R.I.P. Richard Pryor
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deep
Blue Crack Addict
it seems like some people go in stages
I am old enough to remember when Pryor came on the scene
was the big thing
made some good movies
the last few years
he has been a fraction of his former self
now, completely gone
only our memories will linger for a short while
I am old enough to remember when Pryor came on the scene
was the big thing
made some good movies
the last few years
he has been a fraction of his former self
now, completely gone
only our memories will linger for a short while
HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
Whoa. 
Carek1230
Blue Crack Overdose Get me off the internetz!
Oh wow. Very sad news. I loved him, he was so hysterical.
I suppose there will be a multitude of celebrity deaths between now and the end of the year as these usually come in threes or in stages......I wonder who will be next, and yes that is a dreaful thought.
RIP Richard Pryor.....and thanks for the laughs!
I suppose there will be a multitude of celebrity deaths between now and the end of the year as these usually come in threes or in stages......I wonder who will be next, and yes that is a dreaful thought.
RIP Richard Pryor.....and thanks for the laughs!
1stepcloser
Rock n' Roll Doggie
RIP
U2Girl1978
Blue Crack Addict
RIP. 
financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
R.I.P.
Lila64
Blue Crack Distributor
Actor-Comedian Dies at 65 of Heart Attack
'He Did Not Suffer, He Went Quickly,' Pryor's Wife Says
By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, AP
LOS ANGELES (Dec. 10) - Richard Pryor, the groundbreaking comedian whose profanely personal insights into race relations and modern life made him one of Hollywood's biggest stars, died of a heart attack Saturday. He was 65.
Pryor died shortly before 8 a.m. after being taken to a hospital from his home in the San Fernando Valley, said his business manager, Karen Finch. He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the nervous system.
Music producer Quincy Jones described Pryor as a true pioneer of his art.
"He was the Charlie Parker of comedy, a master of telling the truth that influenced every comedian that came after him," Jones said in a statement. "The legacy that he leaves will forever be with us."
Pryor lived dangerously close to the edge, both on stage and off.
He was regarded early in his career as one of the most foul-mouthed comics in the business, but he gained a wide following for his universal and frequently personal routines. After nearly losing his life in 1980 when he caught on fire while freebasing cocaine, he incorporated the ordeal into his later routines.
His audacious style influenced generations of stand-up artists, from Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock to Robin Williams and David Letterman, among others.
A series of hit comedies and concert films in the '70s and '80s helped make Pryor one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood, and he was one of the first black performers to have enough leverage to cut his own deals. In 1983, he signed a $40 million, five-year contract with Columbia Pictures.
His films included "Stir Crazy," "Silver Streak," "Which Way Is Up?" and "Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip."
Throughout his career, Pryor focused on racial inequality, once joking as the host of the Academy Awards in 1977 that Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier were the only black members of the Academy.
Pryor once marveled "that I live in racist America and I'm uneducated, yet a lot of people love me and like what I do, and I can make a living from it. You can't do much better than that."
But he battled drug and alcohol addictions for years, most notably when he suffered severe burns over 50 percent of his body while freebasing at his home. An admitted "junkie" at the time, Pryor spent six weeks recovering from the burns and much longer from his addictions.
He battled multiple sclerosis throughout the '90s.
In his last movie, the 1991 bomb "Another You," Pryor's poor health was clearly evident. Pryor made a comeback attempt the following year, returning to standup comedy in clubs and on television while looking thin and frail, and with noticeable speech and movement difficulties.
In 1995, he played an embittered multiple sclerosis patient in an episode of the television series "Chicago Hope." The role earned him an Emmy nomination as best guest actor in a drama series.
"To be diagnosed was the hardest thing because I didn't know what they were talking about," he said. "And the doctor said `Don't worry, in three months you'll know.'
"So I went about my business and then, one day, it jumped me. I couldn't get up. ... Your muscles trick you; they did me."
