The Wiz
1978
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Richard Pryor's classic 1979 concert film has him discussing a wide range of topics, including race, the police and his favorite target -- himself.
- Who Was Richard Pryor?
- Early Life
- Stand-Up Comic
- Mainstream Success
- Richard Pryor Movies
- Troubled Personal Life
- Freebasing Incident
- Comeback
- Later Years
- Death and Legacy
A class clown in school and a community theater actor in his teens, Richard Pryor became a successful stand-up comedian, television writer and movie actor, starring in films like Stir Crazy and Greased Lightning. Pryor was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1986 but continued to perform for several more years. He died of a heart attack in 2005.
Pryor was born on December 1, 1940, in Peoria, Illinois. He got a rough start in life: His mother reportedly worked as a prostitute and his father was a bartender and boxer who served in the military during World War II. His parents married when he was 3 years old, but their union did not last. For much of his youth, Pryor was left in his grandmoth...
Upon his return home, Pryor married Patricia Price in 1960. The couple had one child together before divorcing. After ending his marriage, Pryor pursued a career as an entertainer. He found work as a stand-up comic throughout the Midwest, playing African American clubs in such cities as East St. Louis and Pittsburgh. In 1963, Pryor moved to New Yor...
In the early 1970s, Pryor scored several successes as an actor and comedian. He earned positive reviews for his supporting role in the Billie Holiday biopic Lady Sings the Blues (1972), starring Diana Ross. In 1973, he netted his first Emmy Award nomination (outstanding writing achievement in comedy, variety) for his work on The Lily Tomlin Show. T...
Continuing to thrive professionally, Pryor worked with Mel Brooks on the screenplay for the western spoof Blazing Saddles(1974). His own work was also attracting a lot of attention. Despite its X-rated content, his third comedy album sold extremely well and won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording in 1974—a feat he repeated over the next two ...
Off-screen and off-stage, Pryor had a long history of substance abuse and stormy relationships. He got into legal trouble in the early 1970s for failing to file tax returns from 1967 to 1970. In 1978, Pryor had another run-in with the law after he shot his estranged wife's car. He was on put on probation, fined and ordered to get psychiatric treatm...
However, the actor's drug use spiraled out of control the following year. In June 1980, after several days of freebasing cocaine, he lit himself on fire in a suicide attempt. It was initially reported as an accident, but he later admitted in his autobiography that he had done it on purpose in a drug haze. Pryor suffered third-degree burns on more t...
After a lengthy recovery, Pryor returned to stand-up and acting. He won two more Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Recording — one for Rev. Du Rite in 1981 and one for Live on the Sunset Strip in 1982. Live on the Sunset Stripwas released as a concert film that same year. Pryor also starred in several films, including Some Kind of Hero (1982) with Marg...
In 1986, Pryor was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a disease that affects the central nervous system. He did his best to remain active, starring in the movies Critical Condition (1987), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Harlem Nights (1989), with Eddie Murphyand Redd Foxx. By the early 1990s, the once-kinetic Pryor was confined to a wheelchai...
On December 10, 2005, Pryor died of a heart attack at a Los Angeles area hospital. In addition to providing audiences with both hilarious and moving performances, he paved the way for African American comedians like Murphy and Chris Rock to make their mark. "Pryor started it all. He made the blueprint for the progressive thinking of Black comedians...
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most important stand-up comedians of all time.
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Richard Pryor's classic 1979 concert film has him discussing a wide range of topics, including race, the police and his favorite target -- himself.
