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[h3]He was born Richard Franklin Lennox Pryor III in Peoria, Illinois on December 1, 1940. The son of a prostitute, he was abandoned by his mother at the age of ten, after which he was raised in his grandmother's brothel. [/h3]

Unfortunately, Pryor was molested at the age of six by a teenage neighbour and later by a neighborhood priest. To escape this troubled life, the young Pryor was an avid movie fan and a regular visitor to local cinemas in Peoria.

After numerous jobs, including truck driver and meat packer, the young Pryor did a stint in the army between 1958 and 1960 in which he performed in amateur theatre shows. After he left the services in 1960, Pryor started singing in small clubs, but inadvertently found that humor was his real forte.

Inspired by Bill Cosby, Pryor went to New York in 1963 and gained recognition for his club work as a stand-up, performing on the same bill as such famous personalities as Bob Dylan and Richie Havens.

In 1969, Pryor moved to Berkeley, California, where he immersed himself in the counterculture and rubbed elbows with the likes of Huey P. Newton and Ishmael Reed.

He signed with the comedy-centric independent record label Laff Records in 1970 and recorded his second album, Craps (After Hours). In 1972, the relatively unknown comedian appeared in his first film, a documentary entitled Wattstax, where he riffed on the tragic-comic absurdities of race relations in Watts and the nation.

In the 1970s, he wrote for such television shows as Sanford and Son, The Flip Wilson Show and a Lily Tomlin special, for which he shared an Emmy Award. Pryor also made an attempt to break into mainstream television during this period. He was a guest host on the first season of Saturday Night Live.
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The Richard Pryor Show premiered on NBC in 1977 but after only five shows, the series was cancelled. Television was not ready for the show's controversial subject matter, and Pryor was not ready to alter the content of his program to meet the demands of network censors.

In 1977, he married actress Deborah McGuire and they divorced in 1978. He soon began dating Jennifer Lee and they married in 1981. They divorced the following year.

In 1983, Pryor signed a five-year contract with Columbia Pictures for $40,000,000.

Pryor appeared in several popular films, including Lady Sings the Blues; The Mack; Uptown Saturday Night; Silver Streak; Which Way Is Up?; Car Wash; Superman III (which earned Pryor $4,000,000); Brewster's Millions; Stir Crazy; Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling; Moving; and See No Evil, Hear No Evil. He also took part in The Toy, one of Jackie Gleason's last projects. Though he made four films with Gene Wilder, the two comic actors were never as close as many thought.

Pryor also co-wrote Blazing Saddles directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder. Pryor was to play the lead role of Bart, but the film's production studio would not insure him, and Mel Brooks chose Cleavon Little instead. Before his infamous 1980 free-basing accident, Pryor was about to start filming Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I, but was replaced at the last minute by Gregory Hines.

In 1991, Pryor announced that he had been suffering from multiple sclerosis since 1986. After long battles with illness, he passed away on December 10, 2005.
Richard Pryor: Comic On the Edge biography




Richard Pryor: Comic On the Edge biography



[b]Actor:[/b]

The Norm Show - Mr. Johnson (1 episode, 1999)

Lost Highway (1997) - Arnie

Malcolm & Eddie - Uncle Buck (1 episode, 1996)

Mad Dog Time (1996) - Jimmy the Grave Digger

Chicago Hope - Joe Springer (1 episode, 1995)

Another You (1991) - Eddie Dash

The Three Muscatels (1991) - Narrator/Wino/Bartender

Harlem Nights (1989) - Sugar Ray

See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) - Wallace 'Wally' Karue

Moving (1988) - Arlo Pear

Critical Condition (1987) - Eddie Lenahan/Dr. Kevin Slattery

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986) - Jo Jo Dancer/Alter Ego

Brewster's Millions (1985) - Montgomery Brewster

Superman III (1983) - Gus Gorman

The Toy (1982) - Jack Brown

Some Kind of Hero (1982) - Cpl. Eddie Keller/Ted Segal

Bustin' Loose (1981) - Joe Braxton

Stir Crazy (1980) - Harry Monroe

In God We Tru$t (1980) - G.O.D.

Wholly Moses! (1980) - Pharaoh

The Muppet Movie (1979) - Balloon Vendor

California Suite (1978) - Visitors from Chicago - Dr. Chauncey Gump

The Wiz (1978/I) - The Wiz

Blue Collar (1978) - Zeke Brown

Which Way Is Up? (1977) - Leroy Jones/Rufus Jones/Reverend Lenox Thomas

Greased Lightning (1977) - Wendell Scott

Silver Streak (1976) - Grover Muldoon

Car Wash (1976) - Daddy Rich

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976) - Charlie Snow/Carlos Nevada/Chief Takahoma, All-Star (RF)

Adiós Amigo (1976) - Sam Spade

Uptown Saturday Night (1974) - Sharp Eye Washington

Some Call It Loving (1973) - Jeff

Hit! (1973) - Mike Willmer

The Mack (1973) - Slim

Lady Sings the Blues (1972) - Piano Man

The Mod Squad (1 episode, 1972)

The Partridge Family - A.E. Simon (1 episode, 1971)

Carter's Army (1970) (TV) - Pvt. Jonathan Crunk

The Young Lawyers (1969) (TV)

Wild in the Streets (1968) - Stanley X

Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales (1968)

The Busy Body (1967) - Whittaker

The Wild Wild West - Villar (1 episode, 1966)

[b]Writer:[/b]

Pryor Offenses (2004) (TV) (story)

The Mark Twain Prize: Richard Pryor (1999) (TV) (uncredited)

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)

Richard Pryor ...Here and Now (1983)

Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip (1982)

Bustin' Loose (1981) (story)

Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)

The Richard Pryor Show (1977) TV Series (unknown episodes)

The Richard Pryor Special? (1977) (TV)

Blazing Saddles (1974) (screenplay)

Lily (1973) (TV)

Sanford and Son (1972) TV Series (unknown episodes)

Richard Pryor: Live and Smokin' (1971)

The Flip Wilson Show (1970) TV Series (unknown episodes)

[b]Producer:[/b]

Pryor Offenses (2004) (TV) (executive producer)

Mo' Funny: Black Comedy in America (1993) (TV) (co-executive producer)

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986) (producer)

Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip (1982) (producer)

Bustin' Loose (1981) (producer)

The Richard Pryor Show (1977) TV Series (executive producer) (unknown episodes)

[b]Director:[/b]

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)

Richard Pryor ...Here and Now (1983)
Richard Pryor: Comic On the Edge biography

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