Becoming Richard Pryor

by Scott Saul

  33 “Okay, motherfucker . . . confused my ass just by being so nice to me”: Pryor Convictions, pp. 26–27.

  33 “He felt that deep kind of love . . . would’ve killed her”: Ibid., p. 19.

  33 She fled North Washington Street with her son: “Answer and Counterclaim for Divorce,” Gertrude Pryor v. Leroy Pryor, n.d., n.p.

  33 sharing space with livestock: Pryor Convictions, p. 33.

  34 “always conducted herself” . . . “extreme and repeated cruelty”: “Bill of Complaint,” Gertrude Pryor v. Leroy Pryor, n.p.

  34 In his counterclaim: “Answer and Counterclaim for Divorce,” Gertrude Pryor v. Leroy Pryor, n.p.

  34 Her one formal response: “Affidavit of Non-Military Service,” Gertrude Pryor v. Leroy Pryor, Jan. 17, 1946, n.p.

  34 a future Illinois Supreme Court judge: “Judge Culbertson dies at age 90,” Peoria Journal Star, July 27, 1980.

  35 “I’d like to be with my grandma, please”: Pryor Convictions, pp. 32–33.

  35 this recollection: Ibid., p. 32; “at the present time”: “Decree for Divorce,” Gertrude Pryor v. Leroy Pryor, Mar. 26, 1946.

  35 In his ruling: Ibid.; a presumption, in custody battles: Mary Ann Mason, From Father’s Property to Children’s Rights: The History of Child Custody in the United States (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994); Mary Ann Mason and Ann Quirk, “Are Mothers Losing Custody? Read My Lips: Trends in Judicial Decision-Making in Custody Disputes—1920, 1960, 1990 and 1995,” Family Law Quarterly 31, no. 2 (Summer 1997): 215–36; “custody, control and education”: “Decree for Divorce,” Gertrude Pryor v. Leroy Pryor, Mar. 26, 1946.

  36 “He had a child”: The Barbara Walters Special, aired May 29, 1979 (ABC); adultery among war brides . . . a divorce rate without precedent in American history: Mintz and Kellogg, Domestic Revolutions, pp. 171–73; It was tempting to believe: Culbertson’s decision can additionally be explained by the law’s relative nonchalance in the face of spousal abuse. Spousal abuse was not deemed a factor in custody battles until the 1960s (author’s e-mail communication with Mary Ann Mason, Nov. 10, 2010).

  36 “I got my bizarre sense of humor”: The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, aired July 21, 1978 (NBC).

  Chapter 3: The Law of the Lash

  37 From an early age: Rovin, Richard Pryor, p. 21; John Wayne . . . Boris Karloff: Pryor Convictions, p. 44; Rovin, Richard Pryor, p. 23; Funky London: Dick Kleiner, “Richard Pryor Back on Top,” Merced Sun-Star, Jan. 6, 1977, p. 10; “I used to live in the movie houses”: Robbins and Ragan, Richard Pryor, p. 30; “No movie opened”: Kleiner, “Richard Pryor Back on Top,” p. 10.

  37 “I wanted to be just like him”: Robbins and Ragan, Richard Pryor, p. 30; unlikely leading man: Law of the Lash (1947), King of the Bullwhip (1950).

  38 LaRue was strictly B-grade: On LaRue and the B Westerns, see Roderick McGillis, He Was Some Kind of a Man: Masculinities in the B Western (Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2009), pp. 88–91; woo a lady: Wild West (1946).

  38 In his home life, violence: Jennifer Lee, “Trouble Man,” Spin, May 1988, p. 46.

  38 she was good at getting screams to stop: Ibid., p. 46; “hell” . . . “Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor”: The Barbara Walters Special, aired May 29, 1979 (ABC).

  39 late 1970s diary entry: Richard Pryor, . . . And It’s Deep Too!: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings, Rhino R2 76655 (2000) (hereafter . . . And It’s Deep Too!). I have standardized the spelling and punctuation from Pryor’s diary entry; as a result of his intermittent schooling, Pryor never mastered basic rules of spelling and grammar.

