The only thing that stinks about someone being awesome is that unless a lazarus pit or fountain of youth is found before it happens, at some point they're going to die. I remember when I was considering going into comedy at one point and buying a Richard Pryor CD ("That Nigger's Crazy") that I would listen to over and over again on the Metra (Chicago's city-to-suburbs train.) Pryor was so incredible on that CD - every line was funny. His setup was funny because it was so relatable and honest - and this was a recording from 1974 I was listening to in the 90's!
It goes without saying that Pryor is the doorway that nearly all blue comics walk through, regardless of race. It's a no-brainer that Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Dave Chapelle have elements of Pryor but you can include Dennis Leary, Robert Schimmel and Sara Silverman as being heavily influenced by Pryor as well. Many people would say that he wasn't in a lot of successful movies, but I would say he was in a lot of good ones. From 'Car Wash,' 'Silver Streak,' 'The Wiz,' and 'Stir Crazy,' to 'Bustin Loose,' 'The Toy,' 'Brewster's Millions,' and 'See No Evil, Hear No Evil' Pryor has a pretty solid filmography. Regardless, he always made me laugh.
Pryor went through a lot of rough patches, from marital issues, to setting himself on fire to his battle with multiple sclerosis. Hopefully his sometimes tormented soul now has peace.
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2 comments:
Why does every one diss The Toy? That movie was a box office smash. Jackie Gleason / Richard Pryor / that Schwartz kid who had role in A Christmas Story and later became a Porn Star?
That movie made the Studio's a lot of money.
Superman III did too. And I don't care what anyone says, Superman IV was far worse than III.
The Toy was awesome! It was one of the first movies where I saw how a rich spoiled kid lived. That and Silver Spoons set a course for wanting to be a rich kid.
Superman IV was so bad that I had blocked it out of my memory until your post. Thanks.
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