Richard Pryor | |
|---|---|
 Pryor in 1974 | |
| Born | (1940-12-01)December 1, 1940 Peoria, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | December 10, 2005(2005-12-10) (aged 65) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 7, includingRain |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 1963–1999 |
| Medium |
|
| Genres | |
| Subjects | |
| Website | richardpryor |
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential comedians of all time. Pryor won aPrimetime Emmy Award and fiveGrammy Awards.[1] He received the firstKennedy CenterMark Twain Prize for American Humor in 1998. He won theWriters Guild of America Award in 1974.
Pryor's body of work includes numerousconcert films and recordings. He won theGrammy Award for Best Comedy Album forThat Nigger's Crazy (1974),...Is It Something I Said? (1975),Bicentennial Nigger (1976),Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982), andRichard Pryor: Here and Now (1983). He is also known forRichard Pryor: Live & Smokin' (1971),Wanted: Live in Concert (1978), andRichard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979). Pryor served as a co-writer for theMel Brooks satirical western comedy filmBlazing Saddles (1974).
As an actor, he starred mainly in comedies. He gained acclaim for his collaborations withGene Wilder, including the filmsSilver Streak (1976),Stir Crazy (1980),See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989), andAnother You (1991). He also acted in films such asUptown Saturday Night (1974),Blue Collar (1978),The Wiz (1978),California Suite (1978),Superman III (1983),Harlem Nights (1989), andLost Highway (1997). He appeared as himself onSesame Street andSaturday Night Live before hostingThe Richard Pryor Show (1977), andPryor's Place (1984).
Pryor was born on December 1, 1940, inPeoria, Illinois. He grew up in a brothel run by his grandmother, Marie Carter, where his alcoholic mother, Gertrude L. (née Thomas), was a prostitute.[2] His father, LeRoy "Buck Carter" Pryor (June 7, 1915 – September 27, 1968), was a former boxer,hustler andpimp.[3] After Gertrude abandoned him when he was 10, Pryor was raised primarily by Marie,[4] a tall, violent woman who would beat him for any of his eccentricities. Pryor was one of four children raised in his grandmother's brothel. He wassexually abused at age seven,[5] and expelled from school at the age of 14.[6]
Pryor served in theU.S. Army from 1958 to 1960, but spent virtually the entire stint in an army prison. According to a 1999 profile article about Pryor inThe New Yorker, Pryor was incarcerated for an incident that occurred while he was stationed inWest Germany. Angered that a white soldier was overly amused at the racially charged scenes ofDouglas Sirk's filmImitation of Life, Pryor and several other black soldiers beat and stabbed him, although the soldier survived.[6]
He was a member of Henry Brown Lodge No. 22 in Peoria, where he became aPrince Hall Freemason.[7]
In 1963, Pryor moved to New York City and began performing regularly in clubs alongside performers such asBob Dylan andWoody Allen. On one of his first nights, he opened for singer and pianistNina Simone at New York'sVillage Gate. Simone recalls Pryor's bout ofperformance anxiety:
He shook like he hadmalaria, he was so nervous. I couldn't bear to watch him shiver, so I put my arms around him there in the dark and rocked him like a baby until he calmed down. The next night was the same, and the next, and I rocked him each time.[8]
Initially inspired byBill Cosby, Pryor began as amiddlebrow comic, with material less controversial than what was to come. He began appearing regularly on televisionvariety shows such asThe Ed Sullivan Show,The Merv Griffin Show, andThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. His popularity led to success as a comic inLas Vegas. The first five tracks on the 2005 compilation CDEvolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974), recorded in 1966 and 1967, capture Pryor in this period. In 1966, Pryor was a guest star on an episode ofThe Wild Wild West.