  39 “It’s so much easier”: Rovin, Richard Pryor, p. 32; “You had to be an adult”: Sander Vanocur, “Richard Pryor: It’s a Long Way from Peoria—and It’s Your Serve,” Washington Post, Mar. 20, 1977, p. F3.

  39 “strange, dark, big feel”: Pryor Convictions, p. 22; Formerly a dance hall: Rovin, Richard Pryor, p. 11; “peck on the windows”: The Barbara Walters Special, aired May 29, 1979 (ABC).

  39 shared one of these bedrooms with “Pops”: Richard Pryor, “Unwed Mutha,” Details, Feb. 1996, p. 86. According to Pryor, Marie stopped sleeping with Pops after she caught him in bed with one of her girls. Part of his punishment was to be paired in bed with “the kickingest kid ever”; peeking through keyholes: Vanocur, “Richard Pryor,” p. F3.

  40 “watching things when I didn’t exactly know what they were”: The Barbara Walters Special, aired May 29, 1979 (ABC); “I saw my mother”: Janet Maslin, “‘Didn’t Cut Nobody’s Throat,’ Says a Proud Pryor,” New York Times, Aug. 18, 1977, p. 76.

  40 “messed me up sexually”: The Barbara Walters Special, aired May 29, 1979 (ABC).

  41 elegant suits: Author’s interview with Dave Sprattling; a one-dollar mistake: “Waitress Says Parker ‘Sapped Her,” Peoria Journal-Star, July 21, 1957; China Bee had her own sense of style: Author’s interviews with Harold Parker Jr., Dec. 14, 2010, and May 26, 2011; Peoria’s finer department stores . . . “anything you needed, sexually”: Author’s interview with John and Kathryn Timmes, May 15, 2011.

  41 three-hundred-pound bouncer: Author’s interview with Dave Sprattling; “Bulldog” Shorty: “Bris Collins Surrenders to Serve Term,” Chicago Defender, Sept. 11, 1954, p. 5; boxing manager: “In St. Louis,” Chicago Defender, June 3, 1939, p. 9; procurer: “‘Lack of Prosecution’ Kills Case on Collins,” Peoria Journal Star, Oct. 14, 1959; counterfeiter: “Collins Gets Year, Day on Money Count,” Peoria Journal, July 2, 1954, p. A3; hundred-thousand-dollar numbers racket: “Bris Collins Surrenders to Serve Term,” p. 5; Kefauver investigations: Ibid.; military and federal penitentiaries: People of the State of Illinois v. Arthur Anderson, Supreme Court of Illinois (May 27, 1971); According to musicians: Author’s interview with Cecil Grubbs, July 9, 2010.

  42 police raided: “Bris Collins’ Tap Raided, Closed; Baseball Pool Czar Fined $1000,” Peoria Star, May 23, 1953.

  42 “As a comedian”: Pryor Convictions, p. 24.

  43 “Come on, man”: Ibid., pp. 24–25.

  43 an eclectic mix of businesses: Polk’s Peoria Directory (St. Louis, MO: Polk, 1943), p. 538; a larger location, at 319-21 North Adams: Polk’s Peoria Directory (St. Louis, MO: Polk, 1946), p. 170; all the accoutrements of a smart business: Pryor family photographs in author’s possession; small jazz-blues combos: Author’s interview with Jane Fishback, Feb. 1, 2011.

  43 Famous Door’s clientele, which departed sharply: Family photograph in author’s possession; Especially after 1:00 a.m.: Author’s interview with John Timmes, May 15, 2011.

  44 One of the smoothest operators: Author’s interview with Harold Parker Jr., Dec. 14, 2010.

  44 a world where blacks and whites might pair up as lovers: On antimiscegenation laws and the long history of interracial intimacy, see Rachel F. Moran, Interracial Intimacy: The Regulation of Race and Romance (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001); Randall F. Kennedy, Interracial Intimacies: Sex, Marriage, Identity, and Adoption (New York: Pantheon, 2003); Kevin Mumford, Interzones: Black/White Sex Districts in Chicago and New York in the Early Twentieth Century (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997).

