Richard Pryor

Pryor was born on December 1, 1940, in Peoria, Illinois. He grew up in a brothel run by his grandmother, Marie Carter, where his alcoholic mother, Gertrude L. (née Thomas), was a prostitute.{{cite news|first=Larry|last=Getlen|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/richard_the_great_FmHiNQqrDQ08jcRI576TUI |title=Richard the Great |newspaper=New York Post |date=May 28, 2013|access-date=June 8, 2013}} His father, LeRoy "Buck Carter" Pryor (June 7, 1915 – September 27, 1968), was a former boxer, hustler and pimp.{{cite web|url=http://richardpryor.com/biography.php|website=RichardPryor.com|title= Richard Pryor's official biography}} After Gertrude abandoned him when he was 10, Pryor was raised primarily by Marie,{{cite web |url=http://www.richardpryor.com/0/4113/0/1240D1271/ |title=Richard Pryor website |website=Richardpryor.com |access-date=June 17, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523025200/http://www.richardpryor.com/0/4113/0/1240D1271 |archive-date=May 23, 2010 }} a tall, violent woman who would beat him for any of his eccentricities. Pryor was one of four children raised in his grandmother's brothel. He was sexually abused at age seven,{{cite news|first=Steve|last=Jones|url= https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-12-10-richard-pryor-obit_x.htm |title=Comedian Richard Pryor dies at 65|work=USA Today|date= December 10, 2005}} and expelled from school at the age of 14.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/09/13/a-pryor-love|title=A Pryor Love|first=Hilton|last=Als|date=September 13, 1999|magazine=The New Yorker|author-link=Hilton Als}}

Pryor served in the U.S. Army from 1958 to 1960, but spent virtually the entire stint in an army prison. According to a 1999 profile article about Pryor in The New Yorker, Pryor was incarcerated for an incident that occurred while he was stationed 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, although the soldier survived.

He was a member of Henry Brown Lodge No. 22 in Peoria, where he became a Prince Hall Freemason.{{cite web |title=Richard Pryor |url=http://www.freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/pryor_r/pryor_r.html |access-date=October 23, 2014 |website=freemasonry.bcy.ca}}

File:Richard Pryor 1969.JPG appearances, 1968–1969]]

In 1963, Pryor moved to New York City and began performing regularly in clubs alongside performers such as Bob Dylan and Woody Allen. On one of his first nights, he opened for singer and pianist Nina Simone at New York's Village Gate. Simone recalls Pryor's bout of performance anxiety:

{{cquote|He shook like he had malaria, he was so nervous. I couldn't bear to watch him shiver, so I put my arms around him there in the dark and rocked him like a baby until he calmed down. The next night was the same, and the next, and I rocked him each time.{{cite book|first1=Nina|last1=Simone|author-link1=Nina Simone|first2=Stephen|last2=Cleary|date=1991|title=I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone|publisher=Pantheon Books|location=New York City|isbn=978-0-679-41068-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/iputspellonyouau00simo/page/70 70–71]|title-link=I Put a Spell on You (book)}}}}

Inspired by Bill Cosby, Pryor began as a middlebrow comic, with material less controversial than what was to come. He began appearing regularly on television variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Merv Griffin Show, and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. His popularity led to success as a comic in Las Vegas. The first five tracks on the 2005 compilation CD Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974), recorded in 1966 and 1967, capture Pryor in this period. In 1966, Pryor was a guest star on an episode of The Wild Wild West.

In September 1967, Pryor 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 (with Dean Martin in the audience), looked at the sold-out crowd, exclaimed over the microphone, "What the fuck am I doing here!?", and walked off the stage. Afterward, Pryor began working profanity into his act, including the word nigger. His first comedy recording, the 1968 debut Richard Pryor on the Dove/Reprise label, captures this particular period, tracking the evolution of Pryor's routine. His parents died—his mother in 1967 and his father in 1968.{{cite web|url=http://www.bestcomedyonline.net/comedian-biographies/richard-pryor-personal-life|title=Richard Pryor-Personal Life|website=bestcomedyonline.net|access-date=August 25, 2015|archive-date=September 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904011957/https://www.bestcomedyonline.net/comedian-biographies/richard-pryor-personal-life|url-status=dead}}

In 1969, Pryor moved to Berkeley, California, where he immersed himself in the counterculture and met people like Huey P. Newton and Ishmael Reed.{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Dana A. |title=African American humor, irony, and satire : Ishmael Reed, satirically speaking |date=2009 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|location=Newcastle upon Tyne, England|isbn=9781443806565 |pages=110–111}}

File:Alan Alda Lily Tomlin Richard Pryor 1973.jpg specials. He is seen here with Tomlin and Alan Alda in Tomlin's 1973 special.]]

In the 1970s, Pryor wrote for television shows such as Sanford and Son, The Flip Wilson Show, and a 1973 Lily Tomlin special, for which he shared an Emmy Award.{{cite web |url=http://www.emmys.com/celebrities/richard-pryor |title=Richard Pryor Emmy Winner |work=Television Academy}} During this period, Pryor tried to break into mainstream television. He appeared in several films, including Lady Sings the Blues (1972), The Mack (1973), Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Silver Streak (1976), Car Wash (1976), The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976), Which Way Is Up? (1977), Greased Lightning (1977), Blue Collar (1978), and The Muppet Movie (1979).

Pryor signed with the comedy-oriented independent record label Laff Records in 1970,{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9AgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA28 |title=Soul Sauce |magazine=Billboard |date=January 9, 1971 |accessdate=July 1, 2023 }} and in 1971 recorded his second album, Craps (After Hours). Two years later Pryor, still relatively unknown, appeared in the documentary Wattstax (1972), wherein he riffed on the tragic-comic absurdities of race relations in Watts and the United States. Not long afterward, Pryor sought a deal with a larger label, and he signed with Stax Records in 1973. When his third breakthrough album That Nigger's Crazy (1974) was released, Laff, which claimed ownership of Pryor's recording rights, almost succeeded in getting an injunction to prevent the album from being sold. Negotiations led to Pryor's release from his Laff contract. In return for this concession, Laff was enabled to release previously unissued material, recorded between 1968 and 1973, at will. That Nigger's Crazy was a commercial and critical success; it was eventually certified gold by the RIAA{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UCQEAAAAMBAJ&q=that+nigger%27s+crazy+RIAA+Gold&pg=PA5 |title=Paul Green, "Richie Sets Multiplantium Record: Boston Has RIAA Top Debut Album," Billboard, November 15, 1986. |via=Google Books|date=November 15, 1986 }} and won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album at the 1975 Grammy Awards.

File:Richard Pryor at SJSU 1974.jpg

During the legal battle, Stax briefly closed its doors. At this time, Pryor returned to Reprise/Warner Bros. Records, which re-released That Nigger's Crazy, immediately after ...Is It Something I Said?, his first album with his new label. Like That Nigger's Crazy, the album was a critical success; it was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA and won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording at the 1976 Grammy Awards.