In September 1967, Pryor had what he described in his autobiographyPryor Convictions (1995) as an "epiphany". He walked onto the stage at theAladdin Hotel in Las Vegas (withDean Martin in the audience), looked at the sold-out crowd, exclaimed over the microphone, "What the fuck am I doing here!?", and walked off the stage. Afterward, Pryor began working profanity into his act, including the wordnigger. His first comedy recording, the 1968 debutRichard Pryor on theDove/Reprise label, captures this particular period, tracking the evolution of Pryor's routine. His parents died—his mother in 1967 and his father in 1968.[9]
By 1968, Pryor had broken with Cosby's style of comedy and became more controversial.[10]
In 1969, Pryor moved toBerkeley, California, where he immersed himself in thecounterculture and met people likeHuey P. Newton andIshmael Reed.[11]
In the 1970s, Pryor wrote for television shows such asSanford and Son,The Flip Wilson Show, and a 1973Lily Tomlin special, for which he shared anEmmy Award.[12] During this period, Pryor tried to break into mainstream television. He appeared in several films, includingLady Sings the Blues (1972),The Mack (1973),Uptown Saturday Night (1974),Silver Streak (1976),Car Wash (1976),The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976),Which Way Is Up? (1977),Greased Lightning (1977),Blue Collar (1978), andThe Muppet Movie (1979).
Pryor signed with the comedy-oriented independent record labelLaff Records in 1970,[13] and in 1971 recorded his second album,Craps (After Hours). Two years later Pryor, still relatively unknown, appeared in the documentaryWattstax (1972), wherein he riffed on the tragic-comic absurdities ofrace relations inWatts and the United States. Not long afterward, Pryor sought a deal with a larger label, and he signed withStax Records in 1973. When his third breakthrough albumThat Nigger's Crazy (1974) was released, Laff, which claimed ownership of Pryor's recording rights, almost succeeded in getting aninjunction to prevent the album from being sold. Negotiations led to Pryor's release from his Laff contract. In return for this concession, Laff was enabled to release previously unissued material, recorded between 1968 and 1973, at will.That Nigger's Crazy was a commercial and critical success; it was eventually certified gold by theRIAA[14] and won theGrammy Award for Best Comedy Album at the1975 Grammy Awards.
During the legal battle, Stax briefly closed its doors. At this time, Pryor returned toReprise/Warner Bros. Records, which re-releasedThat Nigger's Crazy, immediately after...Is It Something I Said?, his first album with his new label. LikeThat Nigger's Crazy, the album was a critical success; it was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA and won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording at the 1976 Grammy Awards.
Pryor's 1976 releaseBicentennial Nigger continued his streak of success. It became his third consecutive gold album, and he collected his third consecutive Grammy for Best Comedy Recording for the album in 1977. With every successful album Pryor recorded for Warner (or later, his concert films and his 1980freebasing accident), Laff published an album of older material to capitalize on Pryor's growing fame—a practice they continued until 1983. The covers of Laff albums tied in thematically with Pryor films, such asAre You Serious? forSilver Streak (1976),The Wizard of Comedy for his appearance inThe Wiz (1978), andInsane forStir Crazy (1980).[15] Pryor co-wroteBlazing Saddles (1974), directed byMel Brooks and starringGene Wilder. Pryor was to play the lead role of Bart, but Mel Brooks didn't want to share credit with the quickly-rising comic. Brooks has always maintained Warner Brothers' executives vetoed Pryor's casting, but no studio executive has ever corroborated this claim. It was only after Pryor's death (in 2005) that Brooks began insisting the comic was "uninsurable" because of a "drug arrest;"[16] but to date, no studio executive employed at Warner Brothers during this era has ever goneon the record to corroborate these assertions—either the director's vigorously advocating or the studio's absolute rejection for hiring Pryor to act inBlazing Saddles. According to directorMichael Shultz, "Richard wrote it and Mel Brooks chased him out," Shultz said at the time (during the film's theatrical exhibition). "Mel Brooks was trying to get total credit for the picture. . . . To be outmaneuvered and ripped off at that early stage in his career is something that's a little hard for him to get over. I'd feel the same way." Moreover, Brooks assured Pryor that the role of Sheriff Bart was his, but after Pryor departed the director's writer's suite, he never heard from Brooks again. In early-1972, Pryor was reportedly dumbfounded when he had to first learn fromCleavon Little that Brooks wasn't going to use him on-screen.[17]
In 1975, Pryor was a guest host on thefirst season ofSaturday Night Live (SNL), making him the first black host. Pryor's longtime girlfriend, actress and talk-show host Kathrine McKee (sister ofLonette McKee), made a brief guest appearance with Pryor onSNL. One of the highlights of the night was the controversial"word association" skit withChevy Chase.[18] He later did his own variety show,The Richard Pryor Show, which premiered onNBC in 1977. The show was cancelled after only four episodes, probably because television audiences did not respond well to his show's controversial subject matter, and Pryor was unwilling to alter his material for network censors. He later said, "They offered me ten episodes, but I said all I wanted to in four." During the short-lived series,he portrayed the first black President of the United States, spoofed theStar WarsMos Eisley cantina, examinedgun violence in a non-comedy skit, lampooned racism on the sinkingTitanic, and used costumes and visual distortion to appear nude.[19] In 1979, at the height of his success, Pryor visitedKenya. Upon returning to the United States from Africa, Pryor swore he would never use the word "nigger" in his stand-up comedy routine again.[20][21]
In 1980, Pryor became the first black actor to earn a million dollars for a single film when he was hired to star inStir Crazy.[22] On June 9, 1980, while on afreebasing binge during the making of the film,[23] Pryor doused himself in rum and set himself on fire.[24] Pryor incorporated a description of the incident into his comedy showRichard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982). He joked that the event was caused by dunking a cookie into a glass of low-fat andpasteurized milk, causing an explosion. At the end of the bit, he poked fun at people who told jokes about it by waving a lit match and saying, "What's that? Richard Pryor running down the street."
