Dive into the unfiltered life of Richard Pryor , the comedy legend who redefined stand-up with raw storytelling, social critique , and fearless humor. Explore his rise from poverty , iconic movies like Superman III , and battles with addiction. A must-watch for fans of Dave Chappelle , Chris Rock , and groundbreaking comedy. #RichardPryorLegacy #StandUpRevolution #IconicComedian #ComedyHistory
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00:00Pryor grew up in a brothel run by his grandmother, Marie Carter, where his alcoholic mother was a prostitute.
00:07If growing up in a house wasn't enough dysfunction in Pryor's life, he also was molested multiple times prior, was married seven times, too.
00:16Five women in A Daring Revelation, the comedic legend, shared the intimate contour of his life.
00:22He had a sexual relationship with actor Maren Brando, and that Pryor was open with his friends about his bisexuality, and the fact that he slept with men.
00:33The evening of June 9, 1980, Pryor poured 151 proof from all over himself, and lit himself on fire.
00:41Other sources say that what burned him that night was an explosion that happened while he was freebasing cocaine after years immersed in the haze.
00:49Of smoke and the intoxicating elixir of excess Pryor's resilient heart, faced a reckoning he had a mild heart attack at age 36, without Pryor's irreverent influence.
01:01The comedy world would be a very, very different place, yet, despite his fame there.
01:06Are still things you may not know about the comic legend, join us today, as we look at the legend Richard Pryor, and let us know which other legends you would like us to cover Pryor was born on December 1, 1940, in Peoria, Illinois, and as anybody.
01:23Who's heard his stand-up routines about his childhood knows the home Pryor grew up, and wasn't exactly Norman Rockwell material the comedian was raised in a WH house with his mother a prostitute, his father a pimp, and his grandmother the madam who.
01:39Owned a total of three brothel, the family, also owned a tavern and a pool hall, and did bootlegging too so much for the good old days, being more wholesome he saw his mother turn tricks for some drunk white man, when he was a kid in addition, he saw.
01:55His father take the money, and he saw what it did to them, one of the women his mother slept with, for money was Peoria's mare, he saw his father severely beat his mother, when he was young, before she finally left when he was five his mother was.
02:11Rough with him as well, yet Pryor said that it could have been worse, at least Gertrude his mother didn't flush me down the toilet.
02:19He said this wasn't just a comic riff Pryor once found a dead baby in a box in the house, after Gertrude abandoned.
02:26Him when he was ten Pryor was raised primarily by Marie, a tall violent woman, who had beat him for any of his eccentricities Pryor, was one of four children raised in his grandmother's brothel.
02:37He was sexually abused at age seven, and expelled from school at the age of fourteen while in Peoria.
02:46He became a Prince Hall Freemason at a local lodge, if growing up in a house wasn't enough dysfunction in Pryor's life, he also was molested multiple times first, by a teenage boy he referred to as Bubba.
02:59When he was six Pryor did discover something else in his childhood, the ability to make others left when he was in the sixth grade.
03:08He was late to school a lot, until his teacher made a deal with him, if he showed up on time, he'd get ten minutes.
03:16Once a week to perform slapstick routines in front of his classmates, it was his first audience, and it made him want to show up to school on time decades down the line Peoria would pay homage to his enduring talent by erecting a statue in his.
03:32Honor Pryor's journey included a stint in the US Army from 1958 to 1960, but the majority of his service unfolded within the confines of an army prison.
03:45A 1999 profile in the New Yorker detailed an incident in West Germany that led to Pryor's incarceration.
03:52Incensed by a white soldier's excessive amusement, had racially charged scenes in Douglas Sir's film Imitation of Life Pryor along with several fellow black soldiers resorted to beating and stabbing the soldier fortunately, without causing fatal injuries in 1963, Pryor relocated to New York City, where he began frequenting clubs alongside notable figures such as Bob Dylan and Woody Allen on one memorable night.
04:22He opened for the esteemed singer and pianist Nina Simone at New York's Village.
04:28Gate Simone vividly recalled Pryor's intense performance anxiety offering comfort by cradling him in her arms, until he regained composure and intimate gesture repeated on subsequent anxious nights.
04:42September 1967 marked a pivotal moment for Pryor.
04:46Characterized as an epiphany in his autobiography Pryor convictions in a sold-out Aladdin hotel in Las Vegas with Dean Martin among the audience, Pryor bewilderingly declared,
04:58What the heck am I doing here before abruptly leaving the stage this?
