We were saddened this weekend to learn that Richard Pryor had passed away at the age of 65. Pryor had been battling multiple sclerosis and succumbed to a heart attack in Los Angeles on Saturday. The transcendent stand-up comedian of his era Pryor’s straightforward and outspoken style of comedy won him fans the world over. With an angry yet sensitive stage performance he spawned many imitators but no real successor. Explicit, raw and emotional, Pryor was a storyteller who could find the humor in even the bleakest circumstances through his conversational comedic style. His comic success moved him into a wide variety of movie roles such as The Toy with Jackie Gleason, Harlem Nights with Eddie Murphy, Brewster’s Millions with John Candy, Superman III (um, let’s forget that one) and his collaboration with Gene Wilder that produced Stir Crazy, Silver Streak, See No Evil Hear No Evil, and Another You. He also co-wrote, directed, and starred in the semi-autobiographical Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling and wrote an autobiography Pryor Convictions.
N/A