Pryor's 1976 release Bicentennial Nigger continued his streak of success. It became his third consecutive gold album, and he collected his third consecutive Grammy for Best Comedy Recording for the album in 1977. With every successful album Pryor recorded for Warner (or later, his concert films and his 1980 freebasing accident), Laff published an album of older material to capitalize on Pryor's growing fame—a practice they continued until 1983. The covers of Laff albums tied in thematically with Pryor films, such as Are You Serious? for Silver Streak (1976), The Wizard of Comedy for his appearance in The Wiz (1978), and Insane for Stir Crazy (1980).{{cite web |url=http://biography.yourdictionary.com/richard-pryor |title=Richard Pryor Fast Facts |website=Yourdictionary |access-date=July 30, 2016}} Pryor co-wrote Blazing Saddles (1974), directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder. Pryor was to play the lead role of Bart, but Mel Brooks didn't want to share credit with the quickly-rising comic. Brooks has always maintained Warner Brothers' executives vetoed Pryor's casting, but no studio executive has ever corroborated this claim. It was only after Pryor's passing (in 2005), Brooks' began insisting the comic was "uninsurable" because of a "drug arrest;"{{Cite web |last=Rohan |first=Virginia |title=Mel Brooks reveals the stories behind 'Blazing Saddles' |url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/life/nation-now/2016/08/22/mel-brooks-reveals-stories-behind-blazing-saddles/89130564/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=North Jersey Media Group |language=en-US}} but to-date, no studio executive (employed at Warner Brothers during this era), has ever gone on the record to corroborate Brooks' assertions—either the director's vigorously advocating or the studio's absolute rejection (for hiring Pryor to act in Blazing Saddles). According to director Michael Shultz, "Richard wrote it and Mel Brooks chased him out," Shultz said at the time (during the film's theatrical exhibition). "Mel Brooks was trying to get total credit for the picture. . . . To be outmaneuvered and ripped off at that early stage in his career is something that's a little hard for him to get over. I'd feel the same way." Moreover, Brooks assured Pryor the role of Sheriff Bart was his, but after Pryor departed the director's writer's suite, he never heard from Brooks again. In early-1972, Pryor was reportedly dumbfounded when he had to first learn from Cleavon Little that Mel Brooks wasn't going to use him on-screen.{{Cite book |last=Henry |first=David |title=Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him |date=November 5, 2013 |publisher=Algonquin Books |isbn=9781616202712 |location=Chapel Hill, North Carolina |publication-date=November 5, 2013 |pages=146 |language=English}}

File:Richard Pryor and Lou Gossett Jr.jpg in 1978]]

In 1975, Pryor was a guest host on the first season of Saturday Night Live (SNL), making him the first black host. Pryor's longtime girlfriend, actress and talk-show host Kathrine McKee (sister of Lonette McKee), made a brief guest appearance with Pryor on SNL. One of the highlights of the night was the controversial "word association" skit with Chevy Chase.{{cite web |url=http://snltranscripts.jt.org/75/75ginterview.phtml |title=SNL Transcripts: Richard Pryor: 12/13/75: Racist Word Association Interview |publisher=Snltranscripts.jt.org |access-date=June 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923185534/http://snltranscripts.jt.org/75/75ginterview.phtml |archive-date=September 23, 2013 |url-status=dead }} He would later do his own variety show, The Richard Pryor Show, which premiered on NBC in 1977. The show was cancelled after only four episodes probably because television audiences did not respond well to his show's controversial subject matter, and Pryor was unwilling to alter his material for network censors. He later said, "They offered me ten episodes, but I said all I wanted to in four." During the short-lived series, he portrayed the first black President of the United States, spoofed the Star Wars Mos Eisley cantina, examined gun violence in a non-comedy skit, lampooned racism on the sinking Titanic and used costumes and visual distortion to appear nude.{{cite book|author=Silverman, David S. |date=2007|title=You Can't Air That: Four Cases of Controversy and Censorship in American Television Programming|location= Syracuse, NY|publisher=Syracuse University Press}} In 1979, at the height of his success, Pryor visited Kenya. Upon returning to the United States from Africa, Pryor swore he would never use the word "nigger" in his stand-up comedy routine again.{{cite news |last1=Jackson |first1=Derrick Z. |title=The N-word and Richard Pryor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/15/opinion/the-nwordand-richard-pryor.html |work=The New York Times |date=December 15, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613054115/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/15/opinion/the-nwordand-richard-pryor.html |archive-date=June 13, 2022}}{{YouTube|JZCS5I80X-8|The word 'Nigger' – Richard Pryor & George Carlin}} {{dead link|date=November 2022}}

In 1980, Pryor became the first black actor to earn a million dollars for a single film when he was hired to star in Stir Crazy.{{cite news|title=Stir Crazy Grosses $100M|newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 5, 1981 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/05/movies/stir-crazy-grosses-100-million-at-the-box-office.html|last1=Harmetz |first1=Aljean }} On June 9, 1980, while on a freebasing binge during the making of the film, Pryor doused himself in rum and set himself on fire.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23724276|title=The demons that drove Richard Pryor to make us laugh|last=Summers|first=Chris|date=August 25, 2013|publisher=BBC}} Pryor incorporated a description of the incident into his comedy show Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982). He joked that the event was caused by dunking a cookie into a glass of low-fat and pasteurized milk, causing an explosion. At the end of the bit, he poked fun at people who told jokes about it by waving a lit match and saying, "What's that? Richard Pryor running down the street."

File:Richard Pryor (1986) (cropped).jpg

Before the freebasing incident, Pryor was about to start filming Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I (1981), but was replaced at the last minute by Gregory Hines.{{Cite web |last=Shutt |first=Mike |date=January 18, 2023 |title=Mel Brooks Wrote A Key Role In History Of The World, Part I With Richard Pryor In Mind |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/1171302/mel-brooks-wrote-a-key-role-in-history-of-the-world-part-i-with-richard-pryor-in-mind/ |access-date=November 20, 2023|website=/Film |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Perkins |first=Dennis |date=January 19, 2023 |title=Revisit Mel Brooks' Juvenile Epic 'History of the World: Part I' |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/history-of-the-world-part-i/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |language=en}} Likewise, Pryor was scheduled for an appearance on The Muppet Show at that time, which forced the producers to cast their British writer, Chris Langham, as the guest star for that episode instead.{{Cite magazine |title=Here's why certain 'Muppet Show' episodes are missing from Disney+ |url=https://ew.com/tv/why-muppet-show-episodes-are-missing-from-disney-plus/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Strand |first=Anthony |date=January 29, 2021 |title=The Muppet Show: 40 Years Later – Chris Langham |url=https://toughpigs.com/tms40-chris-langham/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=ToughPigs |language=en-US}} After his "final performance", Pryor did not stay away from stand-up comedy for long. Within a year, he filmed and released a new concert film and accompanying album, Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983), which he directed himself. He wrote and directed a fictionalized account of his life, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, which was inspired by the 1980 freebasing incident.{{Cite magazine |first=Richard|last=Brody|title=Jo Jo Dancer Your Life Is Calling |url=https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/jo-jo-dancer-your-life-is-calling |access-date=November 20, 2023 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en}}

