Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III was born on December 1, 1940, in Peoria, Illinois. This African-American comedian, actor and writer told stories that attracted a wide audience, but his acerbic and sometimes trenchant examinations of race and customs in the modern world divided public opinion of his act. His first professional performance came at the age of seven, when he played drums at a local nightclub. He grew up in his grandmother’s brothel, where his mother, Gertrude, worked as a prostitute. His father, Leroy, was a boxer, bartender and World War II veteran. From 1958-1960, Pryor served in the US Army, but spent most of his time in an army prison because of a racially charged incident while stationed in Germany. His mother died in 1967; his father the following year.
In 1968, he made his first comedy recording on Dove/Reprise label. He was a talented comic with his own unsweetened views on life, and from his late 20s to his early 30s; his style was similar to that of Bill Cosby. All that would change however, and rather drastically at that. He soon began to include mild profanity in his act, including racial epithets. In 1969, Pryor moved to Berkeley, California, and became involved in the counterculture of the Black Panthers and in 1970, he signed with Laff Records and recorded his second album, “Craps.” In 1972, he appeared in his first film, “Wattstax”. He became embroiled in a legal battle between two record labels, and he then moved on to sign a contract with Reprise /Warner Brothers. He also did a minor stint in television at this time with a series that lasted for only five shows.
On June 1, 1980, in a terrible accident, Richard Pryor set himself on fire while free-basing cocaine. In 1986 he publicly announced that he suffered from multiple sclerosis. He continued to make occasional film appearances, and his final film was in “Lost Highway” in 1997.
He and his wife, Jennifer were big animal right supporters. Pryor was married seven times in his lifetime to five different women and fathered seven children.
He died on December 10, 2005, leaving a significant legacy for all of his many fans.
A tragic life lost too soon, but a spirit that still shines bright.