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. 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.
RIP - Richard Pryor
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some of the funniest things i ever heard came from this guy. I laugh just thinking about them. I have allready missed him since he got sick. I hope he's in a better place now, telling his jokes, and not feeling any pain. God bless him.
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This is one guy I will miss, he had some of the best lines I have ever heard, the movies he made with Gene Wilder were some of the funniest stuff that wasnt dirty, he did have a foul mouth in the clubs on stage , & even though he was dirty & racest, he was as funny as you can get, I will morn his passing , R.I.P. time to celebrate his life & play one of his records !
Enjoy, Vince
Enjoy, Vince
My best friend's mom passed away from MS a few years back so I understand how tough that is.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Pryor while he was filming a scene for Brewster's Millions outside of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. He was the nicest and most humble celebrity I have ever met and didn't seem to mind taking the time to spend a few moments with a fan.
Rest in peace comic genius...You will be missed.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Pryor while he was filming a scene for Brewster's Millions outside of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. He was the nicest and most humble celebrity I have ever met and didn't seem to mind taking the time to spend a few moments with a fan.
Rest in peace comic genius...You will be missed.
Such a poor pitiful death for such a comic genius. I have a family friend with MS and it truly is a horrible disease.
He was recently on some dateline type show I believe with his wife. He really couldn't do anything for himself as I recall. You hope to have someone as talented as him around forever but at least now the disability is gone.
He was recently on some dateline type show I believe with his wife. He really couldn't do anything for himself as I recall. You hope to have someone as talented as him around forever but at least now the disability is gone.
Capt said:Here's to a great comedian, and a great guy. Rest in peace.....
He was not a great guy. He beat his wife on numerous occasions
I'm not saying its ever right to beat your wife, but he did that I believe during his addiction period. Cocaine and alcohol will make you a horrible person even if you were previously the nicest person. Once he sobered up he was a much better person.
I've Got the "Richard Pryor. . .And It's Deep Too!" CD box set. I'll be playing that bad boy all over again.
I thought he was already dead. I knew he had been sick, but the last time I heard anything about him, was five years ago or so.
RIP
RIP
Pryor, with whom I once spent an amusing, but decidedly low key evening at the gaming tables of Halycon Cove on Antigua in the early '80s, was a brilliant comic talent, one with the demons that too often attend such a gift.
Fortunately, much of that brilliance is available on DVD, from the landmark '70s NBC TV shows, to his extraordinary concert performances, Richard Pryor - Live in Concert, Richard Pryor - Here and Now and, to a lesser extent, Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip, to Paul Schrader's little-remembered Blue Collar (with Yaphet Kotto, Harvey Keitel and Pryor), and, yeah, Silver Streak, the first, and best of his big screen pairings with Gene Wilder.
Harkening back to that evening on Antigua back in February of '82. I was astonished that he was even there, having been reportedly at death's door two years earlier after his disasterous free-basing event… I looked closely as I could and the only remnants of that episode I could discern were two small white parallel scars on his throat.
He was in the company of a highly attractive young woman who I took to be his bride, Jennifer Lee, from the previous August. When I subsequently saw a photo of the then Mrs. Pryor, I realized that it hadn't been her, and was not surprised that they were divorced later that year.
But like the comedian Stan Laurel of several generations earlier, Pryor had a history of remarrying his former wives, and he and Jennifer wed anew in '01, and she is now his widow.
Mr. Speir, I saw your post on General Discussion in the other Richard Pryor thread. Thank you for straightening the direction that someone else tried to take the thread. Thanks also for your kind words about Richard Pryor. We all know what his shortcomings were, and these were threads put up about sharing our feelings regarding the Pryor that we, as the general public knew.
Nobody excuses the truly bad things that people do, whether they are celebrities we like for some reason, our friends or relatives. But when common ground for sharing our good thoughts about them can be found, people like to gather and do that sharing. Thanks for sharing the story about hanging with him at the gaming tables. It must've been a thrill. I know it would have been for me.