In 1983 Pryor signed a five-year contract with Columbia Pictures for $40 million and he started his own production company, Indigo Productions.{{cite news |title=Richard Pryor Ouster of Blacks Criticized |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/17/movies/richard-pryor-ouster-of-blacks-criticized.html |quote=Mr. Pryor announced in May that he had signed a five-year, $40 million production deal with Columbia Pictures and promised to open up opportunities for minorities at his Indigo Productions. |newspaper=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |date= December 17, 1983|issue=45895|volume=133 |access-date=September 18, 2015 }}{{cite news|author= writer |date=December 10, 2005| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4517714.stm |title=Comedian Richard Pryor Dead at 65 – Groundbreaking Black U.S. Comedian Richard Pryor Has Died after Almost 20 Years with Multiple Sclerosis |work=BBC News |access-date= January 11, 2010}} Softer, more formulaic films followed, including Superman III (1983), which earned Pryor $4 million, Brewster's Millions (1985), Moving (1988), and See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989). The only film project from this period that recalled his rough roots was Pryor's semiautobiographic debut as a writer-director, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, which was not a major success. Pryor was also originally considered for the role of Billy Ray Valentine on Trading Places (1983), before Eddie Murphy won the part.{{Cite web |last=Wile |first=Rob |title=It's The 30-Year Anniversary Of The Greatest Wall Street Movie Ever Made: Here's The Story Behind It |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/an-oral-history-of-trading-places-2013-6 |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=McQuade |first=Dan |date=August 29, 2016 |title=Trading Places Was Originally Written With Gene Wilder in Mind |url=https://www.phillymag.com/city/2016/08/29/trading-places-was-originally-written-with-gene-wilder-in-mind/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=Philadelphia Magazine |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=May 20, 2020 |title=The Complicated Friendship of Comedy Duo Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder |url=https://www.biography.com/actors/richard-pryor-gene-wilder-friendship |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=Biography |language=en-US}} Despite his reputation for constantly using profanity on and off camera, Pryor briefly hosted a children's show on CBS called Pryor's Place (1984). Like Sesame Street (where Pryor appeared in a few oft-repeated segments), Pryor's Place featured a cast of puppets (animated by Sid and Marty Krofft), hanging out and having fun in a friendly inner-city environment along with several children and characters portrayed by Pryor himself. Its theme song was performed by Ray Parker Jr.{{Cite web|url=https://www.retrojunk.com/tv/videos/948-pryors-place/|title=Retro Junk|website=retrojunk.com}} Pryor's Place frequently dealt with more sobering issues than Sesame Street. It was cancelled shortly after its debut.{{cite web |title=Pryor's Place |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/pryors-place/1030030094/ |website=TV Guide |access-date=February 5, 2023}}

File:Richard Pryor (1986) (cropped)-2.jpg

Pryor co-hosted the Academy Awards twice - the 49th Academy Awards in 1977 with Warren Beatty, Ellen Burstyn, and Jane Fonda and again at the 55th Academy Awards in 1983 alongside Liza Minnelli, Dudley Moore, and Walter Matthau. He was also nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series on the television series Chicago Hope. Network censors had warned Pryor about his profanity for the Academy Awards, and after a slip early in the program, a five-second delay was instituted when returning from a commercial break. Pryor is one of only three Saturday Night Live hosts to be subjected to a five-second delay (along with Sam Kinison in 1986 and Andrew Dice Clay in 1990).{{Cite web |title=Saturday Night Not-So-Live: Richard Pryor Makes Television History |url=https://www.everythingzoomer.com/arts-entertainment/stars-royals/2011/12/13/saturday-night-not-so-live-richard-pryor-makes-television-history/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=everythingzoomer.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Clay's appearance on Saturday Night Live draws high ratings - UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/05/14/Clays-appearance-on-Saturday-Night-Live-draws-high-ratings/7106642657600/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |work=United Press International |language=en}}

Pryor developed a reputation for being demanding and disrespectful on film sets, and for making selfish and difficult requests. In his autobiography Kiss Me Like a Stranger, co-star Gene Wilder says that Pryor was frequently late to the set during filming of Stir Crazy, and that he demanded, among other things, a helicopter to fly him to and from set because he was the star. Pryor was accused of using allegations of on-set racism to force the hand of film producers into giving him more money:

{{cquote|One day during our lunch hour in the last week of filming, the craft service man handed out slices of watermelon to each of us. Richard, the whole camera crew, and I sat together in a big sound studio eating a number of watermelon slices, talking and joking. As a gag, some members of the crew used a piece of watermelon as a Frisbee, and tossed it back and forth to each other. One piece of watermelon landed at Richard's feet. He got up and went home. Filming stopped. The next day, Richard announced that he knew very well what the significance of watermelon was. He said that he was quitting show business and would not return to this film. The day after that, Richard walked in, all smiles. I wasn't privy to all the negotiations that went on between Columbia and Richard's lawyers, but the camera operator who had thrown that errant piece of watermelon had been fired that day. I assume now that Richard was using drugs during Stir Crazy.{{cite book |last=Wilder |first=Gene |authorlink=Gene Wilder |date=2005 |title=Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art |url=https://archive.org/details/kissmelikestrang00wild |url-access=registration |location=New York City |publisher=St. Martin's Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/kissmelikestrang00wild/page/185 185]–186 |isbn=978-0-312-33706-3 |oclc=475142187}}}}

Pryor appeared in Harlem Nights (1989), a comedy-drama crime film starring three generations of black comedians (Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Redd Foxx).{{Citation |last=Murphy |first=Eddie |title=Harlem Nights |date=November 17, 1989 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097481/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_harlem%2520ni |type=Comedy, Crime, Drama |access-date=November 20, 2023 |others=Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx |publisher=Eddie Murphy Productions, Paramount Pictures}}{{Cite magazine |last=Schickel |first=Richard |date=November 27, 1989 |title=Cinema: Murphy's One-Man Band |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,959130,00.html |access-date=November 20, 2023 |issn=0040-781X}}{{Cite web |last=Wilmington |first=Michael |date=November 17, 1989|title=MOVIE REVIEW : Eddie Murphy's 'Harlem Nights': Slick, Slack |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-11-17-ca-1571-story.html |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}

In his later years starting in the early to mid-1990s, Pryor used a power-operated mobility scooter due to multiple sclerosis (MS).{{cite magazine |last1=Flamm |first1=Matthew |title=Richard Pryor is not ready to quit yet |url=https://ew.com/article/1995/05/26/richard-pryor-not-ready-quit-yet/ |access-date=August 31, 2020 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=May 26, 1995}} He often said that MS stood for "More Shit".{{cite news |last1=Sullivan |first1=Chris |title=How Richard Pryor became the most radical comedian in America |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/richard-pryor-cocaine |access-date=August 31, 2020 |work=GQ (UK) |date=May 19, 2019}} He appears on the scooter in his last film appearance, a small role in David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997) playing an auto-repair garage manager named Arnie.{{Cite web|last=McCarthy|first=Todd|authorlink=Todd McCarthy|date=January 19, 1997|title=Lost Highway|url=https://variety.com/1997/film/reviews/lost-highway-1200448395/|access-date=February 18, 2021|website=Variety}}

Rhino Records remastered all of Pryor's Reprise and WB albums for inclusion in the box set ... And It's Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968–1992) (2000).{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