While Pryor's material sounds modest when compared with some of today's raunchier comedians, it was startling material when first introduced. He never apologized for it.
Pryor was fired by one Las Vegas hotel for "obscenities" directed at the audience. In 1970, tired of compromising his act, he quit in the middle of another Vegas stage show with the words, "What the (blank) am I doing here?" The audience was left staring at an empty stage.
He didn't tone things down after he became famous. In his 1977 NBC television series "The Richard Pryor Show," he threatened to cancel his contract with the network. NBC's censors objected to a skit in which Pryor appeared naked save for a flesh-colored loincloth to suggest he was emasculated.
In his later years, Pryor mellowed considerably, and his film roles looked more like easy paychecks than artistic endeavors. His robust work gave way to torpid efforts like "Harlem Nights," "Brewster's Millions" and "Hear No Evil, See No Evil."
"I didn't think 'Brewster's Millions' was good to begin with," Pryor once said. "I'm sorry, but they offered us the money. I was a pig, I got greedy."
"I had some great things and I had some bad things. The best and the worst," he said in 1995. "In other words, I had a life."
Recognition came in 1998 from an unlikely source: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington gave Pryor the first Mark Twain Prize for humor. He said in a statement that he was proud that, "like Mark Twain, I have been able to use humor to lessen people's hatred."
Born in 1940 in Peoria, Ill., Pryor grew up in his grandmother's brothel. His first professional performance came at age 7, when he played drums at a night club.
Following high school and two years of Army service, he launched his performing career, honing his comedy in bars throughout the United States. By the mid-'60s, he was appearing in Las Vegas clubs and on the television shows of Ed Sullivan, Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson.
His first film role came with a small part in 1967's "The Busy Body." He made his starring debut as Diana Ross' piano man in 1972's "Lady Sings the Blues."
Pryor also wrote scripts for the television series "Sanford and Son," "The Flip Wilson Show" and two specials for Lily Tomlin. He collaborated with Mel Brooks on the script for the movie "Blazing Saddles."
Later in his career, Pryor used his films as therapy. "Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling," was an autobiographical account of a popular comedian re-examining his life while lying delirious in a hospital burn ward. Pryor directed, co-wrote, co-produced and starred in the film.
"I'm glad I did `Jo Jo,"' Pryor once said. "It helped me get rid of a lot of stuff."
Pryor also had legal problems over the years. In 1974, he was sentenced to three years' probation for failing to file federal income tax returns. In 1978, he allegedly fired shots and rammed his car into a vehicle occupied by two of his wife's friends.
Even in poor health, his comedy was vital. At a 1992 performance, he asked the room, "Is there a doctor in the audience?" All he got was nervous laughter. "No, I'm serious. I want to know if there's a doctor here."
A hand finally went up.
"Doctor," Pryor said, "I need to know one thing. What the (blank) is MS?"
Pryor was married six times. His children include sons Richard and Steven, and daughters Elizabeth, Rain and Renee.
Daughter Rain became an actress. In an interview in 2005, she told the Philadelphia Inquirer that her father always "put his life right out there for you to look at. I took that approach because I saw how well audiences respond to it. I try to make you laugh at life."
R.I.P.
'He Did Not Suffer, He Went Quickly,' Pryor's Wife Says
By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, AP
LOS ANGELES (Dec. 10) - Richard Pryor, the groundbreaking comedian whose profanely personal insights into race relations and modern life made him one of Hollywood's biggest stars, died of a heart attack Saturday. He was 65.
Pryor died shortly before 8 a.m. after being taken to a hospital from his home in the San Fernando Valley, said his business manager, Karen Finch. He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the nervous system.
Music producer Quincy Jones described Pryor as a true pioneer of his art.
"He was the Charlie Parker of comedy, a master of telling the truth that influenced every comedian that came after him," Jones said in a statement. "The legacy that he leaves will forever be with us."
