by Scott Saul
heart attack, 465–66
Hollywood Bowl incident, 439–46, 441, 556n442
home bought in Northridge, 384–85
identity issues, 470
inner chaos and, 427–28, 433, 448–49
lack of professionalism, 370, 371
lawsuit against, 421
living “clean” regimen, 397, 404
marriage to Deboragh McGuire, 447, 448–53, 451, 465–66
meltdowns and destructive behavior, 361, 439–46, 441, 556n442
NBC program deals, 408, 412–15
relapse into drug/alcohol lifestyle, 417, 426
relationship with Jennifer Lee, 449–51, 465, 467, 467
relationship with Pam Grier, 400–401, 404, 405, 406–7, 416–17, 452
return to standup comedy, 467–68
Richard Pryor Enterprises, 384
substance abuse, 361, 417, 420, 426, 428, 433–34, 448, 450, 452, 465, 467
TV appearances, 362–63, 375–80, 412–15, 427–39, 454–62
women and, 428–29, 458
—1978–2005 (EPILOGUE), 471–87
artistic legacy, 482–87
career decline, 475–76, 477
critical judgment about, 481, 482, 486–87
as Dark Twain, 484
death of, 480–81
descent into addiction, 472
diagnosed with MS, 478–79
farewell tour (1993), 479–80
fighting over estate of, 481–82
finances and, 479
funeral, 481
legacy as a stand-up comic, 483–84
legacy as crossover artist, 485–87
legacy as social critic, 484–85
marriage to Jennifer Lee, 480–81
paranoid dementia, 472
peak of his career, 475
personality change, post-fire, 476, 478
relationship with his children, 480
setting himself on fire, 472–74, 560n474
—ACTING AND FILM WRITING CAREER, xiii, 320. See also films (below)
ABC Movies of the Week deal, 229–32
ambition and, 404
biopics that frame his career, 477–78
Black Sun production company, 217–24, 235
buddy movies, 392
on character, 299–300
collaboration with Lily Tomlin, 300, 318–27, 323, 540n325
collaborators, 281–88, 486, 534n282, 535n288 (see also Blazing Saddles; Mooney, Paul; Richard Pryor Show, The; Richard Pryor Special?, The; Saturday Night Live; Which Way Is Up?)
co-writing dynamic of, 70
critics and reviews, 277, 305, 306, 310–11, 312–13, 323–24, 381–82, 390, 411, 419, 423, 429, 431, 475–76, 547n383
early acting and writing, Peoria, 66–74, 505n69
Emmy for Lily, 325–26, 340
film scenarios, Berkeley year, 258–61
first leading man role, 399
first role in TV series, 163–64
Hollywood debut, 163
Hollywood dissidents and, 392–97
identity issues, 487
improvisational approach, 387–90, 540n325, 548n388, 552n408
influence of, 292
“Juke and Opal” sketch, 320, 322, 323, 323–26, 540n325
Juliette Whittaker as first co-writer, 70
“The Pimp’s Lament” (recitation), 284–85
reputation for unreliability, consequences of, 307
Rumpelstiltskin production, 69–70
strategy for expanding a role, 274, 276–80, 391
turning point in perception of him as a performer, 312
“Uncle Sam Wants You Dead, Nigger” (screenplay), 250–52, 531n251
Universal Studios deal, 396
The Vanishing Pearl (Peoria play), 71
Warner Bros. multi-film deal, 430
—ALBUMS AND CONCERT FILMS
Bicentennial Nigger, 331, 397–99, 484
‘Craps’ (After Hours), 237–41, 529n238
Is It Something I Said? 373–75, 384
And It’s Deep Too! 480
Live and Smokin’ (filmed Improv show), 252–53
Richard Pryor (first album), 194–203, 203, 213, 221, 526n213
Richard Pryor: Live in Concert, 1–2, 46, 78–79, 468–70, 474
Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip, 474
“That Nigger’s Crazy,” 329–31, 336, 337, 338–39, 341, 342, 349, 352
—COMEDY AND COMEDIC ROUTINES
abuse of audience and, 180, 236, 253
“Acid,” 331–33, 376, 518n148
act as character-driven and rooted in the black community, 182, 330–31, 353–58