In December 1999, Pryor appeared in the cold open of an episode of The Norm Show entitled "Norm vs. The Boxer". He played Mr. Johnson, an elderly man in a wheelchair who has lost the rights to in-home nursing when he kept attacking the nurses before attacking Norm himself. This was his last television appearance.{{cite web |title=The Norm Show – Norm vs. the Boxer |date=December 1, 1999 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0662160/ |publisher=IMDb |access-date=August 23, 2011}}

In 2002, Pryor and Jennifer Lee Pryor, his wife and manager, won legal rights to all the Laff material, which amounted to almost 40 hours of reel-to-reel analog tape. After going through the tapes and getting Richard's blessing, Jennifer Lee Pryor gave Rhino Records access to the tapes in 2004. These tapes, including the entire Craps (After Hours) album, form the basis of the February 1, 2005, double-CD release Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974).{{cite web|website=CD Universe|url=http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6817862/a/evolution%2Frevolution%3A+the+early+years+%281966-1974%29.htm|title=Richard Pryor – Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974) CD}}

Pryor's influences included Charlie Chaplin, Jackie Gleason,{{Citation |last=Biography |first=com |title=Richard Pryor – Comedic Influences |url=https://www.biography.com/video/richard-pryor-comedic-influences-15039043860 |language=en-us |access-date=March 23, 2022 |archive-date=March 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323171811/https://www.biography.com/video/richard-pryor-comedic-influences-15039043860 |url-status=dead }} Red Skelton, Abbott and Costello, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Jack Benny, Bob Hope,{{Citation |title=Richard Pryor On Eddie Murphy And His Comedy Heroes {{!}} The Dick Cavett Show | date=December 23, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ3D1OlkBHM |language=en |access-date=March 22, 2022}} Woody Allen,{{cite book | last=Lee | first=Jennifer | title=Tarnished angel: surviving in the dark curve of drugs, violence, sex, and fame: a memoir | publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press ; Distributed by Publishers Group West | publication-place=New York : Emerville, CA | date=1991 | isbn=978-1-56025-025-8 | page=}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.richardpryor.com/biography.php|title=Official Estate of Richard Pryor|first=Jennifer |last=Lee Pryor |website=richardpryor.com}} Dick Gregory, Bill Cosby,{{Citation |title=George Carlin & Richard Pryor Carson Tonight Show 1981 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jus-OaJV8E |language=en |access-date=March 22, 2022}} Redd Foxx,{{Cite book |last=Pryor |first=Richard |title=Pryor Convictions and Other Life Sentences |publisher=Pantheon Books |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-43250-7 |location=Canada |pages=Chapter 9 |language=en}} and Lenny Bruce.{{Cite web |date=May 21, 2004 |title=Pryor: I Owe It All To Lenny Bruce |url=https://www.contactmusic.com/news-article/pryor.-i-owe-it-all-to-lenny-bruce |access-date=March 28, 2022 |website=Contactmusic.com}}

Pryor met actress Pam Grier through comedian Freddie Prinze. They began dating when they were both cast in Greased Lightning (1977).{{Cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2010/04/18/foxy-my-life-in-three-acts/|title=Foxy: my life in three acts|last=Getlen|first=Larry|date=April 18, 2010|website=New York Post|language=en|access-date=October 30, 2019}} Grier helped Pryor learn to read and tried to help him with his drug addiction.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/books/05grier.html|title=Pam Grier Tells What She's Learned in 'Foxy'|last=Lee|first=Felicia R.|date=May 4, 2010|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} Pryor married another woman while dating Grier.

Pryor dated actress Margot Kidder during the filming of Some Kind of Hero (1982). Kidder stated that she "fell in love with Pryor in two seconds flat" after they first met.{{cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/random-roles-margot-kidder-1798215851|title=Random Roles: Margot Kidder (interview)|author=Rabin, Nathan Rabin|date=March 3, 2009|work=The A.V. Club}}

Pryor was married seven times to five women:

1. Patricia Price, to whom he was married 1960–1961.{{Cite book|title=Richard Pryor: The Life and Legacy of a "Crazy" Black Man|date=2008|publisher=Indiana University Press|last1=McCluskey |first1=Audrey Thomas|isbn=9780253352026|location=Bloomington|oclc=191732567}}
2. Shelley Bonus, to whom he was married 1967–1969.
3. Deborah McGuire, an aspiring model and actress whom he married on September 22, 1977. They dated on and off for four years prior to their marriage.{{Cite magazine |date=October 13, 1977 |title=Pryor Stuns Friends With Wedding: Off To Oz In "Wiz" |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HLsDAAAAMBAJ&q=deboragh+richard+pryor+jet&pg=PA56 |magazine=Jet |volume=53|issue=4|pages=56–57}} They separated in January 1978, and their divorce was finalized in August 1978.{{Cite magazine |date=February 23, 1978 |title=Pryor's Wife Wants Out, Hits Him With A Divorce |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=P78DAAAAMBAJ&q=richard+pryor+divorce+1978+jet&pg=PA57 |magazine=Jet|volume=53|issue=23|pages=57–58}}{{Cite magazine |date=July 27, 1978 |title=Divorce Final In August, Pryor Gives Debbie Big Sum |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9b8DAAAAMBAJ&q=richard+pryor+divorce+1978+jet&pg=PA60 |magazine=Jet|volume=54|issue=19|pages=60}}
4. Jennifer Lee, an actress and interior designer whom Pryor had hired to decorate his home.{{Cite magazine |date=March 30, 1978 |title=Pryor Gets New Love As Wife Files For Divorce |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=akIDAAAAMBAJ&q=richard+pryor+divorce+1978+jet&pg=PA57 |magazine=Jet|volume=54|issue=2|pages=57}}{{Cite magazine |date=October 8, 1981 |title=Richard Pryor Finds Love At Last |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SrYDAAAAMBAJ&q=Patricia+Price&pg=PA55 |magazine=Jet|volume=61|issue=4|pages=53–55}} They married in August 1981, and divorced in October 1982 due to his drug addiction. They remarried on June 29, 2001, and remained married until Pryor's death in 2005.
5. Flynn Belaine, an aspiring actress whom he married in October 1986. They met when Pryor was performing in Washington, D.C., in 1984.{{Cite magazine|date=May 14, 1990|title=Richard Pryor Re-Weds Fifth Wife After Illness That Threatened His Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3K8DAAAAMBAJ&q=richard+pryor+jet+divorce&pg=PA54|magazine=Jet|volume=78|issue=5|pages=54–55}} Two months after they married, Pryor filed for divorce, but withdrew the petition the same day. A week later he filed for divorce again.{{Cite magazine|date=May 4, 1987|title=Richard Pryor's estranged Wife Tells Why Their Marriage Failed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w7MDAAAAMBAJ&q=flynn+belaine+richard+pryor&pg=PA54|magazine=Jet|volume=72|issue=6|pages=54–56}} Their divorce was finalized in July 1987. They remarried on April 1, 1990, but divorced again in July 1991.