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Before the freebasing incident, Pryor was about to start filming Mel Brooks'History of the World, Part I (1981), but was replaced at the last minute byGregory Hines.[25][26] Likewise, Pryor was scheduled for an appearance onThe Muppet Show at that time, which forced the producers to cast their British writer,Chris Langham, as the guest star for that episode instead.[27][28] After his "final performance", Pryor did not stay away from stand-up comedy for long. Within a year, he filmed and released a new concert film and accompanying album,Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983), which he directed himself. He wrote and directed a fictionalized account of his life,Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, which was inspired by the 1980 freebasing incident.[29]
In 1983 Pryor signed a five-year contract withColumbia Pictures for $40 million and he started his own production company, Indigo Productions.[30][31] Softer, more formulaic films followed, includingSuperman III (1983), which earned Pryor $4 million,Brewster's Millions (1985),Moving (1988), andSee No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989). The only film project from this period that recalled his rough roots was Pryor's semiautobiographic debut as a writer-director,Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, which was not a major success. Pryor was also originally considered for the role of Billy Ray Valentine onTrading Places (1983), beforeEddie Murphy won the part.[32][33][34] Despite his reputation for constantly using profanity on and off camera, Pryor briefly hosted a children's show onCBS calledPryor's Place (1984). LikeSesame Street (where Pryor appeared in a few oft-repeated segments),Pryor's Place featured a cast of puppets (animated bySid and Marty Krofft), hanging out and having fun in a friendly inner-city environment along with several children and characters portrayed by Pryor himself. Its theme song was performed byRay Parker Jr.[35]Pryor's Place frequently dealt with more sobering issues thanSesame Street. It was cancelled shortly after its debut.[36]
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Pryor co-hosted theAcademy Awards twice—the49th Academy Awards in 1977 withWarren Beatty,Ellen Burstyn, andJane Fonda and again at the55th Academy Awards in 1983 alongsideLiza Minnelli,Dudley Moore, andWalter Matthau. He was also nominated for anPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series on the television seriesChicago Hope. Network censors had warned Pryor about his profanity for the Academy Awards, and after a slip early in the program, a five-second delay was instituted when returning from a commercial break. Pryor is one of only threeSaturday Night Live hosts to be subjected to a five-second delay (along withSam Kinison in 1986 andAndrew Dice Clay in 1990).[37][38]
Pryor developed a reputation for being demanding and disrespectful on film sets, and for making selfish and difficult requests. In his autobiographyKiss Me Like a Stranger, co-star Gene Wilder says that Pryor was frequently late to the set during filming ofStir Crazy, and that he demanded, among other things, a helicopter to fly him to and from set because he was the star. Pryor was accused of using allegations of on-set racism to force the hand of film producers into giving him more money:
One day during our lunch hour in the last week of filming, thecraft service man handed out slices of watermelon to each of us. Richard, the whole camera crew, and I sat together in a big sound studio eating a number of watermelon slices, talking and joking. As a gag, some members of the crew used a piece of watermelon as a Frisbee, and tossed it back and forth to each other. One piece of watermelon landed at Richard's feet. He got up and went home. Filming stopped. The next day, Richard announced that he knew very well what the significance of watermelon was. He said that he was quitting show business and would not return to this film. The day after that, Richard walked in, all smiles. I wasn't privy to all the negotiations that went on between Columbia and Richard's lawyers, but the camera operator who had thrown that errant piece of watermelon had been fired that day. I assume now that Richard was using drugs duringStir Crazy.[39]
Pryor appeared inHarlem Nights (1989), a comedy-drama crime film starring three generations of black comedians (Pryor, Eddie Murphy, andRedd Foxx).[40][41][42]
In his later years starting in the early to mid-1990s, Pryor used a power-operatedmobility scooter due tomultiple sclerosis (MS).[43] He often said that MS stood for "More Shit".[44] He appears on the scooter in his last film appearance, a small role inDavid Lynch'sLost Highway (1997) playing an auto-repair garage manager named Arnie.[45]