act opening, whisper, 152, 153–54
Aladdin hotel episode, 175–80, 182–83, 332
as autobiographical, xiii, 1–2, 78–79, 81, 142, 165, 182, 229, 238, 240, 252, 330, 432, 467–69, 529n238
“baby being born” routine, 106, 512n106
belief in his coming stardom, 111–12
Berle dustup on The Mike Douglas Show, 343–46
big break (Ed Sullivan Show, 1965), 141, 143–44
black audiences and, 74, 105–6, 215–17, 328–29, 338, 363, 374, 454
“Black Death” routine, 484
black superhero character, 74
“burglar” sketch, 118–19
at Café Wha?, 117, 118, 128, 129, 130, 143, 174
cartoons, influence of, 48–49, 74
Casablanca club incident, 112, 511n112
change in approach, to nitty-gritty of his life, 165, 167, 171, 182
character of his grandmother in, 1–3, 46, 165
characters played by, various, 99, 105, 165
charisma as performer, 3
on Chitlin Circuit, 108, 111–15, 512n112
clubs drop RP (1970), 235–37
Collins Corner stand-up routines, 105–8
as comic genius, 301
“Cops/The Line-Up” routine, 238–39, 529n238
core audience, 338, 363
as Cosby imitator, xii, 117–19, 129, 134, 162
“crazy nigger” persona, 333–34, 354
critics and reviews, 118, 119, 130, 144, 162, 179, 200, 236, 249–50, 329, 470
as crossover artist, 154, 158–59, 337, 485–87
development of material, 164–65, 353–58
dirty joke, 151
early influences, xvi, 48, 60–61, 100, 115, 281, 411, 484, 504n60
experimentation, Bay area (1971), 247, 256–57, 264
first performance (as child), 50, 486
at the Flamingo, Las Vegas (1966), 160, 162
“Frankenstein” sketch, 201
game, hungry i engagement (1966), 152
in Greenwich Village (1963–1965), 117–19, 129, 130, 135, 151, 163
“Hank’s Place” routine, 143, 198–200, 201, 472
at Harold’s Club, Peoria, 95–96, 486
headlining, Blue Angel, Chicago (1966), 145, 517n146
heart attack as material, 466, 468–69
his father portrayed in comedy of, 47, 229
history of “nigger” parable, 303, 537n303
honesty in, 127, 346
“I Feel” riff, 195–96
impressions done by, 74, 113, 118, 149–50, 151, 229
at the Improv, 120–23, 122, 514n121
improvisational approach to comedy, xiii, 121–22, 126–27, 143, 151–52, 431–32, 469, 484
“Jackin’ Off” riff, 238
Kennedy Center performance, 328–29
“Kill Class” routine, 83, 212
Laff Records four record deal, 237
at the Living Room, 129–30
Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (1998), 562–63n484
mask of clown and, 159
“Masturbating” riff, 238
Mudbone character, 337, 353–58, 374, 413, 432, 468, 472
new material experiments, 431
obscenities in act, 87, 139, 148, 165, 180, 181–82, 200, 216, 236,
249, 317, 337, 345, 346, 361, 375, 482, 523n180
pantomime, 149, 153–54, 159, 455
Peoria curfew sketch, 81, 171, 507n80
physical comedy of, 106, 378
plays the Apollo (1965), 153–54, 518n153
“Prison Play” sketch, 143, 196–97, 201
race issues and, 134, 238–39, 255, 286, 303, 320, 333, 376, 380, 389–90, 469, 482
records first album, 179
Reprise Records drops deal, 213
return to standup (1978), 467–68
Reverend James L. White character, 414, 433, 454, 471
Roth’s grooming of, 129–35
RP’s comedic instincts, 124–25
RP’s strengths in, 119
“rubber face” of RP, 60–61, 132, 144
“Rumpelstiltskin” act, 141–43, 159, 162, 200, 328
“Samurai Hotel” sketch, 121–22, 376–77, 547n376
school performances, Peoria, 59–63
sex issues and, 238–41, 252
show at Lorton prison, 333–35
signature greeting, 328
SNL and, 362–63, 375–80, 472
source of material, 262, 532n262
stage persona, 195–96
“Star-Spangled Night for Rights” concert, 439–46, 441, 556n442
style, 1960s, 192–93