Children

Pryor had seven children with six different women:{{Cite web |last=Heyn |first=Beth |date=January 17, 2020 |title=Richard Pryor's Kids & Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know |url=https://heavy.com/entertainment/2020/01/richard-pryor-kids-family-children/ |access-date=October 7, 2021 |website=Heavy.com |language=en-US}}{{cite news|title=Richard Pryor biography|work=Hollywood.com}}{{cite book|title=Becoming Richard Pryor|author= Scott Saul|date= December 9, 2014}}

1. Renee Pryor, born July 20, 1957; from Pryor's girlfriend named Susan, when Pryor was 16.
2. Richard Pryor Jr., born April 10, 1962; from Pryor's first wife Patricia Price.
3. Elizabeth Anne, born April 24, 1967; from Pryor's girlfriend Maxine Anderson.
4. Rain Pryor, born July 16, 1969; from Pryor's second wife Shelley Bonus.
5. Steven, born November 14, 1984; from Flynn Belaine, who later became Pryor's fifth wife.
6. Franklin, born April 29, 1987; from Pryor's girlfriend Geraldine Mason.
7. Kelsey, born October 25, 1987; from Pryor's fifth wife Flynn Belaine.

Nine years after Pryor's death, in 2014, the biographical book Becoming Richard Pryor by Scott Saul stated that Pryor "acknowledged his bisexuality"{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/books/becoming-richard-pryor-scott-sauls-biography.html|title=Laughter Along the Path to Oblivion|author=Janet Maslin|date=December 4, 2014|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 4, 2019|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Blake|first=John|date=October 20, 2021|title=Dave Chappelle insulted another audience no one mentions|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/20/entertainment/dave-chappelle-controversy-netflix-black-comic-tradition/index.html|access-date=October 20, 2021|publisher=CNN}} and, in 2018, Quincy Jones and Pryor's widow Jennifer Lee stated that Pryor had a sexual relationship with actor Marlon Brando, and that Pryor was open with his friends about his bisexuality and the fact that he slept with men.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.spin.com/2018/02/richard-pryor-widow-sex-marlon-brando-bisexual/|title=Richard Pryor's Widow Confirms Her Husband Had Sex With Marlon Brando|first=Andy|last=Cush|magazine=Spin|date=February 7, 2018|access-date=February 7, 2018}}{{Cite news|first=Dave|last=Quinn|url=http://people.com/movies/richard-pryors-daughter-refutes-marlon-brando-sexual-affair/|title=Richard Pryor's Daughter Slams His Widow as a 'Bottom Feeder' for Marlon Brando Sex Claims|magazine=People|date=February 9, 2018|access-date=February 9, 2018|language=en}} Pryor's daughter Rain later disputed the claim,{{Cite news|url=https://www.vulture.com/2018/02/richard-pryors-daughter-says-he-didnt-have-sex-with-brando.html|title=Richard Pryor's Daughter Dismisses Claim He Had Sex With Marlon Brando|last=Crucchiola|first=Jordan|work=Vulture|access-date=February 9, 2018|language=en}} to which Lee stated that Rain was in denial about her father's bisexuality.{{Cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTbVihfqPYM|url-status=dead|title=Richard Pryor's Widow Says His Daughter is in Denial About His Bisexuality|date=April 9, 2018|work=TMZ|access-date=August 3, 2019|language=en|archive-date=February 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215211811/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTbVihfqPYM&gl=US&hl=en}}

Lee later told the Hollywood entertainment television series TMZ on TV that, "it was the '70s! Drugs were still good...{{nbsp}}If you did enough cocaine, you'd fuck a radiator and send it flowers in the morning."{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/feb/08/richard-pryor-and-marlon-brando-were-lovers-pryors-widow-confirms|title=Richard Pryor and Marlon Brando were lovers, Pryor's widow confirms|first=Gwilym|last=Mumford|newspaper=The Guardian |date=February 8, 2018}}{{cite book|author=Philip Gooden|title=Bad Words: And What They Say About Us|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a3SMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT10|date=September 5, 2019|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group|isbn=978-1-4721-4156-9|page=10}}

In his autobiography Pryor Convictions, Pryor talked about having a two-week relationship with Mitrasha, a trans woman, which he called "two weeks of being gay".{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/gossip/richard-pryor-peoria-devil-playground-article-1.676809|title=Richard Pryor's Peoria Was the Devil's Playground|work=Daily News|location=New York|access-date=February 8, 2018|language=en}}

In his first special, Live & Smokin', Pryor discusses performing fellatio. He also said in the special, and in 1977 at a gay rights show at the Hollywood Bowl, "I have sucked a dick."{{Cite news|url=https://www.advocate.com/people/2019/3/15/richard-pryor-was-proud-affair-marlon-brando-widow-says|title=Richard Pryor Was Proud of Affair With Marlon Brando, Widow Says|work=Advocate|access-date=May 19, 2021|language=en}}

Some sources (including Pryor himself) say that late in the evening of June 9, 1980, Pryor poured 151-proof rum all over himself and set himself on fire.{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/richard-pryors-tragic-accident-spotlights-a-dangerous-drug-craze-freebasing-vol-13-no-26/|title=Richard Pryor's Tragic Accident Spotlights a Dangerous Drug Craze: Freebasing|date=June 30, 1980|website=People}}{{Cite book|title=Crack: Rock Cocaine, Street Capitalism, and the Decade of Greed|last=Farber|first=David|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2019|isbn=9781108425278|pages=41|oclc=1122680981}} Other sources (including the Los Angeles police) say that what burned him that night was an explosion that happened while he was freebasing cocaine.{{cite news |title=Richard Pryor in Critical Condition After Explosion of Drug Mixture |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/06/11/archives/richard-pryor-in-critical-condition-after-explosion-of-drug-mixture.html |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |issue= 44611|volume=129 |date=June 11, 1980 |page=A20}} While he was still burning, he ran down Parthenia Street from his Los Angeles home until he was subdued by police. He was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for second- and third-degree burns covering more than half of his body.{{cite news |title=Pryor, Though Still Critically Ill, Is Taken Off Intravenous Feeding |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/06/14/archives/pryor-though-still-critically-ill-is-taken-off-intravenous-feeding.html |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |issue=44614 |volume=129|date=June 14, 1980 |page=6}} Pryor spent six weeks in recovery at the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital in Los Angeles.{{cite news |title=Pryor May Be Discharged Soon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/07/24/archives/pryor-may-be-discharged-soon.html |work=The New York Times |agency=United Press International |issue=44651|volume=129 |date=July 24, 1980}} His daughter Rain stated that the incident happened as a result of a bout of drug-induced psychosis.{{cite news|title=Interview with Rain Pryor|date=November 6, 2006|work=People|page=76}}

Pryor's widow Jennifer Lee recalled when he began freebasing cocaine: "After two weeks of watching him getting addicted to this stuff I moved out. It was clear the drug had moved in and it had become his lover and everything. I did not exist."