Pryor did a lot of good for a lot of people, despite whatever bad he may have done. I'm not just talking about making people laugh either. By the way, like Elvis, he could've been a better actor than he was given a chance to display. I was also blown away when I found out he actually co-wrote Blazing Saddles with Mel Brooks. Too bad he was so controversial that Brooks had to find Cleavon Little, because Pryor was also supposed to play the lead. Brooks said he couldn't get studio funding with Pryor as the lead. Such a shame. No disrespect to Little, a great talent in his own right, who did a great job, opposite Madeline Kahn.
"IT'S TWOO, IT'S TWOO, IT'S WEEWEE WEEWEE TWOO!!!
Brooks said that Pryor wrote most of the Jewish jokes, while he wrote most of the black jokes. Who knows, it could be at least partially true. Richard Pryor will be missed, although I must admit, it's amazing he made it to 65.
Nobody excuses the truly bad things that people do, whether they are celebrities we like for some reason, our friends or relatives. But when common ground for sharing our good thoughts about them can be found, people like to gather and do that sharing. Thanks for sharing the story about hanging with him at the gaming tables. It must've been a thrill. I know it would have been for me.
Pryor did a lot of good for a lot of people, despite whatever bad he may have done. I'm not just talking about making people laugh either. By the way, like Elvis, he could've been a better actor than he was given a chance to display. I was also blown away when I found out he actually co-wrote Blazing Saddles with Mel Brooks. Too bad he was so controversial that Brooks had to find Cleavon Little, because Pryor was also supposed to play the lead. Brooks said he couldn't get studio funding with Pryor as the lead. Such a shame. No disrespect to Little, a great talent in his own right, who did a great job, opposite Madeline Kahn.
"IT'S TWOO, IT'S TWOO, IT'S WEEWEE WEEWEE TWOO!!!
Brooks said that Pryor wrote most of the Jewish jokes, while he wrote most of the black jokes. Who knows, it could be at least partially true. Richard Pryor will be missed, although I must admit, it's amazing he made it to 65.
Thanks for writing that, Dean. I grew up watching Pryor. Stir Crazy was shot here in Tucson. I adore Richard Pryor because of how he wasn't comfortable with the "safe" act anymore. He had appeared on Ed Sullivan, Merv Griffin, the Tonight Show and was viewed as the next Bill Cosby. After keeping a low profile for a couple of years he broke out in the early 70s. The man had a lot on his mind and needed to say it. His groundbreaking style opened everyone's eyes.
And, I love (just to name a few things): His 1975 appearance on S.N.L. (Gil Scott-Heron was the musical guest, how cool was that?!) Sidney Poitier's Uptown Saturday Night, Pryor's character Daddy Rich in Car Wash, The Toy and his work on the screenplay to Blazing Saddles. He will be missed.
And, I love (just to name a few things): His 1975 appearance on S.N.L. (Gil Scott-Heron was the musical guest, how cool was that?!) Sidney Poitier's Uptown Saturday Night, Pryor's character Daddy Rich in Car Wash, The Toy and his work on the screenplay to Blazing Saddles. He will be missed.
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Madeline Kahn was an amazing talent, as well. Man, I've got to see that movie, again.Bloofington said:
By the way, for those like to portray Pryor as The CurseMaster, that's because after he became noteworthy as a top notch funny man, he tooled his shtick in that direction. Pryor, in the beginning, was a totally clean mouthed comedian who patterned himself in the Cosby mode. And Pryor was truly funny. When he altered his shtick, it wasn't because he was cursing that he was funny. He was a uniquely funny man who just happened to inject that into his realm. Pryor could put a certain look on his face, say "rye bread" and crack you up. Some try to revise history. Pryor was a comedic genius, like him or not.
Great post, Brenda. By the way, for those who liked Pryor's movie, "Which Way Is Up," it was followed by "Blue Collar." Although many people to this day don't even know he made a movie called "Blue Collar," and it kind of died after getting a similar buildup to "Which Way Is Up," it was very deep, and portrayed Pryor's talents as an actor very well, I believe.