Pryor lived dangerously close to the edge, both on stage and off.
He was regarded early in his career as one of the most foul-mouthed comics in the business, but he gained a wide following for his universal and frequently personal routines. After nearly losing his life in 1980 when he caught on fire while freebasing cocaine, he incorporated the ordeal into his later routines.
His audacious style influenced generations of stand-up artists, from Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock to Robin Williams and David Letterman, among others.
A series of hit comedies and concert films in the '70s and '80s helped make Pryor one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood, and he was one of the first black performers to have enough leverage to cut his own deals. In 1983, he signed a $40 million, five-year contract with Columbia Pictures.
His films included "Stir Crazy," "Silver Streak," "Which Way Is Up?" and "Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip."
Throughout his career, Pryor focused on racial inequality, once joking as the host of the Academy Awards in 1977 that Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier were the only black members of the Academy.
Pryor once marveled "that I live in racist America and I'm uneducated, yet a lot of people love me and like what I do, and I can make a living from it. You can't do much better than that."
But he battled drug and alcohol addictions for years, most notably when he suffered severe burns over 50 percent of his body while freebasing at his home. An admitted "junkie" at the time, Pryor spent six weeks recovering from the burns and much longer from his addictions.
He battled multiple sclerosis throughout the '90s.
In his last movie, the 1991 bomb "Another You," Pryor's poor health was clearly evident. Pryor made a comeback attempt the following year, returning to standup comedy in clubs and on television while looking thin and frail, and with noticeable speech and movement difficulties.
In 1995, he played an embittered multiple sclerosis patient in an episode of the television series "Chicago Hope." The role earned him an Emmy nomination as best guest actor in a drama series.
"To be diagnosed was the hardest thing because I didn't know what they were talking about," he said. "And the doctor said `Don't worry, in three months you'll know.'
"So I went about my business and then, one day, it jumped me. I couldn't get up. ... Your muscles trick you; they did me."
While Pryor's material sounds modest when compared with some of today's raunchier comedians, it was startling material when first introduced. He never apologized for it.
Pryor was fired by one Las Vegas hotel for "obscenities" directed at the audience. In 1970, tired of compromising his act, he quit in the middle of another Vegas stage show with the words, "What the (blank) am I doing here?" The audience was left staring at an empty stage.
He didn't tone things down after he became famous. In his 1977 NBC television series "The Richard Pryor Show," he threatened to cancel his contract with the network. NBC's censors objected to a skit in which Pryor appeared naked save for a flesh-colored loincloth to suggest he was emasculated.
In his later years, Pryor mellowed considerably, and his film roles looked more like easy paychecks than artistic endeavors. His robust work gave way to torpid efforts like "Harlem Nights," "Brewster's Millions" and "Hear No Evil, See No Evil."
"I didn't think 'Brewster's Millions' was good to begin with," Pryor once said. "I'm sorry, but they offered us the money. I was a pig, I got greedy."
"I had some great things and I had some bad things. The best and the worst," he said in 1995. "In other words, I had a life."
Recognition came in 1998 from an unlikely source: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington gave Pryor the first Mark Twain Prize for humor. He said in a statement that he was proud that, "like Mark Twain, I have been able to use humor to lessen people's hatred."
Born in 1940 in Peoria, Ill., Pryor grew up in his grandmother's brothel. His first professional performance came at age 7, when he played drums at a night club.
Following high school and two years of Army service, he launched his performing career, honing his comedy in bars throughout the United States. By the mid-'60s, he was appearing in Las Vegas clubs and on the television shows of Ed Sullivan, Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson.
His first film role came with a small part in 1967's "The Busy Body." He made his starring debut as Diana Ross' piano man in 1972's "Lady Sings the Blues."
Pryor also wrote scripts for the television series "Sanford and Son," "The Flip Wilson Show" and two specials for Lily Tomlin. He collaborated with Mel Brooks on the script for the movie "Blazing Saddles."