In November 1977, after many years of heavy smoking and drinking, Pryor had a mild heart attack at age 36. He recovered and resumed performing in January the following year. In 1986, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis which by the mid-1990s resulted in him using a mobility scooter for most of the time.{{cite web|url=http://richardpryor.com/biography.php|title=The Official Biography of Richard Pryor|publisher=Indigo, Inc.|access-date=May 8, 2016}} In 1990, Pryor had a second heart attack while in Australia.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-03-23-mn-756-story.html|title=Richard Pryor Suffers a Minor Heart Attack in Australia|author=|date=March 23, 1990|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=June 20, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}} He underwent triple heart bypass surgery in 1991.{{Cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1991/06/01/richard-pryor-cracking-jokes-after-triple-bypass/|title=Richard Pryor Cracking Jokes After Triple Bypass|work=Orlando Sentinel|access-date=June 20, 2017|language=en}}

In late 2004, his sister said he had lost his voice as a result of his multiple sclerosis. However, on January 9, 2005, Pryor's wife, Jennifer Lee, rebutted this statement in a post on Pryor's official website, citing Richard as saying: "I'm sick of hearing this shit about me not talking ... not true ... I have good days, bad days ... but I still am a talkin' motherfucker!"{{cite web|url=http://www.richardpryor.com|title=Richard Pryor|publisher=Richard Pryor|access-date=June 17, 2010}}

Pryor campaigned for better welfare for animals, including through involvement in a successful campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals targeting KFC, Burger King, and others for sourcing meat from suppliers that PETA claimed used inhumane practices.{{Cite web |last=Solomon |first=Matt |date=June 5, 2023 |title=That Time Richard Pryor Flame-Broiled Burger King for Unethical Animal Treatment |url=https://www.cracked.com/article_38262_that-time-richard-pryor-flame-broiled-burger-king-for-unethical-animal-treatment.html |access-date=March 27, 2025 |website=Cracked.com |language=en}} Pryor also fundraised for PETA,{{Cite web |title=Animal Research: Celebrities Wanted |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/animal-research-celebrities-wanted |access-date=March 27, 2025 |website=science.org |language=en}} and was a vegetarian.

On the morning of December 10, 2005, Pryor had a third and final heart attack at his house in Los Angeles. After his wife's failed attempts to resuscitate him, he was taken to a local Westside hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:58 a.m. PST. His widow Jennifer was quoted as saying, "At the end, there was a smile on his face."

His body was cremated, and his ashes were given to his family.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LWtqCgAAQBAJ&q=richard+pryor+cremated&pg=PT486|title=Where Are They Buried?: How Did They Die? Fitting Ends and Final Resting Places of the Famous, Infamous, and Noteworthy|last=Benoit|first=Tod|publisher=Hachette Books|year=2015|isbn=9780316391962}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&q=richard+pryor+cremated&pg=PA605|title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of Over 10,000 Famous Persons|last=Scott|first=Wilson|publisher=McFarland|year=2016|isbn=9781476625997|edition=3rd|location=Jefferson, NC|oclc=894938680}} His ashes were scattered in the bay at Hana, Hawaii, by his widow in 2019.{{Cite web|last=Husband|first=Andrew|title='I Am Richard Pryor,' Yet Another Documentary About The Comedian, Offers Some Closure|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewhusband/2019/03/15/richard-pryor-documentary-2019-review/|access-date=November 21, 2021|website=Forbes|language=en}} Forensic pathologist Michael Hunter believes Pryor's fatal heart attack was caused by coronary artery disease that was at least partially brought about by years of tobacco smoking."Autopsy: The Last Hours Of Richard Pryor". Autopsy. Nar. Eric Meyers. Exec. Prod. Ed Taylor and Michael Kelpie. Reelz, March 25, 2017. Television.

File:Richard Pryor Hollywood star 2.jpg, covered with items left by fans]]

Jerry Seinfeld called Pryor "the Picasso of our profession"{{cite news|author=Morton, Bruce |url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/21/morton.thosewelost/index.html |title=Those We Lost|publisher=CNN|access-date=January 11, 2010|date=December 21, 2005}} and Bob Newhart heralded Pryor as "the seminal comedian of the last 50 years".{{cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/newhart_b.html |work=PBS American Masters |title= Bob Newhart}} Dave Chappelle said of Pryor, "You know those, like, evolution charts of man? He was the dude walking upright. Richard was the highest evolution of comedy."{{cite episode| title = Dave Chappelle| episode-link = Inside the Actors Studio| series = Inside the Actors Studio| series-link = Inside the Actors Studio| network = Bravo| airdate = February 12, 2006| season = 12| number = 10}} This legacy can be attributed, in part, to the unusual degree of intimacy Pryor brought to bear on his comedy. As Bill Cosby reportedly once said, "Richard Pryor drew the line between comedy and tragedy as thin as one could possibly paint it."{{cite web |last=O'Benson |first=Tambay |title=Richard Pryor Retrospective at BAMcinématek, Brooklyn (10 Days, 20 Films, All in 35 mm) |url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/richard-pryor-retrospective-at-bamcinematek-brooklyn-10-days-20-films-all-in-35mm |work=Indiewire |access-date=December 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230222134/http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/richard-pryor-retrospective-at-bamcinematek-brooklyn-10-days-20-films-all-in-35mm |archive-date=December 30, 2012 |url-status=dead }}

{{main|List of awards and nominations received by Richard Pryor}}

In 1998, Pryor won the first Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.{{Cite web |title=Richard Pryor {{!}} Kennedy Center |url=https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/p/po-pz/richard-pryor/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=The Kennedy Center |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Trescott |first=Jacqueline |date=September 16, 1998 |title=KENNEDY CENTER TAPS FUNNY BONE |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/09/16/kennedy-center-taps-funny-bone/d0b23007-49dd-47b3-92fa-2d47d14ef54e/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |issn=0190-8286}} According to former Kennedy Center President Lawrence J. Wilker, Pryor was selected as the first recipient of the Prize because:{{Cite web |last=Leahy |first=Cory |date=October 15, 1998 |title=UT Mark Twain expert joins entertainers, scholars to honor Richard Pryor at Kennedy Center |url=https://news.utexas.edu/1998/10/15/ut-mark-twain-expert-joins-entertainers-scholars-to-honor-richard-pryor-at-kennedy-center/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=UT News |language=en-US}}

{{cquote|as a stand-up comic, writer, and actor, he struck a chord, and a nerve, with America, forcing it to look at large social questions of race and the more tragicomic aspects of the human condition. Though uncompromising in his wit, Pryor, like Twain, projects a generosity of spirit that unites us. They were both trenchant social critics who spoke the truth, however outrageous.

| source =

}}In 2004, Pryor was voted number one on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time. In a 2005 British poll to find "The Comedian's Comedian", Pryor was voted the 10th-greatest comedy act ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Steve |title=The comedians' comedian : News 2004 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2004/12/01/26/the_comedians_comedian |access-date=March 25, 2024 |website=chortle.co.uk |language=en}}

Pryor was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.{{cite news|title=Richard Pryor to Get Posthumous Grammy Award |date=January 11, 2006 |publisher=Voice of America |url=http://voanews.com/english/archive/2006-01/Richard-Pryor-to-Get-Posthumous-Grammy-Award.cfm |access-date=January 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913185314/http://voanews.com/english/archive/2006-01/Richard-Pryor-to-Get-Posthumous-Grammy-Award.cfm |archive-date=September 13, 2008 }}

