Richard Pryor RIP

[Ponch ®]

 



Pathbreaking Comedian Richard Pryor Dies

By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, Associated Press Writer 34 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES -
Richard Pryor, the caustic yet perceptive actor-comedian who lived dangerously close to the edge both on stage and off, died Saturday. He was 65.
ADVERTISEMENT
click here

Pryor died shortly before 8 a.m. of a heart attack after being taken to a hospital from his home in the San Fernando Valley, said his business manager, Karen Finch. He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the nervous system.

"We loved him and will miss you," his ex-wife, Flynn Pryor, said from her Florida home.

Pryor was regarded early in his career as one of the most foul-mouthed comics in the business, but he gained a wide following for his expletive-filled but universal and frequently personal insights into modern life and race relations.

His audacious style influenced an array of stand-up artists, including
Eddie Murphy,
Arsenio Hall and
Damon Wayans, as well as
Robin Williams, David Letterman and others.

A series of hit comedies in the '70s and '80s, as well as filmed versions of his concert performances, helped make him Pryor one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood. He was one of the first black performers to have enough leverage to cut his own Hollywood deals. In 1983, he signed a $40 million, five-year contract with Columbia Pictures.

His films included "Stir Crazy," "Silver Streak," "Which Way Is Up?" and "Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip."

Throughout his career, Pryor focused on racial inequality, once joking as the host of the 1977
Academy Awards that
Harry Belafonte and
Sidney Poitier were the only black members of the Academy.

Pryor once marveled "that I live in racist America and I'm uneducated, yet a lot of people love me and like what I do, and I can make a living from it. You can't do much better than that."

In 1980, he nearly lost his life when he suffered severe burns over 50 percent of his body while freebasing cocaine at his home. An admitted "junkie" at the time, Pryor spent six weeks recovering from the burns and much longer from drug and alcohol dependence.

He battled multiple sclerosis throughout the '90s.

In his last movie, the 1991 bomb "Another You," Pryor's poor health was clearly evident. Pryor made a comeback attempt the following year, returning to standup comedy in clubs and on television while looking thin and frail, and with noticeable speech and movement difficulties.

In 1995, he played an embittered multiple sclerosis patient in an episode of the television series "Chicago Hope." The role earned him an Emmy nomination as best guest actor in a drama series.

"To be diagnosed was the hardest thing because I didn't know what they were talking about," he said. "And the doctor said `Don't worry, in three months you'll know.'

"So I went about my business and then, one day, it jumped me. I couldn't get up. ... Your muscles trick you; they did me."

While Pryor's material sounds modest when compared with some of today's raunchier comedians, it was startling material when first introduced. He never apologized for it.

In his 1977 NBC television series "The Richard Pryor Show," he threatened to cancel his contract with the network after NBC's censors objected to a skit in which Pryor appeared naked save for a flesh-colored loincloth to suggest he was emasculated.

In his later years Pryor mellowed considerably, and his film roles looked more like easy paychecks than artistic endeavors. His robust work gave way to torpid efforts like "Harlem Nights," "Brewster's Millions" and "Hear No Evil, See No Evil."

Pryor was married six times. He and Flynn Pryor had a son, Steven. Previous children included another son, Richard, and daughters Elizabeth, Rain and Renee.

Daughter Rain became an actress. In an interview in 2005, she told the Philadelphia Inquirer that her father always "put his life right out there for you to look at. I took that approach because I saw how well audiences respond to it. I try to make you laugh at life."

LINK

[ChargerBill]

Oh man...

He had some hard times, got caught up in the lifestyle years back, had MS and some bad breaks... I always thought he was hillarious and in his candid interviews seemed like a real nice guy.

Rest in Peace funny man...

[golden73]

RIP 

[Charger_Fan]

I thought he was already dead?

He was cool...RIP, Richard.

[694spdRT]

That is sad news..I was just watching a Saturday Night Live best moments countdown that had his skit with Chevy Chase.

Rest in Peace Richard.

[TruckDriver]

I thought he was already dead?

He was cool...RIP, Richard.

HA! ME TOO!

RIP.... I always liked him and his movies. He will be missed.

[greenpigs]

I'm sure he is knocking the bottom out of it somewhere up there.

[Telvis]

I thought he died years ago....Well....I'm out of touch.

[JimShine]

I knew it was coming soon. I saw a thing on TV with him recently and he was unrecognizeable. He was one of the funniest mofo's to hit this rock called earth. A sad day, but also a great day knowing he is no longer in the state MS has left him in for over the last decade.

[Charger4404spd]

Oh shit, thats bad. RIP

[BLACKWOLF]

  HAIL TO THE KING. I CAN IMAGINE WHAT HEAVEN IS LIKE NOW! HIM, JACKIE GLEASON, AND SAM KINISON. HOLY MOLY!

[Old Moparz]

Yes, I saw that earlier today, it's sad. He was always in the top few of my favorite comedians. It was tough seeing him perform on stage after he was already battling MS. He could only do about 45 minutes before he was exhausted. I remember one thing he said in an interview about MS, & that he was shocked that all the other crazy things he did didn't kill him, but that MS was going to do him in. The movie he did, "Harlem Nights" wasn't one of his best, but to see him with Redd Foxx & Eddie Murphy together was very cool.

He'll be missed quite a bit. Shit, I had already missed his stuff for years after he became ill. (RIP)

[Johnny SixPack]

RIP Richard.

[6pkrunner]

Him and Carlin were my favourite comedians.

[Afflyer]

I saw the movie "Stir Crazy" in the theatre when I was a kid.  I thought he was hilarious.  He's now laughing with all the great comedians.

RIP