Rhino Records remastered all of Pryor's Reprise and WB albums for inclusion in the box set... And It's Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968–1992) (2000).[citation needed]
In December 1999, Pryor appeared in thecold open of an episode ofThe Norm Show entitled "Norm vs. The Boxer". He played Mr. Johnson, an elderly man in a wheelchair who has lost the rights to in-home nursing when he kept attacking the nurses before attacking Norm himself. This was his last television appearance.[46]
In 2002, Pryor and Jennifer Lee Pryor, his wife and manager, won legal rights to all the Laff material, which amounted to 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 tapes in 2004. These tapes, including the entireCraps (After Hours) album, form the basis of the February 1, 2005, double-CD releaseEvolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974).[47]
Pryor's influences includedCharlie Chaplin,Jackie Gleason,[48]Red Skelton,Abbott and Costello,Jerry Lewis,Dean Martin,Jack Benny,Bob Hope,[49]Woody Allen,[50][51]Dick Gregory,Bill Cosby,[52]Redd Foxx[53] andLenny Bruce.[54]
Pryor met actressPam Grier through comedianFreddie Prinze. They began dating when they were both cast inGreased Lightning (1977).[55] Grier helped Pryor learn to read and tried to help him with his drug addiction.[56] Pryor married another woman while dating Grier.[24]
Pryor dated actressMargot Kidder during the filming ofSome Kind of Hero (1982). Kidder stated that she "fell in love with Pryor in two seconds flat" after they first met.[57]
Pryor was married seven times to five women:[5][6][9]
Children
Pryor fathered seven children with six different women:[69][6][70][71]
Nine years after Pryor's death, in 2014, the biographical bookBecoming Richard Pryor by Scott Saul stated that Pryor "acknowledged hisbisexuality"[72][73] and, in 2018,Quincy Jones and Pryor's widow Jennifer Lee stated that Pryor had a sexual relationship with actorMarlon Brando, and that Pryor was open with his friends about his bisexuality and the fact that he slept with men.[74][75] Pryor's daughter Rain later disputed the claim,[76] to which Lee stated that Rain was in denial about her father's bisexuality.[77]
Lee later told the Hollywood entertainment television seriesTMZ on TV that, "it was the '70s! Drugs were still good... If you did enough cocaine, you'd fuck a radiator and send it flowers in the morning."[78][79]
In his autobiographyPryor Convictions, Pryor talked about having a two-week relationship with Mitrasha, atrans woman, which he called "two weeks of being gay."[80]
In his first special,Live & Smokin', Pryor discusses experimenting withhomosexuality.[81] Pryor later said in 1977 at a gay rights show at theHollywood Bowl, "I have sucked a dick."[82] Pryor went on to say during the Hollywood Bowl show that the incident took place in 1952 (when Pryor was 11 or 12 years old) with someone named Wilbur Harp. Pryor also admitted to engaging inanal sex with Harp.[83]
Some sources (including Pryor himself) say that late in the evening of June 9, 1980, Pryor poured 151-proofrum all over himself and set himself on fire.[84][85][24] Other sources (including the Los Angeles police) say that what burned him that night was an explosion that happened while he wasfreebasingcocaine.[23] While he was still burning, he ran down Parthenia Street from his Los Angeles home until he was subdued by police. He was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for second- and third-degree burns covering more than half of his body.[86] Pryor spent six weeks in recovery at the Grossman Burn Center atSherman Oaks Hospital in Los Angeles.[87] His daughterRain stated that the incident happened as a result of a bout of drug-inducedpsychosis.[88]
Pryor's widow Jennifer Lee recalled when he began freebasing cocaine: "After two weeks of watching him getting addicted to this stuff I moved out. It was clear the drug had moved in and it had become his lover and everything. I did not exist."[24]
In November 1977, after many years of heavy smoking and drinking, Pryor had a mild heart attack at age 36.[84] He recovered and resumed performing in January the following year. In 1986, he was diagnosed withmultiple sclerosis, which by the mid-1990s resulted in him using a mobility scooter most of the time.[89] In 1990, Pryor had a second heart attack while in Australia.[67][90] He underwent tripleheart bypass surgery in 1991.[91]