style, 1970s, 256
style, early, 99, 100
“Super Nigger” routine, 209–10, 217
“T.V. Panel” sketch, 143, 197–98, 201
white audiences and, 66, 113, 130–35, 236, 254, 268
“the wino” character, 94–95, 99–100, 413
“Wino and Junkie” routine, 262–65, 328, 458
“Word Association Test” sketch, 377–80
—FILMS AND SCREENPLAYS
Adíos Amigo, 365–66
The Assassin (film idea), 259–60
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor-Kings, 366–73, 380–83, 546n373, 547n383
The Black Stranger (screenplay), 327, 394
Blazing Saddles screenwriter, 274, 281–88, 306–7, 535n288
Blue Collar, 232, 417–26, 420, 425
Brewster’s Millions, 475
Bustin’ Loose, 474
The Busy Body, 163
Car Wash, 394–95
Greased Lightning, 393–94, 395, 397, 399–403, 429–30
Hit! 299–300, 308–11
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, 475
Lady Sings the Blues, 269–70, 274, 276–80, 305
The Mack, 232, 274, 288–97, 307
screenplay about God as a black man, 391, 549n391
Silver Streak, 384–92, 389, 548n388
Stir Crazy, 392, 474
This Can’t Be Happening to Me, 260–61
The Toy, 475
Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales, 212, 217–21, 223–24, 225–26, 230, 233–35, 258
Uptown Saturday Night, 363–65
Wattstax, 300–305, 311–17, 313, 537n302
Which Way Is Up? 393–94, 403, 404–12, 409, 462–64, 551n403, 552n406, 552n408
Wild in the Streets, 210, 218, 219, 527n219
The Wiz, 450, 452–54, 465
—TELEVISION SHOWS, 179, 211
Ed Sullivan Show, 141, 143, 179, 182, 523n183
Carter’s Army, 229, 230–32, 251
Kraft Summer Music Hall guest appearances, 154, 157–59, 158, 162, 165, 210
with Lily Tomlin, writing and acting, 320–27, 323, 413
Lily (TV special), 322–24
The Lily Tomlin Show, 320–22
The Merv Griffin Show, 143, 148–51, 150, 154, 159, 161, 163, 200
Mike Douglas Show, 47, 78
Mike Douglas Show, cohost, 341–47
NBC deals, 408, 412, 415, 427–28
On Broadway Tonight, 130–35, 132, 133
Operation: Entertainment, 179, 212
The Partridge Family, 211, 230, 242–43
The Pat Boone Show, The, 179
The Richard Pryor Show, 427–28, 429, 430–39, 434, 439, 447, 454–62
The Richard Pryor Special? 412–15
A Time for Laughter: A Look at Negro Humor in America, 167–70, 182
The Tonight Show, 178, 207, 212
The Wild Wild West, 163–64
The Young Lawyers, 229, 230
Pryor, Richard, Jr. (son), 104, 228, 416, 482, 519n155
Pryor, Roy (grandfather), 12, 14–15
Pryor, Sharon Wilson (half-sister), 93, 191, 203–5
Pryor, Shelley Bonis (second wife), 187–89, 190, 362
birth of daughter Rain, 232–33
divorce of RP, 235
domestic violence and, 220
financial backing of RP’s film, 221
home with RP as “House of Pain,” 220, 228, 233–34
marries RP, 191–92
RP’s cocaine use and, 220
in RP’s routines, 240
Pryor, Viola Anna Hurst “Ann” (stepmother), 55, 56, 79, 164, 499n28
arrest and conviction, 144, 145
cancer of, 92, 145, 184
daughter June, 190, 190
death of, 184
prostitution and, 55, 58, 92–93, 124, 144, 499n28
Pryor, William (granduncle), 12, 498n25
Pryor, William (uncle), 14
Pryor Convictions (Pryor), 48
Putney Swope (film), 235
Queen Booking, 329
race issues in America, 501n39. See also Black Power movement
alliance between blacks and white liberals, 135, 136, 137, 515n136
American caste system, 239–40
antimiscegenation laws, 44–45, 502n44
Attica prison uprising and, 265–69
black activism, 135–36
civil rights movement, 124, 125–26, 135, 194
counterculture and, 192
death of King, 193
desegregation of the 1950s, xv
discrimination in Peoria, 23–24
discrimination in the U.S., 211
Great Depression and, 18
