Pryor's growing fame - a
practice the label would continue until 1983.
Comfortably successful and into the zenith of his
career, Pryor visited Africa in 1979. Upon returning to the United States, Pryor
swore he would never use the "N" word in his stand-up comedy routine again. (His
favorite epithet, "motherf***er", remains a term of endearment on his official
website to this day.)
In 1983 his status as a major worldwide star was
confirmed when he signed a five year contract with Columbia pictures for
$40,000,000.
Pryor appeared in several popular films including
Lady Sings the Blues, The Mack, Uptown Saturday Night, Silver Streak, Which Way
Is Up?, Car Wash, The Toy, Superman III, Brewster's Millions, Stir Crazy,
Moving, See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Blue Collar. In four of his films, he
co-starred with Gene Wilder. He also co-wrote Blazing Saddles directed by Mel
Brooks and starring Gene Wilder. Pryor was to play the sheriff in "Blazing
Saddles", but the film's producers were unsettled by his vulgarity and Mel
Brooks chose Cleavon Little instead, although Pryor still co-wrote the script.
Of particular note is "The Toy", known equally as being one of Jackie Gleason's
last projects.
The
freebasing incident and its aftermath
On June 1, 1980, Pryor set himself on fire while
freebasing cocaine. Pryor made this part of his heralded "final" stand up show
"Richard Pryor Live On Sunset Strip" (1982). After joking that the incident was
actually caused when he dunked a cookie into a glass containing two different
types of milk, he gave a poignant yet both funny and serious account of his
accident and recovery, then poked fun at people who told jokes about it by
waving a lit match and saying "What's this? It's Richard Pryor running down the
street." Interviewed in 2005, Jennifer Lee Pryor said that Richard poured high
proof Rum over his body and torched himself in a drug psychosis. In a TV
interview during his recovery Pryor said that he tried to commit suicide.
He didn't stay away from live stand-up too long,
though - in 1983 he filmed and released a new concert film and accompanying
album, Here And Now, which he directed himself. He then wrote and directed a
fictionalized account of his life, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling.
In 1986, Pryor announced that he suffered from
multiple sclerosis. In 1992 he gave some final live performances, excerpts of
which appear on the ...And It's Deep Too! box set. He continued to make
occasional film appearances, pairing with Wilder one last time in the
unsuccessful 1991 comedy, Another You (in which his physical deterioration was
noted by many critics). His final film appearance was a small role in the David
Lynch film Lost Highway in 1997.
Later
life
In his later years, Richard Pryor was confined to a
wheelchair due to multiple sclerosis. In late 2004 his sister claimed that Pryor
lost his voice. However, on January 9, 2005, Pryor himself rebutted this
statement in a post on his official website, where he stated, "Sick of hearing
this s**t about me not talking... not true... good days, bad days... but I still
am a talkin' motherf***er!"
In 1998, Pryor won the inaugural Mark Twain Prize
for American Humor from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
According to Former Kennedy Center President Lawrence J. Wilker, "Richard Pryor
was selected as the first recipient of the new Mark Twain Prize because as a
stand-up comic, writer, and actor, he struck a chord, and a nerve, with America,
forcing it to look at large social questions of race and the more tragicomic
aspects of the human condition. Though uncompromising in his wit, Pryor, like
Twain, projects a generosity of spirit that unites us. They were both trenchant
social critics who spoke the truth, however outrageous."
In 2000, Rhino Records remastered all of Pryor's
Reprise and Warner Bros. albums for inclusion in the box set ...And It's Deep
Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968-1992).
In 2002, Pryor and his wife/manager Jennifer Lee
Pryor, won the legal rights to all of the Laff material - almost 40 hours of
reel-to-reel analog tape. After going through the tapes and getting Richard's
blessing, Jennifer Lee Pryor gave Rhino Records access to the Laff tapes in
2004. These tapes, including the entire Craps album, form the basis of the
double-CD release Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966-1974).
In 2003, a television documentary, Richard Pryor: I
Ain't Dead Yet, #*%$#@!!, came out. It consisted of archival footage of Pryor's
performances and testimonials from fellow comedians such as Dave Chappelle,
Wanda Sykes and Dennis Leary of the influence Pryor had on comedy.