In late 2004, his sister said he had lost his voice as a result of his multiple sclerosis. However, on January 9, 2005, Pryor's wife, Jennifer Lee, rebutted this statement in a post on Pryor's official website, citing Richard as saying: "I'm sick of hearing this shit about me not talking ... not true ... I have good days, bad days ... but I still am a talkin' motherfucker!"[92]
Pryor campaigned for better welfare for animals, including through involvement in a successful campaign byPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals targetingKFC,Burger King, and others for sourcing meat from suppliers that PETA claimed used inhumane practices.[93] Pryor also fundraised for PETA[94] and was a vegetarian.[93]
On the morning of December 10, 2005, Pryor had a third and final heart attack at his house in Los Angeles. After his wife's failed attempts to resuscitate him, he was taken to a local Westside hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:58 a.m.PST. His widow Jennifer was quoted as saying, "At the end, there was a smile on his face."[31]
His body wascremated, and his ashes were given to his family.[95][96] His ashes were scattered in the bay atHana, Hawaii, by his widow in 2019.[97] Forensic pathologistMichael Hunter believes Pryor's fatal heart attack was caused bycoronary artery disease that was at least partially brought about by years of tobacco smoking.[98]
Jerry Seinfeld called Pryor "thePicasso of our profession"[99] andBob Newhart heralded Pryor as "the seminal comedian of the last 50 years".[100]Dave Chappelle said of Pryor, "You know those, like, evolution charts of man? He was the dude walking upright. Richard was the highest evolution of comedy."[101] This legacy can be attributed, in part, to the unusual degree of intimacy Pryor brought to bear on his comedy. AsBill Cosby reportedly once said, "Richard Pryor drew the line between comedy and tragedy as thin as one could possibly paint it."[102]
In 1998, Pryor won the firstMark Twain Prize for American Humor from theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.[103][104] According to former Kennedy Center President Lawrence J. Wilker, Pryor was selected as the first recipient of the Prize because:[105]
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, likeTwain, projects a generosity of spirit that unites us. They were both trenchant social critics who spoke the truth, however outrageous.
He was listed at number one onComedy Central's list of all-time greatest stand-up comedians.[106] In 2017,Rolling Stone ranked him first on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.[107] 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.[108]
Pryor was posthumously awarded theGrammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.[109]
The animal rights organizationPETA gives out an award in Pryor's name to people who have done outstanding work to alleviate animal suffering. Pryor was active in animal rights and was deeply concerned about the plight of elephants in circuses and zoos.[citation needed] In 1999, he was awarded a Humanitarian Award by the group,[110] and worked with them on campaigns against the treatment of birds byKFC.[111]
ArtistPreston Jackson created a life-sized bronze statue in dedication to the beloved comedian and named itRichard Pryor: More than Just a Comedian. It was placed at the corner of State and Washington Streets in downtown Peoria, on May 1, 2015, close to the neighborhood in which he grew up with his mother. The unveiling was held Sunday, May 3, 2015.[112]
In aNetflix special released in May 2022,The Hall: Honoring the Greats of Stand-Up, Pryor was inducted into theNational Comedy Center inJamestown, New York.[113]
In 2002, a television documentary entitledThe Funny Life of Richard Pryor depicted Pryor's life and career.[114] Broadcast in the UK as part of theChannel 4 seriesKings of Black Comedy,[115][116] it was produced, directed and narrated byDavid Upshal[114] and featured rare clips from Pryor's 1960s stand-up appearances and films such asSilver Streak (1976),Blue Collar (1978),Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1978), andStir Crazy (1980). Contributors includedGeorge Carlin,Dave Chappelle,Whoopi Goldberg,Ice-T,Paul Mooney,Joan Rivers, andLily Tomlin. The show tracked down the two cops who had rescued Pryor from his "freebasing incident", former managers, and even school friends from Pryor's home town ofPeoria, Illinois. In the US, the show went out as part of theHeroes of Black Comedy[117][118] series onComedy Central, narrated byDon Cheadle.[119][120]
A television documentary,Richard Pryor: I Ain't Dead Yet,#*%$#@!! (2003) consisted of archival footage of Pryor's performances and testimonials from fellow comedians, includingDave Chappelle,Denis Leary,Chris Rock, andWanda Sykes, on Pryor's influence on comedy.
