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Rest, brother. Rest.
When They Were Kings: Richard Pryor
Platinum Plus
Jason W H Page
Spring 2001
Funny aint the word less its after ferociously or dangerously. No doubt about it, Richard Pryor brought us the truth about us, whether we liked it or not. He is the undesputed king of comedy, serving as folks prophet of rage, spilling and spelling the truth through hysterical characters and long monologues, never once pulling punches. Richard Pryor built his career telling it like it is, not how we wanted it to be. And hes got us tinkling in our Tommys from telling it. I can remember bits and pieces that stuck in the back of my mind among years of stolen moments of adolescent obscenity, either catching or throwing. I caught all the Pryor I could, soaking up the honesty and hilarity this cat busted. I tried to throw; but I never delivered like the king, nerve wrenching and pace perfect.
By painting pictures of real people in his life, Richard broke ground for all figures known and unknown, media-concieved and from around the block who critique the ways in which humans destroy each other and ourselves. Hes the king because he took torches from Redd, Dick and Bill and lit the path for the critiques and comics to follow, like Eddie, Chris, and Sam. Hes king because he inadvertently built a career on honesty and humility and showed America and the world how ridiculously fragile life is. Richard Pryor is the original king of comedy because he experienced more tragedy than any other comic that didnt end up dead from their own abuse; and hes still kicking. Even if he has to do it sitting down.
Most remember Richard as merely gifted at pointing out our insecurities as humans, not colors or classes. But to limit his influence to other funny women and men would be ludicrous. Yet, few recognize how ferociously influentual this Richard became as a revolutionary. Richards not just a comic. In a time just after Lenny Bruce and just before SCTV and Not Ready For Primetime, Richard Pryor snuck past the sensors, grabbed the spotlight of comedy and set records breaking into the hearts and minds of America. He opened the doors for not only comics but also documentarians, contemporary philosophers, teachers and everybody who is able to break it down to and about the world we live in. Hes allowed us all to look introspectively without shame, and transform pretension into humility. Making us all individual Richard Pryors in our own right, recognizing our humanness as oneness, while also recognizing our differences as both beauty and the tools of our destruction.
Why is Richard Pryor the king of comedy? Because he molded the mud of his adversity into a brilliant career of showing the world that humility is the key to laughter. Pryor opened eyes to the evils that men do by shedding light on his own. He spoke the truth about racism, classism and sexism. Opening minds and pissing some off by the way he exposed everyones dirty laundry, from white folks to brother mudbone. Was it something he said?
Hell, Richard was even amazed how funny he was, responding one night to folks ovation after his intro, Yall clapping and screaming. . I aint even said shit yet. yeah yeah. Richard Pryor Richard Pryor. . . .Hope hes funny. Funny dont even come close. Funny and dangerous.
In my lifetime and those on either side, there was never a funnier brother tapping into something so human and honest. His gift of gab grinds out commentary through humor with a swagger and vulnerability that transcended race. Hes the brother from another planet, the raisen in the oatmeal, the jackass in the opera, with the cymbals. The lover, the friend, the junkie, the father and brother. Esu, Uncle Ottawa, gatekeeper and savior.
Mudbone was born Richard Franklin Lenox Thomas Pryor in Peoria, Illinois on December 1, 1940. Its thought that his being raised in his grandmothers brothel where his mother was a prostitute might have something to do with his humor being brutally honest and all. Perhaps. You couldntve gotten a more vivid picture of sexemotional addicsfunction if it perched on the edge of this zine and chipped your chubby.
Richard struck a teacher in highschool, got kicked out and hasnt been back since. Teacher probably deserved it, Pryor might say today. Had it coming. The schools probably given him an honarary degree by now.
Getting his start in a small comedy circuit in the early sixties, he toured towns like East Saint Louis, Youngstown, and Pittsburgh. In 1963 he moved to New York City. By 1964 he was on TV- On Broadway Tonight, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Merv Griffin Show. In 1967 he began his movie career with The Busy Body starring Sid Ceasar. He followed with roles in Green Berets and Wild in the Streets.. He wrote for Redd Fox, Flip Wilson, and Mel Brooks. Hell, its Richards fault Blazing Saddles was so damn funny. His humor delivers us to the doorstep of the unacceptables and pushes us off, challanging our laughter with the honest truth. Although his roles in movies like Silver Streak, Bustin Loose, and Stir Crazy stand as pop favorites, Richard Pryor made dozens of other smaller budget films and an equal number of comedy albums. In the seventies, Richard Pryor thrived on the success of his stand up. He earned Grammy awards for the albums That Niggers Grazy in 1974 and Bicentennial Nigger in 1976. Both albums went platinum. In Fact, in his career, he earned five Grammy Awards for best comedy album. We love to hear someone tell us about us. Theres something fascinating and repulsive about it at the same time. Richard had the ability to get on stage and just tell it. Start talking about how he loved movies, next thing you know, hes wondering if John Wayne ever took a shit. I gotta go poo poo, hed laboriously mumble. Hed do fifteen minutes of celebrities and politicians shittin.