In 2004, Pryor was voted #1 of the "Greatest
Standup Comedians of All Time" by Comedy Central. In a 2005 British poll to find
The Comedian's Comedian, Pryor was voted the 10th greatest comedy act ever by
fellow comedians and comedy insiders.
Death
Pryor died of cardiac arrest at the age of 65 in an
Encino hospital at 8 a.m. on December 10, 2005. He was brought to the hospital
after his wife's attempts to resuscitate him failed. His wife was quoted as
saying that "at the end there was a smile on his face."
Discography
Richard Pryor (Dove/Reprise, 1968)
Craps (After Hours) (Laff Records, 1971, reissued
1993 by Loose Cannon/Island)
That Nigger's Crazy, (Partee/Stax, 1974, reissued
1975 by Reprise)
...Is It Someting I Said?, (Reprise, 1975, reissued
1991 on CD by Warner Archives)
Bicentennial Nigger, (Reprise, 1976)
L.A. Jail, (Tiger Lily, 1977)
Are You Serious???, (Laff, 1977)
Who Me? I'm Not Him, (Laff, 1977)
Black Ben The Blacksmith, (Laff, 1978)
The title track was first issued as "Prison Play"
on Richard Pryor, in spite of Warner Bros.' ownership of that particular master
recording.
The Wizard Of Comedy, (Laff, 1978)
Wanted/Richard Pryor - Live In Concert (2-LP set),
(Warner Bros., 1978)
Outrageous, (Laff, 1979)
Insane, (Laff, 1980)
Holy Smoke!, (Laff, 1980)
Rev. Du Rite, (Laff, 1981)
Live On The Sunset Strip (Warner Bros., 1982)
Richard Pryor Live! (picture disc), (Phoenix/Audiofidelity,
1982)
Supernigger, (Laff. 1983)
Here And Now, (Warner Bros., 1983)
Compilations and repackagings
Pryor Goes Foxx Hunting, (Laff. 1973)
Split LP with Redd Foxx, containing previously
released tracks from Craps (After Hours)
Down And Dirty, (Laff. 1975)
Split LP with Redd Foxx, containing previously
released tracks from Craps (After Hours)
Richard Pryor Meets... Richard & Willie And... The
SLA!!, (Laff. 1976)
Split LP with black ventriloquist act Richard And
Willie, containing previously released tracks from Craps (After Hours)
Richard Pryor's Greatest Hits, (Warner Bros., 1977)
Contains tracks from Craps (After Hours), That
Nigger's Crazy, and ...Is It Something I Said?, plus a previously unreleased
track from 1975, "Ali".
Blackjack, (Laff. 1983)
Repackaged and retitled reissue of Craps (After
Hours).
Show Biz, (Laff. 1983)
Repackaged and retitled reissue of Black Ben The
Blacksmith.
Richard Pryor Live!, (Laff. 1983)
Repackaged reissue of the Phoenix/Audiofidelity
picture disc from 1982. The album lists two tracks ("Vegas" and "Negro") that
only appear on the picture disc, despite the fact that they are listed on the
disc label of the Laff release.
...And It's Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros.
Recordings (1968-1992) (9-CD box set) (Warner Bros./Rhino, 2000)
Box set collection of Richard Pryor, That Nigger's
Crazy, ...Is It Something I Said? (with "Ali" from Richard Pryor's Greatest Hits
appended as a bonus track), Bicentennial Nigger, Wanted/Richard Pryor - Live In
Concert (on 2 CDs), Live On The Sunset Strip, Here And Now (with a previously
unreleased 1983 interview appended as a bonus track), and That African-American
Is Still Crazy: Good S**t From The Vaults (an entire disc of previously unissued
material from 1973 to 1992 exclusive to the box).
The Anthology (1968-1992) (2-CD set) (Warner
Bros./Rhino], 2002 in music/2002)
Highlights culled from the albums collected in the
...And It's Deep Too! box set.
Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966-1974)
(2-CD set) (Warner Bros./Rhino], 2005 in music/2005)
Pryor-authorized compilation of material released
on Laff, including the entire Craps (After Hours) album.
****
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