On December 19, 2005,BET aired a Pryor special, titledThe Funniest Man Dead or Alive. It included commentary from fellow comedians, and insight into his upbringing.[121]
A retrospective of Pryor's film work, concentrating on the 1970s, titledA Pryor Engagement, opened atBrooklyn Academy of Music Cinemas for a two-week run in February 2013.[122] Many prolific comedians have claimed Pryor as an influence includingGeorge Carlin,Dave Attell,Martin Lawrence,Dave Chappelle,Chris Rock,Colin Quinn,Patrice O'Neal,Bill Hicks,Jerry Seinfeld,Jon Stewart,Bill Burr,Joey Diaz,Eddie Murphy,Louis C.K., andEddie Izzard.[citation needed]
On May 31, 2013,Showtime debuted the documentaryRichard Pryor: Omit the Logic directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmakerMarina Zenovich. The executive producers were Pryor's widow Jennifer Lee Pryor and Roy Ackerman. Interviewees included Dave Chappelle,Whoopi Goldberg,Jesse Jackson,Quincy Jones, George Lopez, Bob Newhart, Richard Pryor Jr., Lily Tomlin, andRobin Williams.[123][124]
On March 12, 2019, Paramount Network debuted the documentaryI Am Richard Pryor, directed by Jesse James Miller. The film included appearances bySandra Bernhard,Lily Tomlin,Mike Epps,Howie Mandel, and Pryor's ex-wife, Jennifer Lee Pryor, among others. Jennifer Lee served as an executive producer on the film.[125]
In the episode "Taxes and Death or Get Him to the Sunset Strip"[126] (2012), the voice of Richard Pryor is played by Eddie Griffin in thesatirical TV showBlack Dynamite.
A planned biopic, entitledRichard Pryor: Is It Something I Said?, was being produced byChris Rock andAdam Sandler.[127] The film would have starredMarlon Wayans as the young Pryor.[128] Other actors previously attached includeMike Epps and Eddie Murphy. The film would have been directed byBill Condon and was still in development with no release date, as of February 2013.[129]
The biopic remained in limbo, and went through several producers until it was announced in January 2014 that it was being backed bythe Weinstein Company withLee Daniels as director.[130] It was further announced, in August 2014, that the biopic will haveOprah Winfrey as producer and will starMike Epps as Pryor.[131]
He is portrayed by Brandon Ford Green in Season 1 Episode 4 "Sugar and Spice" ofShowtime'sI'm Dying Up Here.[citation needed]
In theEpic Rap Battles of History episode "George Carlin vs. Richard Pryor", Pryor was portrayed by American rapper Zeale.[132]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | The Busy Body | Lt. Whitaker | Film debut |
| 1968 | Wild in the Streets | Stanley X | |
| 1969 | Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales | Unknown | Also writer; uncompleted/unreleased |
| 1970 | Carter's Army | Pvt. Jonathan Crunk | TV film |
| The Phynx | Himself | Cameo | |
| 1971 | You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat | Wino | |
| Live & Smokin' | Himself | Stand-up film; also writer | |
| Dynamite Chicken | |||
| 1972 | Lady Sings the Blues | Piano Man | |
| 1973 | The Mack | Slim | |
| Some Call It Loving | Jeff | ||
| Hit! | Mike Willmer | ||
| Wattstax | Himself / Host | ||
| 1974 | Blazing Saddles | Co-writer | |
| Uptown Saturday Night | Sharp Eye Washington | ||
| 1975 | Adiós Amigo | Sam Spade | |
| 1976 | The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings | Charlie Snow, All-Star (RF) | |
| Car Wash | Daddy Rich | ||
| Silver Streak | Grover T. Muldoon | ||