  45 Morning Star Baptist Church: Pryor Convictions, p. 26; author’s interview with Cecil Grubbs, Oct. 15, 2010; a soul kitchen feast: Author’s interview with Cecil Grubbs, July 9, 2010; Richard always dressed nicely: Author’s interview with Margaret Kelch, Jan. 21, 2011; pair of new shoes: Author’s interview with Ron DeBlasio, Jan. 8, 2011.

  45 “Son, one thing a white man”: Joyce Maynard, “Richard Pryor, King of the Scene-Stealers,” New York Times, Jan. 9, 1977, p. 18.

  46 ma’am or sir: Kleiner, “Richard Pryor Back on Top,” p. 10; had to perform his chores: The Mike Douglas Show, aired Nov. 29, 1974; “If you couldn’t put the worm”: The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, aired Sept. 19, 1973 (NBC).

  46 she would try to beat the disobedience out of him: Vanocur, “Richard Pryor,” p. F5; “Anything you want to know about fear”: Scott Cohen,
“Richard Pryor,” High Times, Dec. 1977, p. 61.

  46 Richard walked on eggshells: Richard Pryor Live in Concert; “The guy says you have no soul”: Interview with Richard Pryor, on Only in America, with Greg Jackson, aired Dec. 12, 1985 (CBS) (in author’s possession; hereafter “Only in America interview”); “scared to death” . . . “afraid to make a sound”: Author’s interviews with Matt Clark, Dec. 6, 2010, and Dec. 28, 2010.

  47 rustle and straighten out his newspaper: Kraft Summer Music Hall, aired June 13, 1966; Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, aired Jan. 12, 1979 (NBC).

  47 “If you don’t go to sleep”: Kraft Summer Music Hall, aired June 13, 1966.

  47 When other kids . . . His father would brag: Richard Pryor, “Peoria,” Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974), Rhino R2 78490 (2005) (hereafter Evolution/Revolution); A Peoria police officer: Rovin, Richard Pryor, p. 17.

  47 “I was weird”: The Mike Douglas Show, aired Nov. 11, 1974.

  48 he had been playing by himself: Pryor Convictions, pp. 28–31.

  48 Red Skelton: Ibid., p. 44; lifelong fascination with cartoons . . . twenty-five cartoons in a row: McPherson, “The New Comic Style of Richard Pryor,” p. 41.

  49 would delight himself by drawing: Author’s interview with Michael Grussemeyer, May 27, 2011; imitating the Road Runner: Lurlena Pieters, “‘Hurt Pride’ Leads to Comic Career,” Cleveland Call and Post, Apr. 20, 1974, p. 3A.

  49 a compelling backstory: Oregon Trail Scouts (Republic Pictures, 1947); rescuing Red Ryder: Cheyenne Wildcat (Republic Pictures, 1944), Vigilantes of Dodge City (Republic Pictures, 1944), California Gold Rush (Republic Pictures, 1946).

  49 pointed lesson: Pryor Convictions, p. 44; “one of my first big traumatic experiences”: Maynard, “Richard Pryor: King of the Scene-Stealers,” p. 11.

  50 first performance as a comic: Pryor Convictions, pp. 14–15; “That was my first comedy routine”: “Slippin’ in Poo Poo,” Evolution/Revolution.

  50 Richard was one of a minority of blacks: Author’s interview with Michael Grussemeyer, May 27, 2011; the minstrelsy behind popular radio programs like Amos ’n’ Andy: Melvin Patrick Ely, The Adventures of Amos ’n’ Andy: A Social History of an American Phenomenon (New York: Free Press, 1991), pp. 11–13. The year that Richard arrived at kindergarten, Peoria’s high school tried to stage a blackface minstrel show complete with “pickaninnies,” and revised its script only under pressure from the local chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality. See Jim Ralph, “Patterns of Protest: The Civil Rights Struggle in Peoria, Illinois, 1945–1970,” African American history folder, Peoria Public Library, p. 11; Hazel Fritchell, letter to George Houser, June 3, 1946, Congress of Racial Equality Papers (microfilm), Reel 14, Series III, No. 67.

  51 “Apparently unstable emotionally”: Pryor school records.