Later in his career, Pryor used his films as therapy. "Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling," was an autobiographical account of a popular comedian re-examining his life while lying delirious in a hospital burn ward. Pryor directed, co-wrote, co-produced and starred in the film.
"I'm glad I did `Jo Jo,"' Pryor once said. "It helped me get rid of a lot of stuff."
Pryor also had legal problems over the years. In 1974, he was sentenced to three years' probation for failing to file federal income tax returns. In 1978, he allegedly fired shots and rammed his car into a vehicle occupied by two of his wife's friends.
Even in poor health, his comedy was vital. At a 1992 performance, he asked the room, "Is there a doctor in the audience?" All he got was nervous laughter. "No, I'm serious. I want to know if there's a doctor here."
A hand finally went up.
"Doctor," Pryor said, "I need to know one thing. What the (blank) is MS?"
Pryor was married six times. His children include sons Richard and Steven, and daughters Elizabeth, Rain and Renee.
Daughter Rain became an actress. In an interview in 2005, she told the Philadelphia Inquirer that her father always "put his life right out there for you to look at. I took that approach because I saw how well audiences respond to it. I try to make you laugh at life."
R.I.P. 
tiny dancer
Blue Crack Distributor
So very R.I.P. Richard
R.I.P. Richard
trevster2k
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
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- Jan 17, 2001
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Groundbreaking comedian. I loved his movies with Gene Wilder.
pepokiss
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
fah
Blue Crack Addict
elevation2u
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I thought he was already dead 
he was quite a gifted comedian
just the other day I was watching his skit on SNL ...the one with Checy Chase back in the 70's
he was quite a gifted comedian
just the other day I was watching his skit on SNL ...the one with Checy Chase back in the 70's
Cleasai
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Wow, I'm surprised to hear about his passing. 
Carek1230
Blue Crack Overdose Get me off the internetz!
elevation2u said:I thought he was already dead
he was quite a gifted comedian
just the other day I was watching his skit on SNL ...the one with Checy Chase back in the 70's
They showed that same skit tonite.....it was during the News when they did a short speech about Pryor.
MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
RIP
MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
Richard Pryor Remembered at Funeral
Mon Dec 19
Richard Pryor got a send-off fit for a king of comedy.
Anecdotes, tributes and tears flowed Saturday in Los Angeles as family and friends gathered for a private funeral service memorializing the iconic--and iconoclastic--funnyman, who died a week earlier of a heart attack at age 65.
Diana Ross, George Lopez, Pauly Shore and Mike Epps were among those lining the pews at the Church of the Hills at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
The service included a video montage of Pryor's film and stage performances, a rendition of "Amazing Grace" that included vocals by Ross, who starred with Pryor The Wiz and Lady Sings the Blues, and shared memories among attendees.
"There was a very intimate, very small and we all just got together and kissed him away," Mo'Nique told reporters afterward. "See you later, Richard, see you when we get there...But don't call me no time soon, uh-uh."
Added Epps: "It was sad but joyous. It was the way I think Richard would have loved it to be. He would have loved to have seen the laughter and the pain also.''
Considered one of the greatest, most influential comics of all time, Pryor showcased his skills in a trio of award-winning concert films--Richard Pryor Live in Concert (1979), Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip (1982) and Richard Pryor Here and Now (1983)--and starred in more than 30 films, including Silver Streak, Uptown Saturday Night, Stir Crazy and the autobiographical comedy-drama Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling.
Pryor battled drug addiction throughout his life, and was nearly killed in a freebasing incident. But his biggest health challenge was multiple sclerosis, which essentially sidelined his career in 1991, after tag-teaming with frequent partner Gene Wilder in Another You, and left him confined to a wheelchair.
