Richard Pryor Has Died

1940-2005

from JoeUser Forums
I just heard his wife Jennifer on the phone with CNN. She said he didn't suffer and went quickly. I'll miss the motherfucker.
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9,778 views 25 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
Who can care about politics at a time like this?
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
You aren't the only one that will miss him.

Like many others, he set the stage for those that followed. Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, Chris Tucker, Chris Rock, Dave Chapelle and many, many others have benefited from Pryor's work, much as Pryor benefited from Redd Foxx and others before him.

I recently caught a Pryor special on Comedy Central, one of the "I ain't dead yet MFer" ones. It was full of so many other comics praising Pryor's work and talking about his old routines.

I went back and rented a couple of the Pryor live DVDs. One was a very bad transfer, apparently from a poor source, but the comedy was flat out funny.

I think we've all missed his comedy in the last several years. He was reportedly not in good shape, thanks to MS, and the left over effects of a fire that almost took his life years ago (and possibly effects of an excess of various drugs earlier in his life). He was most definitely a genius.
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
I recorded all three of his concert films back when they were on originally.

He was most definitely a genius.


No doubt about it. And what about his brilliant performance in Lady Sings the Blues?
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
Pryor benefited from Redd Foxx and others before him.


Now I have to mention Scoey Mitchell, Nipsey Russell, Bill Cosby and Frankyn Ajaye.
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
Now I have to mention Scoey Mitchell, Nipsey Russell, Bill Cosby and Frankyn Ajaye.


Oh there's a host of great comics over time that all have stolen from each other and tried to improve on each other's work.

Buddy Hackett, Don Rickles, and others too.

The biggest difference between them is normally just how racy one would let themselves be versus another.

Cosby had always kept to clean humor. Along with Bob Newhart (as another example). Comedy that was funny without resorting to raunchy or racy.

Pryor, and many that followed him later were not at all afraid to be racy and somewhat raunchy, though the current generations have gone way beyond Pryor, Lenny Bruce and older Carlin stuff.
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
Yeah I just saw......there goes another comedy great.
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
Damn, another one down.  That is the true sign of age, when those you grrew up with start passing away.  Richard Pryor was not a saint, but he wsa a great Comic.
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top
He'd been bad off for a long, long time. It's a good thing that he is now finally at peace. He'll be greatly missed, as he has been for a while.
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
I had remembered that the local Blockbuster store had a copy of the Richard Pryor show DVD set for rental and I stopped there a while ago and rented the set. The show was a short lived one that ran on NBC in the 1970's -- 1977 to be exact.

Since I'm viewing the DVD's, I'm a bit unclear as to what words would have slipped past the censors of the day, but I know part of the reason for the short life of the show was that Pryor was not happy with the NBC censors at all.

Despite that, there's a host of up and comers in the show.

From Amazon.com's description of the DVD set:

One of the most talked-about comedy shows ever, this hilarious collection of classic laughs became a legend during its showings on NBC and now returns on DVD for a new generation! Guests include John Belushi and Maya Angelou, Cast Members include Robin Williams (Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society), Sandra Bernhard (Without You I'm Nothing), Shirley Hemphill (What's Happening!!), Paul Mooney (Hollywood Shuffle), LaWanda Page (Sanford and Son), Tim Reid (WKRP in Cincinnati), Edie McClurg (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and Marsha Warfield (Night Court) and Peter Cullen (The Tigger Movie).


Writing credits included Robin Williams (also as a cast member, just before his big break as "Mork" via Happy Days, then later Mork and Mindy).

One can only imagine what the show would have been like if Pryor had an outlet like Comedy Central available to him. I think it would have made Chappelle's show seem quite tame by comparison.
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top
I bet TV Land will have a Richard Pryor marathon soon.
Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top
I bet TV Land will have a Richard Pryor marathon soon.


I wouldn't take that bet. Pryor is much to foul-mouthed for TV Land, which is pretty conservative as things go.

Comedy Central, on the other hand, I could see doing a big marathon. Perhaps in their uncensored/after hours on the weekend segement. They aired some of the Richard Pryor "I ain't dead yet" special not long back, so it would be easy enough to pull that back outta the vault and rerun it.


It is times like this though that I really wish that DirecTV carried the HBO comedy channel. I could definitely see them running a marathon of Pryor stuff, including the classic live shows they already had run years ago.
Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top

He'd been bad off for a long, long time. It's a good thing that he is now finally at peace. He'll be greatly missed, as he has been for a while.

