By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, Associated Press Writer 8 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES -
Richard Pryor, the groundbreaking comedian whose profanely personal insights into race relations and modern life made him one of Hollywood's biggest
black stars, died of a heart attack Saturday. He was 65.
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Pryor died shortly before 8 a.m. 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 lived dangerously close to the edge both on stage and off.
He 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 universal and
frequently personal routines. After nearly losing his life in 1980 when he caught on fire while freebasing cocaine, he incorporated the ordeal into
his later routines.
His audacious style influenced generations of stand-up artists, from
Eddie Murphy and
Chris Rock to
Robin Williams and David Letterman, among others.
A series of hit comedies and concert films in the '70s and '80s helped make Pryor one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood, and he was one of the
first black performers to have enough leverage to cut his own 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
Academy Awards in 1977 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."
But he battled drug and alcohol addictions for years, most notably when he suffered severe burns over 50 percent of his body while freebasing at his
home. An admitted "junkie" at the time, Pryor spent six weeks recovering from the burns and much longer from his addictions.
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.
Pryor was fired by one Las Vegas hotel for "obscenities" directed at the audience. In 1970, tired of compromising his act, he quit in the middle of
another Vegas stage show with the words, "What the (blank) am I doing here?" The audience was left staring at an empty stage.
He didn't tone things down after he became famous. In his 1977 NBC television series "The Richard Pryor Show," he threatened to cancel his contract
with the network. 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."
"I didn't think `Brewster's Millions' was good to begin with," Pryor once said. "I'm sorry, but they offered us the money. I was a pig, I got greedy."
"I had some great things and I had some bad things. The best and the worst," he said in 1995. "In other words, I had a life."
Recognition came in 1998 from an unlikely source: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington gave Pryor the first Mark Twain
Prize for humor. He said in a statement that he was proud that, "like Mark Twain, I have been able to use humor to lessen people's hatred."
Born in 1940 in Peoria, Ill., Pryor grew up in his grandmother's brothel. His first professional performance came at age 7, when he played drums at a
night club.
Following high school and two years of Army service, he launched his performing career, honing his comedy in bars throughout the United States. By the
mid-'60s, he was appearing in Las Vegas clubs and on the television shows of Ed Sullivan,
Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson.
His first film role came with a small part in 1967's "The Busy Body." He made his starring debut as
Diana Ross' piano man in 1972's "Lady Sings the Blues."
Pryor also wrote scripts for the television series "Sanford and Son," "The Flip Wilson Show" and two specials for
Lily Tomlin. He collaborated with
Mel Brooks on the script for the movie "Blazing Saddles."
Later in his career, Pryor used his films as therapy. "Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling," was an autobiographical account of a popular comedian
re-examining his life while lying delirious in a hospital burn ward. Pryor directed, co-wrote, co-produced and starred in the film.
"I'm glad I did `Jo Jo,'" Pryor once said. "It helped me get rid of a lot of stuff."
Pryor also had legal problems over the years. In 1974, he was sentenced to three years' probation for failing to file federal income tax returns. In
1978, he allegedly fired shots and rammed his car into a vehicle occupied by two of his wife's friends.
Even in poor health, his comedy was vital. At a 1992 performance, he asked the room, "Is there a doctor in the audience?" All he got was nervous
laughter. "No, I'm serious. I want to know if there's a doctor here."
A hand finally went up.
"Doctor," Pryor said, "I need to know one thing. What the (blank) is MS?"
Pryor was married six times. His children include sons Richard and Steven, 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."
Comedian-actor Richard Pryor is shown as he performs in 1977. Pryor, the caustic yet perceptive actor-comedian who lived dangerously close to the edge
both on stage and off, has died, his ex-wife said Saturday, Dec. 10, 2005. He was 65. Pryor died of a heart attack at his home in the San Fernando
Valley sometime late Friday or early Saturday, Flyn Pryor said. (AP Photo, File)moforn - 12-10-2005 at 07:08 PM
Shit, MS is a brutal disease.DAK - 12-10-2005 at 07:53 PM
Funny mother fucker.XHonusWagnerX - 12-10-2005 at 07:53 PM
Oh man... that sucks!Discipline - 12-10-2005 at 07:57 PM
RIP you funny bastard. Few could make me laugh like he did.RomanticViolence - 12-10-2005 at 08:50 PM
Thats so sad.
That guy was awesome!
Richard Pryor made me want a "Wonder wheel"BDx13 - 12-10-2005 at 09:48 PM
definitely a funny mother fucker. too bad he wasn't able to perform more later in life - i'm sure he'd have a lot to say about the state of things
today.XnMeX - 12-10-2005 at 10:33 PM
The Toy has to be one of the funniest movies ever!MyOwnWay - 12-11-2005 at 12:13 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by RomanticViolence
Richard Pryor made me want a "Wonder wheel"
HA! I was feeling kinda sad until I read that.newbreedbrian - 12-11-2005 at 12:49 AM
shitty, he was way ahead of his timedefstarsteve - 12-11-2005 at 12:57 AM
not only the the best "black comedian", but proabably the best comedian of our time... everything after him was just a poor imitation
he never really sold out either unlike eddie "I'll suck disney dick for life" murphy...
sad fucking dayJawnDiablo - 12-11-2005 at 03:29 AM
i wish i hadnt tuned in
richard pryor was a funny dude
im drunk
goodnite
i liked that dudeSpoiler - 12-11-2005 at 07:12 PM
This is sad....and a good reason to have another round.
Stir Crazy is one of my favs
RIP brotherVoodoobillyman - 12-11-2005 at 08:35 PM
My wife and I watched this on CNN for like two hours in disbelief. Crazy, we all knew he was sick but just did'nt picture him acyaually dying, he is
one of those legends that will never leave the human psyche.
