Richard Pryor

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Lore & Background

Pryor was born on December 1, 1940, in Peoria, Illinois, and grew up in a brothel run by his grandmother, Marie Carter. His mother, Gertrude L. (née Thomas), was a prostitute. His father, LeRoy 'Buck Carter' Pryor (June 7, 1915 – September 27, 1968), was a former boxer, hustler and pimp. After Gertrude lost custody of him in court when he was 10, Pryor was raised primarily by his grandmother Marie. He was sexually abused at age seven and expelled from school at 14. He met Juliette Whittaker, the head of the Carver Center’s theater program, at this time. Pryor served in the U.S. Army from 1958 to 1960, spending virtually the entire stint in an Army prison. According to a 1999 profile in The New Yorker, Pryor was incarcerated for an incident in West Germany: angered that a white soldier was overly amused at the racially charged scenes of Douglas Sirk's film Imitation of Life, Pryor and several other black soldiers beat and stabbed him; the soldier survived. In 1963, Pryor moved to New York City and began performing regularly in clubs. Initially inspired by Bill Cosby, he began as a middlebrow comic. In September 1967, he had what he described in his autobiography Pryor Convictions (1995) as an 'epiphany' — he walked onto the stage at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, looked at the sold-out crowd, exclaimed 'What the fuck am I doing here!?', and walked off. Afterward, he began working profanity into his act. His breakthrough came in the 1970s: he won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for That Nigger's Crazy (1974), ...Is It Something I Said? (1975), Bicentennial Nigger (1976), Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982), and Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983). He co-wrote Blazing Saddles (1974) and gained acclaim for his collaborations with Gene Wilder, including Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989), and Another You (1991).

Reader's Guide

Richard Pryor's significance lies in his transformation of stand-up comedy from safe, middlebrow routines to raw, personal, and socially incisive storytelling. His concert films and recordings — including five Grammy-winning comedy albums: That Nigger's Crazy (1974), ...Is It Something I Said? (1975), Bicentennial Nigger (1976), Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982), and Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983) — set a new standard. He also recorded Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin' (1971), Wanted: Live in Concert (1978), and Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979). As an actor, he starred mainly in comedies, with acclaimed collaborations with Gene Wilder in Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989), and Another You (1991). He also acted in Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Blue Collar (1978), The Wiz (1978), California Suite (1978), Superman III (1983), Harlem Nights (1989), and Lost Highway (1997). He appeared as himself on Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live before hosting The Richard Pryor Show (1977) and Pryor's Place (1984). In 1975, he was a guest host on the first season of Saturday Night Live, making him the first black host. He received the first Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 1998.

Did You Know?

• Pryor grew up in a brothel run by his grandmother, Marie Carter, and his mother was a prostitute.
• He served in the U.S. Army from 1958 to 1960 and spent virtually the entire stint in an Army prison for beating and stabbing a white soldier.
• In September 1967, he walked offstage at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas after exclaiming 'What the fuck am I doing here!?' — an epiphany that changed his comedy style.
• Pryor was the first black host of Saturday Night Live, guest-hosting in 1975 during its first season.
• He won five Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album, for That Nigger's Crazy (1974), ...Is It Something I Said? (1975), Bicentennial Nigger (1976), Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982), and Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983).