  51 During the middle of his second try: Ibid.; “The farm” . . . “Yes, sir”: Pryor Convictions, p. 33; David Handelman, “What Happened to Richard Pryor?,” Lakeland Ledger, Jan. 29, 1992, p. 5C.

  51 back in Peoria schools: Pryor school records; third grade: Author’s interview with Michael Grussemeyer.

  52 sole brothel with white prostitutes: The Barbara Walters Special, aired May 29, 1979 (ABC); “Joe Eagle Indicted on Lie Charges,” Peoria Journal, July 2, 1954, p. 1.

  52 “three oddball brothers”: Author’s interview with Michael Grussemeyer.

  52 relatively decent grades . . . two Cs, four Ds, and one F: Pryor school records.

  52 Richard’s poor grades in “conduct”: Rovin, Richard Pryor, p. 24; author’s interview with Michael Grussemeyer.

  53 Irving School’s basketball team: Interview with Michael Grussemeyer; the toast of the black community: Rob Thomas, They Cleared the Lane: The NBA’s Black Pioneers (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2002); John Christgau, Tricksters in the Madhouse: Lakers vs. Globetrotters, 1948 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004).

  53 Richard found trouble in a whole new way: Pryor Convictions, pp. 43–44. Another account of the same incident is given in Maynard, “Richard Pryor, King of the Scene-Stealers,” p. 11.

  54 saw his father unleash his anger in his defense: Pryor Convictions, pp. 43–44.

  54 “You could almost set your watch by it”: Author’s interview with Michael Grussemeyer; “S[tudent] can’t return”: Pryor school records.

  54 the realm of private fantasy: Rovin, Richard Pryor, pp. 22–23.

  55 “I’d write a lot”: Pieters, “‘Hurt Pride’ Leads to Comic Career,” p. 3A.

  55 Born in New Orleans: “Mrs. Viola Pryor,” Peoria Journal Star, Jan. 3, 1968; a prostitute at China Bee’s, Pryor Convictions, p. 34; a freckled Creole . . . elegant dresses cinched with belts: Family photographs in author’s possession; author’s interview with Margaret Kelch, May 15, 2011.

  55 pleaded with the principal: Author’s interview with Michael Grussemeyer; calling her “Mom”: Pryor Convictions, p. 34.

  56 “Why’d they kick me out of school?”: Ibid., pp. 40–41.

  56 Peoria’s longtime mayor was defeated: “Triebel and Madden Win Mayor Races,” Peoria Journal-Transcript, Feb. 14, 1945, p. 1.

  57 by 15 percent: “Bluff Outvotes ‘Valley’ Wards,” Peoria Journal-Transcript, Feb. 14. 1945, p. 17; cleared out the city’s slot machines: Frank Sturdy, “Gamblers Tell Why They Quit Peoria Rackets,” Chicago Daily Tribune, Oct. 20, 1948, p. 21; sharpshooter hiding in some nearby underbrush: “Dry Era Gangster Killed in Ambush,” New York Times, July 27, 1948, p. 46; “2d Shelton Brother, Leader of Gang, Slain in Ambush,” Chicago Daily Tribune, July 27, 1947, p. 1; a recording of an emissary: “Shelton’s ‘Voice from Grave’ Charges $25,000 Bribe Plot,” Chicago Daily Tribune, Aug. 8, 1948, p. 1; a sweeping investigation: “State Names 2 to War on Crime, Vice,” Chicago Daily Tribune, Sept. 13, 1948, p. 1; bombed a year after: “Bomb Blasts Peoria Home of Prosecutor,” Chicago Daily Tribune, Dec. 17, 1949, p. 1.

  57 ex-GIs returning to Peoria: Friedan, “Now They’re Proud of Peoria,” pp. 94–95; breaking the hammerlock: “John C. Parkhurst Memoir, Volume I,” Illinois General Assembly Oral History Program, Norris L. Brookens Library, University of Illinois at Springfield, pp. 43–46; Herbert Gamberg, “The Escape from Power: Politics in the American Community” (Monticello, IL: Council of Planning Librarians, 1969), pp. 6–9; Martin, “The Town That Reformed,” p. 26; thirty-five raids: “Eleven ‘All-American’ Cities of 1953,” The American City, Feb. 1954, p. 113.