I did not know that.  Thank you and yes, may he rest in peace now.

Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top
Oh dear, another dead celebrity.

However will I get over it?


Not to turn this into a flame Little Whip thread, but did you really have to exercise the sphincter in this thread in that way?

Would you like some of the participants here to show up in one of your threads -- say the "angels of Joe User" thread and say "oh, gee, yet another worthless pet saved!"


To get back on topic though, how about the news that reportedly the gang on SNL will air a tribute to Pryor during the broadcast of SNL tonite.
Reply #15 from JoeUser Forums Top
Oh dear, another dead celebrity.However will I get over it?


Fuck off, bitch.
Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top
Icon's obsession with dead celebrities more than a little disgusting


I find you more than a little disgusting.
Reply #17 from JoeUser Forums Top
If you censored all the F words out of his routines, you'd find the man had very little to say in the first place.


What a load of bullshit. He was always questioning race, social injustices, etc.
Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top
So lw put me on her blacklist. How cowardly. Now once again I've done to her as she did to me.
Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top

To get back on topic though, how about the news that reportedly the gang on SNL will air a tribute to Pryor during the broadcast of SNL tonite.

Sorry I missed that one, and I actually was up for it, just cleebrating my youngest childs assension to Teenagehood!  Oy Vey!

Reply #20 from JoeUser Forums Top
And no, I've never been a big fan of crack-smoking, foul mouthed, talentless 'comedians' like Richard Pryor. If you censored all the F words out of his routines, you'd find the man had very little to say in the first place.


Actually Pryor had quite a bit to say, but he was never afraid to include some color in his jokes.

Honestly though LW, your comments here were rude, obnoxious and in very poor taste. As DrMiler said in your own thread, if you have nothing nice.... well, you know the deal.

If you were not a fan, then no comment was needed, or at least not here.

You have your own history that would cause many to perhaps rethink how they feel about you also, do you wish that people would hold occassional drug use against you forever?

Again, I'm not trying to get into the middle of pissin' contest between parties here. Just suffice it to say that my own believe is that in this case, LW started it. If necessary that is what my comments to the admins would be, though I hope it doesn't rise to that level.
Reply #21 from JoeUser Forums Top
Sorry I missed that one, and I actually was up for it, just cleebrating my youngest childs assension to Teenagehood! Oy Vey!


Actually the salute on SNL was a small one. They included the footage of the Pryor word association test with Chevy Chase, and even then only a few seconds of it. That came during the Weekend update segment.

Meanwhile, I later turned over to Comedy Central and they were re-running the Richard Pryor "I ain't dead yet, @#$@#%@" special with a crawl showing up noting he had died. They pre-empted regular programming for that.
Reply #22 from JoeUser Forums Top

Meanwhile, I later turned over to Comedy Central and they were re-running the Richard Pryor "I ain't dead yet, @#$@#%@" special with a crawl showing up noting he had died. They pre-empted regular programming for that.

Given it was RP, that is much better.  SNL is the pits!

Reply #23 from JoeUser Forums Top
As DrMiler said in your own thread, if you have nothing nice.... well, you know the deal.


Actually, he directed that to me.

Just suffice it to say that my own believe is that in this case, LW started it. If necessary that is what my comments to the admins would be,


Thank you.

I hope it doesn't rise to that level.


I guess it will.

Meanwhile, I later turned over to Comedy Central and they were re-running the Richard Pryor "I ain't dead yet, @#$@#%@" special with a crawl showing up noting he had died. They pre-empted regular programming for that.


I watched a little of that. It was his concert films interspersed with comments from some other people. It was interesting that they censored most " dirty" words but one.
Reply #24 from JoeUser Forums Top
I just read the exchange on lw's thread with terpfan, her and drmiler. If drmiler comes here again, I want him to know that my comment about MM was only to retaliate against lw. It was not actually a personal attack against MM.
Reply #25 from JoeUser Forums Top
I just find Icon's obsession with dead celebrities more than a little disgusting. I mean, how many "Tenth Anniversary of the Death of Slim Pickens" types of articles do we really need mucking up the forums every day?


As if she gets to choose which articles are valid and which aren't. So my articles may contribute to hers getting bumped off the top 10 list. Aww, poor baby! Some people enjoy being reminded of those who entertain. Some people get tired of the political bullshit once in a while. Parated has written several articles about music. Is she also tired of them?