The animal rights organization PETA gives out an award in Pryor's name to people who have done outstanding work to alleviate animal suffering. Pryor was active in animal rights and was deeply concerned about the plight of elephants in circuses and zoos.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} In 1999, he was awarded a Humanitarian Award by the group,{{cite web |title=PETA Celebrates Black History Month |url=https://www.peta.org/blog/peta-celebrates-black-history-month/ |website=PETA |access-date=January 7, 2021 |date=February 3, 2010}} and worked with them on campaigns against the treatment of birds by KFC.{{cite news |title=Pryor joins PETA's fight against KFC |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67093883/pryor-joins-petas-fight-against-kfc/ |access-date=January 7, 2021 |work=The Miami Herald |date=January 30, 2004 |pages=4}}

Artist Preston Jackson created a life-sized bronze statue in dedication to the beloved comedian and named it Richard Pryor: More than Just a Comedian. It was placed at the corner of State and Washington Streets in downtown Peoria, on May 1, 2015, close to the neighborhood in which he grew up with his mother. The unveiling was held Sunday, May 3, 2015.{{ cite news |date=May 1, 2015 |title=Long effort to honor Peoria-born comedian Richard Pryor culminates in Sunday unveiling |author=Leslie Renken|work= Peoria Journal Star |url=http://m.pjstar.com/article/20150429/NEWS/150428947 |access-date=May 1, 2015 }}

In a Netflix special released in May 2022, The Hall: Honoring the Greats of Stand-Up inducted Richard Pryor into the National Comedy Center in

Jamestown, New York.[https://comedycenter.org/thehall/ National Comedy Center], The Hall is a new wing of the museum complex devoted to brilliant comics.

In 2002, a television documentary entitled The Funny Life of Richard Pryor depicted Pryor's life and career.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b87cb041e|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311174117/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b87cb041e|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 11, 2016|title=The Funny Life of Richard Pryor (2002)|publisher=British Film Institute}} Broadcast in the UK as part of the Channel 4 series Kings of Black Comedy,[http://www.oftv.co.uk/programmes/kings-black-comedy "Kings of Black Comedy"], Oxford Film & Television.{{Cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-23491363.html|title=Is it cos I is black?; There's no colour bar on comedy, as a new Channel 4 documentary sets out to prove. By Brian Donaldson – The Herald |date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924191102/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-23491363.html|archive-date=September 24, 2015}} it was produced, directed and narrated by David Upshal and featured rare clips from Pryor's 1960s stand-up appearances and films such as Silver Streak (1976), Blue Collar (1978), Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1978), and Stir Crazy (1980). Contributors included George Carlin, Dave Chappelle, Whoopi Goldberg, Ice-T, Paul Mooney, Joan Rivers, and Lily Tomlin. The show tracked down the two cops who had rescued Pryor from his "freebasing incident", former managers, and even school friends from Pryor's home town of Peoria, Illinois. In the US, the show went out as part of the Heroes of Black Comedy[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1688812/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast "Heroes of Black Comedy (TV Mini-Series) — Full Cast & Crew"], IMDb.[http://31.15.137.154/v5/imdb/movie.php?mid=1688812 Movie Details for '"Heroes of Black Comedy" Richard Pryor' (2002)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208162138/http://31.15.137.154/v5/imdb/movie.php?mid=1688812 |date=December 8, 2015 }}, IMDb. series on Comedy Central, narrated by Don Cheadle.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435659/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast "Heroes of Black Comedy (2002 TV Mini-Series) — Full Cast & Crew"], IMDb.[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/468159/the-heroes-of-black-comedy "Heroes of Black Comedy, The (2002)"], TCM.

A television documentary, Richard Pryor: I Ain't Dead Yet,#*%$#@!! (2003) consisted of archival footage of Pryor's performances and testimonials from fellow comedians, including Dave Chappelle, Denis Leary, Chris Rock, and Wanda Sykes, on Pryor's influence on comedy.

On December 19, 2005, BET aired a Pryor special, titled The Funniest Man Dead or Alive. It included commentary from fellow comedians, and insight into his upbringing.{{Citation|last=Hudlin|first=Reginald|title=Richard Pryor: The Funniest Man Dead or Alive|date=December 19, 2005|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0498247/|others=Flynn Belaine, Dave Chappelle, Mike Epps|access-date=October 18, 2017}}

A retrospective of Pryor's film work, concentrating on the 1970s, titled A Pryor Engagement, opened at Brooklyn Academy of Music Cinemas for a two-week run in February 2013.{{cite news |last=Zinoman |first=Jason |title=Wild, Wired, Remembered A Richard Pryor Retrospective, 'A Pryor Engagement,' at BAM |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/movies/a-richard-pryor-retrospective-a-pryor-engagement-at-bam.html |access-date=February 6, 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 5, 2013}} Several prolific comedians who have claimed Pryor as an influence include George Carlin, Dave Attell, Martin Lawrence, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Colin Quinn, Patrice O'Neal, Bill Hicks, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Bill Burr, Joey Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Louis C.K., and Eddie Izzard.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

On May 31, 2013, Showtime debuted the documentary Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Marina Zenovich. The executive producers were Pryor's widow Jennifer Lee Pryor and Roy Ackerman. Interviewees included Dave Chappelle, Whoopi Goldberg, Jesse Jackson, Quincy Jones, George Lopez, Bob Newhart, Richard Pryor Jr., Lily Tomlin, and Robin Williams.{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401223/ |title=Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic, IMDb.com |date=July 31, 2013 |publisher=IMDb}}{{cite web |url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/04/15/richard-pryor-omit-the-logic-to-premiere-friday-may-31-on-showtime/177932/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130613153932/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/04/15/richard-pryor-omit-the-logic-to-premiere-friday-may-31-on-showtime/177932/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 13, 2013 |title=Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic to Premiere Friday May 31 on Showtime |work=TVbytheNumbers}}

On March 12, 2019, Paramount Network debuted the documentary I Am Richard Pryor, directed by Jesse James Miller. The film included appearances by Sandra Bernhard, Lily Tomlin, Mike Epps, Howie Mandel, and Pryor's ex-wife, Jennifer Lee Pryor, among others. Jennifer Lee served as an executive producer on the film.{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewhusband/2019/03/15/richard-pryor-documentary-2019-review/|title='I Am Richard Pryor,' Yet Another Documentary About The Comedian, Offers Some Closure|date=March 15, 2019|work=Forbes}}

In the episode "Taxes and Death or Get Him to the Sunset Strip"{{Cite web|url=https://www.adultswim.com/videos/black-dynamite/taxes-and-death-or-get-him-to-the-sunset-strip/|title=Watch Black Dynamite – "'Taxes and Death' or 'Get Him to the Sunset Strip!'" on Adult Swim|website=Adult Swim}} (2012), the voice of Richard Pryor is played by Eddie Griffin in the satirical TV show Black Dynamite.