05:03Event marked the inception of Pryor incorporating profanity, including the controversial term into his act,
05:09His 1968 debut comedy recording Richard Pryor on the Dove reprised label documented this transformative period in his routine tragically.
05:21His parents passed away during this period, his mother in 1967 and his father in 1968.
05:28In 1969, Pryor embraced the counterculture spirit as he relocated to Berkeley, California, immersing himself in a community that included influential figures like
05:41Hugh E. P. Newton and Ishmael Reed in 1970 Pryor in a deal with the comedy-centric independent record label Laugh Records a year later.
05:52He recorded his second album, Craps, after hours, despite still dwelling in relative obscurity, Pryor made a notable appearance in the 1972 documentary Watts,
06:04where he humorously dissected the tragic comic complexities of race relations in Watts and the United States seeking broader horizons Pryor secured a deal.
06:14With the larger label Stacks Records in 1973, the turning point arrived with his third album, the breakthrough that Crazy 1974,
06:24however Laugh Records claiming ownership of Pryor's recording rights, nearly succeeded in halting the album's sail-through.
06:31Legal Maneuver's negotiations ensued resulting in Pryor's release from his Laugh Contract,
06:38and Exchange Laugh gained the rights to release previously unreleased material recorded between 1968 and 1973 that Nigger's Crazy achieved both commercial,
06:50and critical acclaim certified gold by the Raw,
06:53and honored with the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album at the 1975 Grammy Awards amidst the Legal Tussle Stacks' Records,
07:01briefly closed its doors prompting Pryor return to reprise Warner Brothers.
07:06Records the label promptly Ray released that Nigger's Crazy following his first album with the new label,
07:12Is It Something I Said? The second release mirrored its predecessor's success,
07:17eventually gaining platinum certification from the Raya and winning.
07:20The Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording at the 1976 Grammy Awards,
07:27Richard Pryor entered the realm of matrimony seven times engaging in unions with a total of five remarkable women.
07:34The opening chapter saw Patricia Price as his first wife, A.
07:38Union that spanned from 1960 to 1961,
07:44setting the stage for the intricate relationships to follow in the late 1960s.
07:49Shelley Bonies entered the scene marrying Pryor in 1967,
07:53however their union proved ephemeral concluding in divorce in 1969 leaving.
07:59Before navigate the next chapter of his romantic odyssey,
08:03Deborah Maguire emerged as the protagonist of the 1977 chapter and aspiring model and actress,
08:10who exchanged vows with Pryor on September 22nd.
08:15Their love story was marked by a tumultuous dance.
08:19Of separations and reconciliations ultimately culminating in a divorce in August 1978,
08:241978, Jennifer Lee, an actress and interior designer,
08:29entered Pryor's life.
08:31The rollercoaster of their relationship mirrored Pryor's struggles with drug addiction,
08:36leading to a divorce in October 1982,
08:40yet their story did not conclude there
08:43as they rekindled their connection remarried on June 29, 2001,
08:48and remained at Tadjithar,
08:49until Pryor's final days in 2005.
08:54The mid-1980s introduced Flynn Bain, an aspiring actress, who
08:58became Pryor's fifth wife in October 1986.
09:03Their story unfolded with a series of dramatic twists
09:06featuring multiple divorce filings and withdrawals
09:09despite the turbulence their official divorce took place in July 1991,
09:14with the couple initially.
09:17Remarrying on April 1, 1990,
09:19adding another layer of complexity
09:21to Pryor's matrimonial tapestry,
09:24Pryor's romantic escapades extended beyond the realm of marriage,
09:28involving untold affairs and relationships.
09:31One noteworthy liaison was with actress.
09:35Pam Greer, his co-star in the 1977 film Grease Lightning,
09:40in her memoir, Greer,
09:41recounted their tumultuous relationship
09:43detailing Pryor's excessive cocaine use,
09:46which she claimed accumulated in her vagina,
09:49despite Pryor's comedic brilliance he grappled.
09:53With the demons of his troubled childhood,
09:55often succumbing to fits of rage reports from The New Yorker,
09:59indicated that Pryor was prone to physically abusing women,
10:02his struggles with substance abuse,
10:04and a penchant for five firearms further complicated.
10:07His personal life leading to destructive incidents such as shooting up a car
10:12in a fish tank in 1986.