Probably the funniest routine to date is the job interview Richard did with Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live. After the normal questions, Chevy started a word exercise in which he would say a word and Pryor would respond by saying the first word that popped into his head.
So Chevy begins by saying, orange.
Pryor responds, apple.
Chevy says, man.
Pryor says. woman.
Good, Chevy says.
Richard says, thanks, and cues the crowds laughter with a long sarcastic face.
The exercise continues up until the point that Chevy takes it right to the hilt. Black man, Chevy says.
Richard responds, White man, nice and simple, almost quiet.
Chase, darkie.
Pryor replies, ofay. And its on.
Its beyond an interview at this point, the both of them throwing every derogatory word out at the other. Pryor and Chase played before us the image that goes through our heads when sitting in any controlled situation not controlled by us. Its so simple and brilliant at once words flying across the table jiggaboo, paleface, hockeypuck, pink toe, eggplant
Then finally Chevy says something almost deadly like, coon.
Pryor says, honky. His chin up, chest out.
Chevy looks at Pryor, hatred brilliantly forms in the eyes of the actors face. Without looking down, because beyond the point of apology, he puts his hands down heavy on the desk and says, nigger. Richard says, dead honky
Richard Pryor is king because of what he has endured. As if two heart attacks and quadruple bypass surgery werent enough, hes been diagnosed with Multiple Sclorocis. Yes, its known that he burned himself up freebasing. But do we all know how? And knowing how, do we think that we could have continued to split ribs worldwide, after telling the world the truth? He was determined, through bringing it to the forefront, to overcome adversity.
Have you ever been in a conversation about Richard and some bastard mentions how he accidentally burned himself up trying to light a crack pipe? Your smile goes forced while you look at your feet, this ignorant loudmouth ruining the moment by reminding you, incorrectly, about June of 1980. Yeah, I was seven But the real reason Richard ran burning and sreaming down his drive and down the block was that he was scared. Perhaps hed given up hope on the only things that drove him at that point- drugs, laughter, love and sex.
Within two years of being hospitalized for burns over 60% of his body, he was back to work. He was determined, through bringing it to the forefront, to overcome adversity. He took it to the big stage in 1982 in the film Live On Sunset Strip in which he spoke honestly and hilariously about his firey jump through the window and down the block. Although working little, healing also meant returning to addiction. Rather than stop, he continued.
Rashon Khan, his former body guard and spiritual advisor told Premiere that Pryors childhood trauma, created a void so big, it didnt matter how famous he got. Some might say that his curse was a blessing in disguise. He blessed audiences worldwide with his ability to make people laugh by looking inward. Pryor admitted his super powers after accepting the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Humor Prize. I feel great about accepting this prize. It is nice to be regarded on par with a great white man now thats funny! I am proud that, like Mark Twain, I have been able to use humor to lessen peoples hatred!
Yes, Richard Pryor is the original king of comedy. Richards honesty shook us to our roots. He uses the world immediately surrounding him to illustrate just how ridiculous we are as humans. In the same breath he shows us our own potential as well. When asked once about his mother he said, at lest she didnt flush me down the toilet, like some.
Richards a chameleon. Endless throughout time, setting pace for those that followed, he played everything from preachers to pimps to presidents and queens. He showed us his low-lifes with priceless spirit and his high yellas whose luck had run out. He wasnt just one man on stage telling jokes. He was a cast of characters explaining how completely insane we are. But the common thread was his ability to exhibit how all of us are human and carry one load or another till we die. He showed us that we all abuse some social lubricant to ease us though life, whether power, sex or Direct T.V. He enters his characters and shows us how they each look upon the world.
Richards birthday was last December. At the time I was working in an office of around two hundred other twenty-somethings. Having found out from a friend, I decided to spread the word among the cubicles. I couldnt believe the number of people who didnt know he was still alive. Most of us dont even realize how big this character is. Todays comics owe their careers to Pryor for showing the world that humans are whacked out and funny as hell. The other day a kid in my neighborhood asked me if I knew Richard Pryor. Never met em, I told him. Having only met the man through his gifts to us through records and films, my admiration and gratitude warrants us united through our shared vision of the world and our place as humans in it. We aint shit. But were funny.
His humor is ferociously, dangerously, meet-me-by-the-crick-so-we-can-piece-it-all-together funny; and it gets dirty on every subject and every body, even you, showing ideosynchrocies in your life that link you to the whino in the line-up. His humor is everywhere. His humor was brutal truth, starting with his own. Hed talk about himself, but then hed talk about you. And then hed talk about your momma. We love and salute you Richard, for overcoming exhibiting your kingdom for us all to see.
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