A planned biopic, entitled Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said?, was being produced by Chris Rock and Adam Sandler.{{cite web|url=http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6235731-comic-richard-pryors-life-inspires-movie |title=All Voices Article July 5th 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313122939/http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6235731-comic-richard-pryors-life-inspires-movie |archive-date=March 13, 2012 }} The film would have starred Marlon Wayans as the young Pryor.{{cite web |url=http://www.flickdirect.com/news/movie-news-detail.aspx?id=2478 |title=Flick Direct article 10th September 2009 |website=flickdirect.com|date=October 9, 2009 }} Other actors previously attached include Mike Epps and Eddie Murphy. The film would have been directed by Bill Condon and was still in development with no release date, as of February 2013.{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1388407/ |title=Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said? |publisher=IMDb }}

The biopic remained in limbo, and went through several producers until it was announced in January 2014 that it was being backed by The Weinstein Company with Lee Daniels as director.{{cite web| title = Lee Daniels To Direct Richard Pryor Biopic, Michael B. Jordan, Damon Wayans & Eddie Murphy in the Mix To Lead = The Playlist| work = The Playlist| date = January 10, 2014| url =http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/lee-daniels-to-direct-richard-pryor-biopic-michael-b-jordan-damon-wayans-eddie-murphy-in-the-mix-to-lead-20140110 |access-date = December 10, 2014| last1 = Jagernauth| first1 = Kevin}} It was further announced, in August 2014, that the biopic will have Oprah Winfrey as producer and will star Mike Epps as Pryor.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28953387 |title=Lee Daniels' Richard Pryor biopic to star Mike Epps |work=BBC News |date=August 27, 2014 |access-date=August 28, 2014}}

He is portrayed by Brandon Ford Green in Season 1 Episode 4 "Sugar and Spice" of Showtime's I'm Dying Up Here.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

In the Epic Rap Battles of History episode "George Carlin vs. Richard Pryor", Pryor was portrayed by American rapper Zeale.Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/tEkD83381Nw Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20190715152515/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEkD83381Nw Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|title=George Carlin vs Richard Pryor. ERB Behind the Scenes| date=July 13, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEkD83381Nw|language=en|access-date=October 13, 2019}}{{cbignore}}

• 1973: Pryor Goes Foxx Hunting (Laff.)
• Split LP with Redd Foxx, containing previously released tracks from Craps (After Hours)
• 1975: Down And Dirty (Laff.)
• Split LP with Redd Foxx, containing previously released tracks from Craps (After Hours)
• 1976: Richard Pryor Meets ... Richard & Willie And ... The SLA!! (Laff)
• Split LP with black ventriloquist act Richard And Willie, containing previously released tracks from Craps (After Hours)
• 1977: Richard Pryor's Greatest Hits (Warner Bros. Records)
• Contains tracks from Craps (After Hours), That Nigger's Crazy, and ... Is It Something I Said?, plus a previously unreleased track from 1975, "Ali".
• 1982: The Very Best of Richard Pryor (Laff.)
• 2000: ... And It's Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968–1992) (9-CD box set) (Warner Bros. Records/Rhino)
• Box set collection containing all Warner Bros. albums plus a bonus disc of previously unissued material from 1973 to 1992.
• 2002: The Anthology (1968–1992) (2-CD set) (Warner Bros. Records/Rhino, 2002 in music)
• Highlights culled from the albums collected in the ... And It's Deep Too! box set.
• 2005: Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974) (2-CD set) (Warner Bros. Records/Rhino, 2005 in music)
• Pryor-authorized compilation of material released on Laff, including the entire Craps (After Hours) album.
• 2013: No Pryor Restraint: Life In Concert (7-CD, 2-DVD box set) (Shout! Factory)
• Box set containing concert films, albums and unreleased material from 1966 to 1992.
• A complimentary, limited-edition promo, entitled Live at The Comedy Store—October 1973 (Shout Factory PRO-00072 (6/13), was exclusively available to customers who pre-ordered from the company's web site.

The Richard Pryor Special? was preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive from an original 2 in. videotape. Preservation funding was provided by the John H. Mitchell Television Preservation Endowment. The preserved special screened at the 2024 UCLA Festival of Preservation.{{Cite web |title=The Richard Pryor Special? {{!}} UCLA Film & Television Archive |url=https://cinema.ucla.edu/events/2024/04/05/richard-pryor-special |access-date=February 5, 2025 |website=cinema.ucla.edu}}

• {{Cite book |last1=Pryor |first1=Richard |last2=Gold |first2=Todd |year=1995 |title=Pryor Convictions and Other Life Sentences |url=https://archive.org/details/pryorconvictions00pryo |location=New York |publisher=Pantheon Books |isbn=9780679432500 |oclc=31660376 |access-date=January 24, 2019 }}

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin|30em}}

• {{Cite book |last=Bailey |first=Jason |year=2015 |title=Richard Pryor: American Id |location=Raleigh, NC |publisher=The Critical Press |isbn=9781941629130 |oclc=929499929}}
• {{Cite book |last=Balducci |first=Anthony |year=2018 |title=Richard Pryor in Hollywood: The Narrative Films, 1967-1997|location=Jefferson, NC |publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-1-4766-7382-0|oclc=1013167477}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Cecil |year=2013 |title=Pryor Lives! How Richard Pryor Became Richard Pryor: Or, Kiss My Rich, Happy Black Ass!: A Memoir |location=Scotts Valley, Cal. |publisher=CreateSpace |isbn=9781481272049 |oclc=896479605 }}
• {{Cite book |last1=Haskins |first1=James |year=1984 |title=Richard Pryor, a Man and His Madness: A Biography |location=New York |publisher=Beaufort Books |isbn=9780825302008 |oclc=474968281}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Henry |first1=David |last2=Henry |first2=Joe |year=2013 |title=Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vfMhAQAAQBAJ |location=Chapel Hill, NC |publisher=Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill |isbn=9781616200787 |oclc=900929967 |access-date=January 24, 2019}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Pryor |first1=Rain |last2=Crimmins |first2=Cathy |year=2006 |title=Jokes My Father Never Taught Me: Life, Love, and Loss with Richard Pryor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTLqP8qHHzMC |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=9780061195426 |oclc=865250887 |access-date=January 24, 2019}}
• {{Cite book |editor-last=McCluskey |editor-first=Audrey Thomas |year=2008 |title=Richard Pryor: The Life and Legacy of a "Crazy" Black Man |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bvUGSA4Wvu4C |location=Bloomington, IN |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=9780253352026 |oclc=300041360 |access-date=January 24, 2019}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Rovin |first1=Jeff |year=1983 |title=Richard Pryor: Black and Blue |location=London |publisher=Orbis |isbn=9780856136979 |oclc=668427103}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Saul |first1=Scott |year=2015 |title=Becoming Richard Pryor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aOVzAwAAQBAJ |location=New York |publisher=Harper |isbn=9780062123305 |oclc=869267234 |access-date=January 24, 2019}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Williams |first1=John A. |last2=Williams |first2=Dennis A. |year=1991 |title=If I Stop I'll Die: The Comedy and Tragedy of Richard Pryor |location=New York |publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press |isbn=9781560250081 |oclc=23463494}}

{{refend}}

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• {{Emmys person|richard-pryor}}
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• {{Cite AV media |title=Richard Pryor: Icon |url=https://www.pbs.org/program/richard-pryor-icon/ |medium=video |publisher=PBS}}

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