10:16Jennifer Lee Pry,
10:17then his ex-wife,
10:19shared candid insights in an interview with People magazine
10:22about Richard Pryor's semi-autobiographical film,
10:25Jojo Dancer,
10:27your life is calling following their initial divorce.
10:31She characterized the movie as vacuous
10:33and courageously denounced Pryor
10:35as an abuser challenging the film's portrayal of his life,
10:39in a poignant revelation she confronted Pryor about.
10:42His upbringing recounting,
10:44When you told me you watched your father
10:45and the pimps beat up the prostitutes
10:47as if they owned them
10:49and had the right to hit them,
10:51you told me it was the macho myth
10:53that made you think beating up women
10:55was the way to be a
10:56big strong man I know
10:59I have the bruises and the hospital records
11:01to prove it despite the gravity of these revelations
11:03he ultimately chose to remarry Pryor's standing by him
11:07until his death nearly a decade
11:09after Pryor's passing to the 2014 biographical.
11:12Book Becoming Richard Pryor by Scott Solshed Light
11:16on Pryor's acknowledgement of his bisexuality
11:19Subsequently in 2018,
11:21Quincy Jones and Jennifer Lee Pryor's widow
11:24disclosed that Pryor had a sexual relationship with actor
11:28Marlon Brando underscoring
11:30Pryor's openness with friends about his bisexuality
11:34and intimate encounters with men
11:36Pryor's daughter Rain contested the assertion
11:39prompting the to claim that Rain
11:41was in denial about her father's bisexuality
11:43in a candid revelation to TMZ.
11:47On TV Lee commented on the era
11:49in which Pryor lived stating
11:51it was the 72nd's drugs were still good
11:53if you did enough cocaine
11:55you'd engage in relations with the radiator
11:57and send it flowers in the morning
11:59Pryor himself addressed the spectrum of.
12:03His experiences in his autobiography
12:05Pryor Convictions acknowledging
12:06a two-week relationship with Mitra Shah
12:09a trans woman describing it
12:10as two weeks of being gay
12:12the autobiography provides a glimpse
12:14into the complex and multifaceted nature of Pryor's.
12:18Personal journey in relationships
12:20in his initial comedy special
12:22Live and Smokin' Richard Pryor
12:24delved into explicit discussions
12:26including the topic of performing
12:28Fadi the comedian boldly stated
12:30in both the special
12:31and at a 1977
12:33gay rights show.
12:36At the Hollywood Bowl
12:37I have sucked you know
12:38what on the night of June 9th
12:401980 conflicting accounts
12:42surround a harrowing incident
12:43involving Pryor some sources
12:45including Pryor himself
12:47assert that he deed himself
12:48with 151 proof
12:50and set himself.
12:52A blaze however alternate report
12:54supported by the Los Angeles police
12:56contend that an explosion
12:58occurred during a session
12:59of free basing cocaine
13:01resulting in Pryor's burns.
13:03As he remained engulfed in flames
13:05he raced down Parthenia Street
13:07from his.
13:08Los Angeles residents
13:10until apprehended
13:11by the police
13:12Pryor sustained severe
13:13second and third degree burns
13:15over more than half of his body
13:17requiring a six-week recovery
13:18at the Grossman Burn Center
13:20at Sherman Oaks Hospital
13:22in Los Angeles his daughter.
13:24Rain attributed the incident
13:26to a bout of drug-induced psychosis
13:28reflecting on Pryor's descent
13:29into addiction.
13:31His widow Jennifer
13:32Lane
13:33disclosed after two weeks
13:35of watching him getting addicted
13:36to the stuff
13:37I moved out
13:38it was clear the drug had
13:39moved in
13:41and it had become his lover
13:42and everything I did not
13:44not exist
13:44the toll of Pryor's
13:46tumultuous lifestyle
13:47manifested further
13:48in health challenges
13:49in November 1977.
13:52He endured a mild heart attack
13:54at the age of 36
13:55only to recover
13:57and resume.
13:59Performing in January
14:00of the following year
14:01a subsequent diagnosis
14:03of multiple sclerosis
14:05in 1986
14:06added to his health
14:08woe in 1990
14:09while in Australia
14:10Pryor suffered
14:11a second heart attack
14:12leading to triple heart
14:14bypass surgery
14:15in 199-91
14:17by late 2004.