interracial dating and, 44–45, 515n128
jobs available to blacks, 9, 18, 24, 76, 105, 211
lynch mobs, Decatur, 9–10
media industries and, 393
New York City (1964), 135–36
racism and, 23–24, 50, 53–54, 63–65, 76, 220, 503n50
summer of 1967 and urban unrest, 166–67, 520n166
in U.S. Army, 82–90, 508n82, 508n84, 508n85
word “nigger” and, 216–17, 256
Rasulala, Thalmus, 362
Reagan, Nancy, 212
Reagan, Ronald, 212
Realist, The magazine, 252
Redd Foxx Club, 215, 216, 237, 245
‘Craps’ recorded at, 238, 529n238
RP and “coke Olympics” at, 216, 245
Red Ryder (film character), 49
Reed, Ishmael, 246, 255, 256, 485
Reid, Tim, 431–32, 459, 482–83
Reiner, Carl, 281
Reprise Records, 194, 201, 213
Reynolds, Burt, 396, 400, 474
Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, 84–87
Richard Pryor (album), 194–203, 526n213
cover, 201–3, 202, 203, 221, 524–25n201
Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (film), 1–2, 46, 78, 448, 468–70, 474
Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip (concert film), 474
Richard Pryor Show, The (TV series), 427–39, 434, 439, 448, 452, 454–62
“Black Death,” 429, 556n438
Bo Jaws character, 432
“The 40th President of the United States,” 432–33
“Gun Shop,” 459–61, 460
innovation and, 475
Mersky’s monologue, 447, 456–58, 558n456, 558n457
“Mr. Fixit,” 455
Mudbone character, 458
NBC censorship and, 435–38
“New Talent,” 456
“Once Upon a Time,” 455–56
ra
tings plunge, 458
“A Rebuttal,” 461–62
RP’s substance abuse and, 433–34
“Satin Doll,” 429, 434–35
“Separate Tables,” 455
“Star Wars Bar,” 432, 434
Richard Pryor Special? The (TV special), 412–15
Richmond Coliseum, 339, 340
Richmond Post-Dispatch, 339
Rickles, Don, 162, 178
Rivers, Joan, 118
Robbins, Matt, 367–68
Roberts, Bobby, 179, 194, 197, 200–201, 213, 214, 217
Rock, Chris, 482
Rogers, Timmie, 85
Rolling Stone magazine, 326, 467, 470
RP interview, 177, 178–79
Rolling Thunder (film), 418
Roosevelt, Theodore, 22
Rosenbaum, Jonathan, 470
Ross, Diana, 277, 382, 481
Roth, Manny, 128, 129, 163, 218, 515n128, 526n218
advice to RP, 119
Café Wha? and, 119, 128–29
RP leaves, 143
as RP’s manager, 119, 128–35
Russell, Bertrand, 151
Ruth, Margaret, 61–63, 62, 64–65
Sales, Grover, 249–50
Sands, Diana, 393
Sands Hotel, 167
San Francisco, CA
counterculture and, xii
RP in (1971), xi, 244, 245–70
“That Nigger’s Crazy” recorded in, 329, 352
San Francisco Chronicle, 249, 440
San Francisco Examiner, 249
San Francisco magazine, 249–50
Sargent, Herb, 322
Saroyan, Lucy, 428, 429
Sarris, Andrew, 277, 470
Saturday Night Fever (film), 368, 381, 477
Saturday Night Live (SNL), 122, 322, 330, 331
“Acid,” 376
RP as guest host, 362–63, 375–80, 472
“Samurai Hotel,” 376–77, 546n376
“Word Association Test,” 377–80
Sausalito, CA, 265, 266, 298, 305
Save Our Human Rights Foundation, 440
Schickel, Richard, 429, 430
Schneemann, Carolee, 117
Schrader, Leonard, 418
Schrader, Paul, 274, 417–26, 420, 486, 534n275
Schultz, Michael, 394
director, Car Wash, 395
director, Greased Lightning, 400, 402–3, 429, 463, 551n400
director, Which Way Is Up?, 394–95, 399, 400, 403, 406–10, 409, 549–50n394
RP and, 394, 395, 399–400, 408, 410, 420, 486
Scott, Bruce, 140–41
Scott, George C., 342, 343
Scott, Wendell, 393, 394, 401, 463
Scott-Heron, Gil, 362
Seale, Bobby, 293–94
Seattle Daily Times, 313
Seduction of Mimi, The (film), 405–6, 410, 463
Seinfeld (TV show), 240
Seinfeld, Jerry, 482
Sellers, Peter, 408
Sentinel newspaper, 446
Shales, Tom, 436–37
Sharif, Omar, 156
Silver, Roy, 129