  58 Since the early 1940s: “Business and Civic Leaders Join in Call for Solution of Midtown Bridge Problem,” Peoria Journal-Transcript, Sept. 1, 1940; In 1951: “Fayette-Jackson Is Area for New Span,” Peoria Star, July 26, 1951; Fourteen buildings: “State to Clear 14 Buildings Here,” Peoria Star, July 9, 1953; 1950 U.S. Census: 1950 Housing Census Report: Block Statistics, Peoria, Illinois, Volume V, Part 142 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1952), p. 6.

  58 In late 1951: Pryor school records; Famous Door had closed . . . beauty shop: Polk’s Peoria Directory (St. Louis, MO: Polk, 1948), p. 106; Polk’s Peoria Directory (St. Louis, MO: Polk, 1950), p. 14; cheaper rents and less ramshackle housing: 1950 Housing Census Report: Block Statistics, Peoria, Illinois, pp. 6. 14; pool hall: Polk’s Peoria Directory (St. Louis, MO: Polk, 1952), p. 115.

  58 Blaine-Sumner elementary: Pryor school records.

  Chapter 4: Glow, Glow Worm, Glow

  59 Mrs. Yingst struck a deal with him: Eric Sandstrom, “Deal with Teacher Gave Pryor First Audience,” Peoria Journal Star, Dec. 26, 1982; Pryor Convictions, p. 47; rarely late for school again: Pryor school records.

  60 especially inspired by Jerry Lewis: The Merv Griffin Show, aired Aug. 1, 1966. When Pryor met Lewis in person on The Merv Griffin Show in 1966, he earnestly recounted how he “fell in love” with him while watching the 1952 film Sailor Beware and called him “the god of comedy.”

  61 a prime-time show: “Classmate Recalls Pryor’s School Days,” Peoria Journal Star, May 10, 1985; author’s int
erviews with Margaret Kelch, Jan. 21, 2011, and May 15, 2011.

  62 “When I heard their laughter”: Pryor Convictions, p. 47.

  63 Cs in reading: Pryor school records.

  63 and the bottom fell out again: “Classmate Recalls Pryor’s School Days”; interview with Margaret Kelch, Jan. 21, 2011; “Dempsey” was not the surname of Pryor’s seventh grade teacher; I have changed her name, as I was unable to contact her to confirm her treatment of Pryor.

  63 target of a federal narcotics sting: “Eight Arrested Here in Narcotics Raid,” Peoria Journal, Apr. 8, 1953, p. A1, A4; “8 Jailed Here in Narcotic Raid,” Peoria Star, Apr. 9, 1953, p. B6; twenty-nine heroin capsules: On the 1950s heroin trade and law enforcement, see Eric Schneider, Smack: Heroin and the American City (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008). Dickie’s alleged fellow “ringleader” was Jimmy Bell, a jazz musician who had fronted a group that played regularly at the Famous Door (“Bell Sought, Six Held in Dope Case,” Peoria Journal, Apr. 9, 1953, p. B1; and “Bell Captured in St. Louis on Dope Charges,” Peoria Journal, Apr. 10, 1953, p. B1).

  64 box of counterfeit money: Pryor Convictions, p. 52; confrère Bris Collins: “Collins Gets Year, Day on Money Count,” p. A3; federal penitentiary: Pryor Convictions, p. 52.

  64 “What happened?” she asked: “Classmate Recalls Pryor’s School Days”; author’s interviews with Margaret Kelch, Jan. 21, 2011, and May 15, 2011.

  64 she followed the precedent: Author’s interview with Margaret Kelch, Jan. 21, 2011.

  46 “He wanted to be included” . . . she might have fallen for him: Ibid.

  65 One day, Marie received a phone call: The Mike Douglas Show, aired Nov. 29, 1974; Pryor school records.

  65 He was placed in Roosevelt Junior High: Pryor school records.

  66 “closely split”: E-mail communication with Willis Smith, May 15, 2011.