14:20His sister reported
14:21a loss of voice
14:22due to multiple sclerosis
14:24however
14:24on January 9, 2005
14:27Jennifer Lee
14:28refuted this claim
14:29on Pryor's official website
14:31quoting him
14:32as saying
14:33I'm sick of hearing
14:34this about me
14:34not talking
14:35not true
14:36I have good days
14:37bad days
14:38but I am still talking
14:40this statement
14:40offered a glimpse
14:41into Pryor's resilience
14:43amid the challenges
14:44he faced
14:44in the later stages
14:45of his life
14:46back to his career journey
14:47Pryor's winning streak
14:49continued with the 1976 release
14:52of Bicentennial
14:53securing his third consecutive
14:56gold album
14:57and a third consecutive Grammy
14:59for best comedy recording
15:00in 1977
15:01as prior fame
15:03soared with each successful album
15:05and later through
15:06his concert films
15:07and the infamous
15:081980 freebasing accident
15:10Laugh Records
15:11strategically published albums
15:14of older material
15:15to capitalize on
15:16his growing rena
15:17a practice they sustained
15:18until 1983
15:20the thematic T.I.s
15:22between the covers
15:23of Laugh albums
15:24and Pryor film projects
15:26such as
15:27Are You Serious
15:27for Silver Streak
15:291976
15:30The Wizard of Comedy
15:32for The Wiz
15:331978
15:34and Insane
15:36for Stir Crazy
15:361980
15:37further underscored
15:38Pryor's multifaceted
15:40creative contributions
15:41notably Pryor Co
15:43wrote Blazing Saddles
15:441974
15:45directed by Mel Brooks
15:47and starring Gene Wilder
15:49although initially
15:50intended for the lead role
15:53of Bart Pryor's
15:54lack of insurance
15:55led to Cleveland Little
15:56being cast in the iconic role
15:58in 1975
15:59Pryor made history
16:01as the inaugural Black host
16:03on the first season
16:04of Saturday Night
16:05live SNL
16:06accompanied by his long time
16:08girlfriend actress
16:10and talk show host
16:11Catherine McKee
16:12the night's highlights
16:14included a memorable
16:15and controversial
16:16word association skit
16:17with Chevy Chase
16:18following this milestone
16:20Pryor ventured
16:21into his variety show
16:22The Richard Pryor Show
16:24debuting
16:25on NBC in 1977
16:28however the show
16:29faced an untimely demise
16:31after just four episodes
16:32potentially due
16:33to the television audience's
16:35discomfort
16:36with its contentious
16:37subject matter
16:37Pryor steadfast
16:38and his comedic convictions
16:40refused to compromise his
16:42material for network censors
16:44expressing they offered me
16:46ten episodes
16:46but I said all I wanted
16:48to and for the series
16:49showcased Pryor
16:50portraying the first
16:52black president
16:52of the United States
16:54stirring the Star Wars
16:55most ely
16:56cantina exploring gun
16:58violence in a non-comedic skit
17:01lampooning racism
17:02on the sinking Titanic
17:03and using costumes
17:05and visual distortion
17:06to humorously appear nude
17:08in 1979
17:09at the pinnacle
17:11of his success
17:12Pryor embarked
17:13on a transformative journey
17:15to Kenya
17:15his return to
17:16The United States
17:18from Africa
17:19marked a significant
17:20personal pledge
17:21he swore never
17:22to use the word
17:23in his stand-up comedy
17:25routine again
17:26in 1980
17:27Richard Pryor
17:28achieved a historic
17:29milestone
17:29as the first black actor
17:31to command
17:32a million doll salary
17:33for a single film
17:35securing the lead role
17:36in Stir Crazy
17:37however
17:38during the production
17:39of the film
17:40on June 9th 1980
17:42Pryor immersed
17:43in a free basing episode
17:45made headlines
17:46by dousing himself
17:47in rum
17:47and setting himself
17:49on fire
17:49this dramatic incident
17:51became part
17:52of his stand-up routine
17:54in Richard Pryor
17:55Live on the Sunset Strip
17:561982
17:57where he humorously
17:59attributed the mishap
18:00to dunking a cookie
18:01into low-fat
18:02pasteurized milk
18:03resulting in an explosion
18:04concluding the bit
18:06he playfully mocked
18:07those
18:07who cracked jokes
18:09about the incident
18:10by waving a lit match
18:12and quipping
18:13what's that Richard Pryor
