Born Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor on December 1, 1940 in Peoria, Ill., the multi-talented star was pronounced dead of a cardiac arrest at 7:58 a.m. at a hospital near his home.
“By expressing his heart, anger and joy, Richard Pryor took comedy to its highest form.” Said comedian Steve Martin.
Quincy Jones called Pryor “one of the true pioneers of his art form.”
“He was the Charlie Parker of comedy, a master of telling the truth that influenced every comedian that came after him. Our friendship went back to his days as a young comedian at Cafe Wha in New York, and although I will miss him like a brother, the legacy that he leaves will forever be with us.”
Bob Newhart, one of Pryor’s early supporters, called him “the single most seminal, comedic influence in the last 50 years. It was so appropriate that he received the inaugural Mark Twain prize, as they both did the same thing. Mark “Twain showed us what it was like on the frontier and living on the Mississippi and what it was like living at the turn of the century, and Richard Pryor showed us what it was like to live in the inner city. His concepts are so hysterically funny and unique.”
Bill Cosby issued this lackluster statement.
“I wish that every new and young comedian would understand what Richard was about and not confuse his genius with his language usage,” Cosby said.
Raised in a Peoria, Ill., brothel that was run by his grandmother, he would grow up to be not only the highest paid black entertainer in the country in the 1980s but also one of the most troubled as well.
“I was a drug-addicted, paranoid, lonely, sad and frustrated comedian who had gotten too big for his britches,” Pryor, who had gone into seclusion in recent years as he battled multiple sclerosis, said in the liner notes to the 2000 album, “And It’s Deep Too!”
Among other things, he shot up a car in 1978 while two of his wife’s friends were sitting in it. In 1980, he nearly burned himself to death while freebasing cocaine.
He would go on to joke about both incidents, noting of the first that he put down the gun when the police arrived because he knew they would be far more likely to shoot a black man than a car. Returning to the stage after the cocaine incident, he struck a match, waved it in front of his face and said, “What’s this? Richard Pryor running down the street.”
He could also do broader comedy, a talent that was displayed clearly in the films, “Silver Streak” and “Stir Crazy” with Gene Wilder. He even handled the occasional dramatic turn well, and he won an Emmy as a writer for one of Lily Tomlin’s TV comedy specials.
He is survived by his wife Jennifer Lee Pryor and his six children, Richard Pryor, Jr., Elizabeth Stordeur, Rain Kindlin, Kelsey Pryor, Steven Pryor, Franklin Mason and his three grandchildren.
Funeral services will be private with a memorial service by invitation.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Richard and Jennifer’s recently established animal charity Pryor’s Planet, C/O Edward D. Astrin, CPA, 16633 Ventura Blvd. #1450, Encino, CA 91436.
He is survived by his wife Jennifer Lee Pryor and his six children, Richard Pryor, Jr., Elizabeth Stordeur, Rain Kindlin, Kelsey Pryor, Steven Pryor, Franklin Mason and his three grandchildren.
Funeral services will be private with a memorial service by invitation.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Richard and Jennifer’s recently established animal charity Pryor’s Planet, C/O Edward D. Astrin, CPA, 16633 Ventura Blvd. #1450, Encino, Calif. 91436.
