Richard Pryor

Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III was born 12/1/1940 and died 12/10/2005.

Richard Pryor is best known for his edgy comedy and breaking many of the taboos of comedy in the 60s and beyond.

Richard Pryor was also a talented teller of tales known for uncompromising examinations of race and customs. Richard Pryor was well-known for his frequent use of colorful language, vulgarities, as well as such racial epithets as "n-i-g-g-e-r," "honkey", and "cracker". Richard Pryor reached popularity with his piercing observations, although public opinion of his act was often divided.

Richard 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. Some of these have been preserved in such concert movies and recordings as Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin' (1971), [See video clip on this page], Richard Pryor: Wanted – Live In Concert (1979) [see video clip on this page] and Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982).

Pryor also starred in numerous films as an actor, usually in comedies, but occasionally in the noteworthy dramatic role, such as Paul Schrader's film Blue Collar. He won an Emmy Award in 1973, and five Grammy Awards in 1974, 1975, 1976 1981, and 1982. In 1974 he also won two American Academy of Humor Awards and the Writers Guild of America Award


History:
Richard Pryor was born in 1940 in Peoria, Illinois and grew up in his grandmother's brothel, where his mother Gertrude was a prostitute. His father LeRoy Pryor (a.k.a. Buck Carter) was a bartender, boxer, and World War II veteran. From 1958-1960, Pryor served in the U.S. Army.

Richard’s first professional performance came at the age of seven, when he played drums at a night club. From his late 20s to 30s, Pryor was a middle of the road comic in the Bill Cosby tradition, which meant that he was far less controversial than what was to come.

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 fuck am I doing here!?", and walked off the stage. Afterward, Pryor began working at least mild profanity into his act, including the word "n-i-g-g-e-r".

Richard Pryor died of cardiac arrest at the age of 65 at his home in California. He was officially pronounced dead at a local hospital at 7:58 a.m. on December 10, 2005. His wife's attempts to resuscitate him failed and she was quoted as saying "at the end, there was a smile on his face." Check out this very funny clip of Richard in concert:

More Richard Pryor Video Clips:

Richard Pryor How Kids Lie Watch Video Clip

Richard Pryor - Learn to Swim (Mature) Watch Video Clip