18:14running down the street yet
18:15behind the scenes
18:16Pryor's reputation
18:17took a turn
18:18for the challenging
18:19known for his demanding
18:20and disrespectful demeanor
18:22on film sets
18:23on film sets as well
18:24as his self-centered
18:25and difficult requests
18:26Pryor's behavior
18:27true criticism
18:28co-star
18:29Gina and Wilder
18:30revealed in his autobiography
18:32Kiss Me Like a Stranger
18:34that Pryor
18:34was consistently tardy
18:36during the filming
18:37of Stir Crazy Among
18:38His requests
18:39was a helicopter
18:40to transport him
18:41to and from the set
18:42justifying it
18:43with his star status
18:44Pryor faced accusations
18:46of leveraging allegations
18:47of on-set racism
18:48to co-film producers
18:49into providing him
18:51with additional
18:51compensation this
18:52chapter in Pryor's career
18:55reflected both
18:56his triumphs
18:57and the complexities
18:58that came with
18:59his rising stardom
19:00one day
19:00during our lunch hour
19:02in the last week
19:03of filming
19:03the craft servicemen
19:05handed out slices
19:06of watermelon
19:07to each of us Richard
19:08the whole camera crew
19:10and I sat together
19:11in a big sound studio
19:13eating several
19:14watermelon slices
19:15talking and joking
19:16as a gag
19:17some members of the crew
19:18used a piece
19:19of watermelon
19:20as a frisbee
19:21and tossed it back
19:22and forth
19:23to each other
19:24one piece
19:24a watermelon
19:26landed it
19:26at Richard's feet
19:27he got up
19:28and went home
19:29filming Stop
19:30the next day
19:31Richard announced
19:32that he knew
19:33very well
19:33what the significance
19:35of watermelon
19:35was he said
19:36that he was quitting
19:37show business
19:38and would not
19:39return to
19:39this film
19:41the day after that
19:42Richard walked
19:43in all smiles
19:44I wasn't privy
19:45to all the negotiations
19:46that went on
19:47between Columbia
19:48and Richard's lawyers
19:49but the camera operator
19:51who had thrown
19:52the errant piece
19:53of watermelon
19:53had been fired
19:54that day
19:55I assume now
19:56that Richard
19:57was using drugs
19:58during as crazy
19:59Pryor cross paths
20:00with actress
20:01Pam Greer
20:02through comedian
20:03Freddie Prince
20:04sparking a romantic
20:05connection
20:05during their joint
20:06involvement
20:07in Grease Lightning
20:081977
20:09their relationship
20:11went beyond
20:12the screen
20:13as Greer
20:14played a pivotal role
20:15in Pryor's life
20:16assisting him
20:17in improving
20:17his reading skills
20:19and attempting
20:20to aid him
20:20in overcoming
20:21drug addiction
20:22despite his involvement
20:23with Greer
20:24Pryor entered
20:25into another marriage
20:26while still
20:27dating her
20:29during the filming
20:29of some kind
20:30of hero
20:301982
20:32Pryor found
20:33companionship
20:34with actress
20:34Margot Kidder
20:35and their connection
20:37quickly deepened
20:37Kay candidly expressed
20:39that she fell in love
20:40with Pryor
20:41in two seconds flat
20:42upon their initial meeting
20:44on the morning
20:45of December 10th
20:462005
20:47just nine days
20:48after celebrating
20:49his 65th birthday
20:51Pryor
20:51experienced a third
20:53heart attack
20:53at Hesa
20:54Los Angeles
20:55resident
20:56despite his wife's
20:58efforts to
20:58resuscitate him
20:59was rushed
21:00to a local
21:01Westside Hospital
21:02hospital
21:02where he was
21:03declared dead
21:04at 7.58 a.m.
21:06Pacific Standard Time
21:08Jennifer his widow
21:08shared at the end
21:09there was a smile
21:11on his face
21:12following his passing
21:13Pryor was cremated
21:15and his ashes
21:16were entrusted
21:16to his family
21:17in 2019
21:18Jennifer scattered
21:20his ashes
21:21in the bay
21:21at Hana Hawaii
21:22marking a poignant
21:24farewell
21:24forensic pathologist
21:26Michael Hunter
21:26attributed Pryor's
21:28fatal heart attack
21:29to coronary artery
21:30disease influenced
21:32in part
21:33by years
21:33of tobacco smoking
21:34this conclusion
21:36sheds light
21:37on the health
21:37challenges
21:38previously faced
21:39encapsulating
21:41the complexities
21:41of his vibrant
21:42yet tumultuous
21:43life