| 1977 | Greased Lightning | Wendell Scott | |
| Which Way Is Up? | Leroy Jones / Rufus Jones / Reverend Lenox Thomas | Triple roles | |
| 1978 | Blue Collar | Zeke Brown | |
| The Wiz | Herman Smith (The Wiz) | ||
| California Suite | Dr. Chauncey Gump | ||
| 1979 | Richard Pryor: Live in Concert | Himself | Stand-up film; also writer |
| The Muppet Movie | Balloon Vendor | Cameo | |
| 1980 | Wholly Moses! | Pharaoh | |
| In God We Tru$t | G.O.D. | ||
| Stir Crazy | Harold "Harry" Monroe | ||
| 1981 | Bustin' Loose | Joe Braxton | Also producer and writer (story) |
| 1982 | Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip | Himself | Stand-up film; also producer and writer |
| Some Kind of Hero | Eddie Keller | ||
| The Toy | Jack Brown | ||
| 1983 | Superman III | August "Gus" Gorman | |
| Richard Pryor: Here and Now | Himself | Stand-up film; also director and writer | |
| 1985 | Brewster's Millions | Montgomery "Monty" Brewster | |
| 1986 | Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling | Jo Jo Dancer | Also director, producer and writer |
| 1987 | Critical Condition | Kevin Lenahan / Dr. Eddie Slattery | |
| 1988 | Moving | Arlo Pear | |
| 1989 | See No Evil, Hear No Evil | Wallace "Wally" Karue | |
| Harlem Nights | Sugar Ray | ||
| 1991 | Another You | Eddie Dash | |
| The Three Muscatels | Narrator / Wino / Bartender | ||
| 1996 | Mad Dog Time | Jimmy the Grave Digger | |
| 1997 | Lost Highway | Arnie | Final film role |
| 2000 | Me, Myself & Irene | Stand-up Comedian on TV | Archival footage |
| 2007 | Superbad | Himself |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | The Wild Wild West | Villar | Episode: "The Night of the Eccentrics" |
| 1967 | ABC Stage 67 | Undertaker | Episode: "A Time for Laughter: A Look at Negro Humor in America" |
| 1968 | Let's Go | Unknown role | Episode: "Psychedelic Vancouver" |
| 1969 | The Young Lawyers | Otis Tucker | Episode: "The Young Lawyers" |
| 1971 | The Partridge Family | A.E. Simon | Episode: "Soul Club" |
| 1972 | Mod Squad | Cat Griffin | Episode: "The Connection" |
| 1975 | Saturday Night Live | Himself/host | Episode: "Richard Pryor /Gil Scott-Heron" |
| 1975–1978 | Sesame Street | Himself | 4 episodes |
| 1977 | The Richard Pryor Special? | Himself / The Reverend James L. White / Idi Amin Dada / Shoeshine Man / Willie | TV special |
| The Richard Pryor Show | Himself / Various roles | 4 episodes | |
| 1984 | Pryor's Place | Himself | 10 episodes |
| Billy Joel:Keeping the Faith | Man Reading Newspaper | Video short | |
| 1993 | Martin | Himself | Episode: "The Break Up: Part 1" |
| 1995 | Chicago Hope | Joe Springer | Episode: "Stand" |
| 1996 | Malcolm & Eddie | Uncle Bucky | Episode: "Do the K.C. Hustle" |
| 1999 | The Norm Show | Mr. Johnson | Episode: "Norm vs. the Boxer" |
The Richard Pryor Special? was preserved by theUCLA Film & Television Archive from an original 2 inch videotape. Preservation funding was provided by the John H. Mitchell Television Preservation Endowment. The preserved special screened at the 2024 UCLA Festival of Preservation.[134]
Mr. Pryor announced in May that he had signed a five-year, $40 million production deal with Columbia Pictures and promised to open up opportunities for minorities at his Indigo Productions.
Pryor was voted No. 1 in Comedy Central's100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time in April.
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