Although he rarely appeared in public in his later years, Pryor did turn out to receive the inaugural Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 1998, and was featured in the 2004 Comedy Central special I Ain't Dead Yet, M*therf@ck%r!, where he was lauded by the likes of Dave Chappelle, Margaret Cho, Jamie Foxx, Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Harvey, Chris Rock, Denis Leary and Robin Williams.
On Saturday, Lopez told reporters that Pyror "meant everything to me."
"He was the one person who filled my house with his voice and made me not feel lonely, and made me feel my life could be worth something and that my pain could be currency for laughs," Lopez said.
Though no official announcement has been made, sources say a public memorial service for Pryor will be held in January. His widow, Jennifer Pryor, says a major benefit celebrating her husband's life is also being planned.
Meantime, on Monday, BET will present Richard Pryor: The Funniest Man Dead or Alive, featuring recollections from the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Dave Chappelle, Chris Tucker, Dick Gregory, Wanda Sykes, Paul Mooney, Mike Epps, Tracey Morgan, Mo'Nique, Charlie Murphy, Alex Thomas, Steve Harvey and Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels. The special airs at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Mon Dec 19
Richard Pryor got a send-off fit for a king of comedy.
Anecdotes, tributes and tears flowed Saturday in Los Angeles as family and friends gathered for a private funeral service memorializing the iconic--and iconoclastic--funnyman, who died a week earlier of a heart attack at age 65.
Diana Ross, George Lopez, Pauly Shore and Mike Epps were among those lining the pews at the Church of the Hills at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
The service included a video montage of Pryor's film and stage performances, a rendition of "Amazing Grace" that included vocals by Ross, who starred with Pryor The Wiz and Lady Sings the Blues, and shared memories among attendees.
"There was a very intimate, very small and we all just got together and kissed him away," Mo'Nique told reporters afterward. "See you later, Richard, see you when we get there...But don't call me no time soon, uh-uh."
Added Epps: "It was sad but joyous. It was the way I think Richard would have loved it to be. He would have loved to have seen the laughter and the pain also.''
Considered one of the greatest, most influential comics of all time, Pryor showcased his skills in a trio of award-winning concert films--Richard Pryor Live in Concert (1979), Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip (1982) and Richard Pryor Here and Now (1983)--and starred in more than 30 films, including Silver Streak, Uptown Saturday Night, Stir Crazy and the autobiographical comedy-drama Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling.
Pryor battled drug addiction throughout his life, and was nearly killed in a freebasing incident. But his biggest health challenge was multiple sclerosis, which essentially sidelined his career in 1991, after tag-teaming with frequent partner Gene Wilder in Another You, and left him confined to a wheelchair.
Although he rarely appeared in public in his later years, Pryor did turn out to receive the inaugural Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 1998, and was featured in the 2004 Comedy Central special I Ain't Dead Yet, M*therf@ck%r!, where he was lauded by the likes of Dave Chappelle, Margaret Cho, Jamie Foxx, Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Harvey, Chris Rock, Denis Leary and Robin Williams.
On Saturday, Lopez told reporters that Pyror "meant everything to me."
"He was the one person who filled my house with his voice and made me not feel lonely, and made me feel my life could be worth something and that my pain could be currency for laughs," Lopez said.
Though no official announcement has been made, sources say a public memorial service for Pryor will be held in January. His widow, Jennifer Pryor, says a major benefit celebrating her husband's life is also being planned.
Meantime, on Monday, BET will present Richard Pryor: The Funniest Man Dead or Alive, featuring recollections from the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Dave Chappelle, Chris Tucker, Dick Gregory, Wanda Sykes, Paul Mooney, Mike Epps, Tracey Morgan, Mo'Nique, Charlie Murphy, Alex Thomas, Steve Harvey and Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels. The special airs at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Carmelu2fan
Rock n' Roll Doggie FOB
I am just now finding this thread but I just wanted to pay my respect to a verry funny man. I wish I would have caught that show yesterday. Thank you
I wish I would have caught that show yesterday. Thank you
