Episode 1 | 54m 46s | Video has closed captioning.
Richard Pryor was one of the first black men ever on television, he pioneered a new brand of humor and he was a hit. This show defines his lasting impact on comedy and culture, often in his own words, showing us why he is an :ICON.
Aired: 11/23/14
Expired: 04/20/18
- THERE'S NO QUESTION, EVER,
ABOUT WHO THE GREATEST COMEDIAN IS.
IT'S NEVER ANYTHING OTHER THAN RICHARD PRYOR.
- THEY CREATED THE FIVE-SECOND DELAY
ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
BECAUSE OF RICHARD PRYOR.
THEY SAID HE WAS A LOOSE CANNON.
- DO YOU EVER NOTICE HOW NICE WHITE PEOPLE GET
WHEN THERE'S A BUNCH OF NIGGERS AROUND?
RIGHT?
THEY GET OUTSIDE.
THEY TALK TO EVERYBODY.
RIGHT?
THEY SAY, "HI, HOW YOU DOING?
I DON'T KNOW YOU, BUT HERE'S MY WIFE.
HELLO!"
- HE WAS NOT TRYING TO BE THE PROPER BLACK MAN.
RICHARD PRYOR WAS VERY MUCH TRYING TO BE A NIGGER.
- RICHARD PRYOR WAS BORN ON THE EDGE.
IMAGINE BEING BORN IN A BROTHEL.
PEOPLE WEREN'T COMFORTABLE WITH WHERE HE WAS COMING FROM.
AND RICH WAS LIKE, "WELL, THIS IS WHERE I'M FROM.
"THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH.
THIS IS MY LIFE.
I'M GONNA TELL IT."
- RICHARD PRYOR, THE COMEDIAN,
WAS BADLY BURNED IN AN ACCIDENT
AT HIS HOME IN CALIFORNIA LAST NIGHT.
THEY ARE SEVERE ENOUGH TO ENDANGER HIS LIFE.
- I DON'T KNOW, WAS IT ATTEMPTED SUICIDE?
WAS IT AN ACCIDENT?
INCIDENT, WHATEVER.
IT HAPPENED,
AND IT MADE HIM EVEN BIGGER.
[bright music]
♫♫
female announcer: THIS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE IN [rock music]
- RICHARD PRYOR WALKED YOU THROUGH HIS LIFE
AND YOU SAW IT.
HE PUT YOU RIGHT THERE.
YOU WAS ON THE CORNER WITH THE WINO.
YOU WAS ON THE CORNER.
MY GOVERNMENT NAME IS TRACY MORGAN,
I'M A HUMAN BEING, AND I'M FUNNY.
HE NEVER LIED TO US.
WHEN YOU LISTEN TO RICHARD PRYOR TALK ONSTAGE,
IT WAS JUST A FUNNY CONVERSATION,
AND THAT'S WHAT ATTRACTED ME TO STAND-UP.
IF I'MA TELL A STORY ONSTAGE,
IT'S GONNA BE WITH DETAIL AND COLOR.
- HERE, I LEARNED MY HONESTY, AND I LEARNED MY ABILITY
TO CONNECT WITH AUDIENCES AND TO BE VULNERABLE
THROUGH WATCHING RICHARD PRYOR.
I'M NOT VERY RELIGIOUS,
BUT I DON'T HANG ON THE POPE'S EVERY WORD.
I KNOW PEOPLE THAT DO,
AND THAT MUST BE WHAT THAT'S LIKE.
YOU KNOW, TO HAVE SOMEBODY THAT YOU SEE
THAT BECOMES A KIND OF A GUIDING LIGHT FOR YOU.
- WELL, RICHARD PRYOR IS THE COMEDY ICON.
HE WAS KNOWN EVERYWHERE,
AND HE WAS A TRUE AMBASSADOR TO COMEDY.
HE IS MENTIONED IN THE SAME LOVING REVERENCE
AS ALL THOSE OTHER GREAT HUMANITARIANS
THAT WEREN'T COMEDIANS.
- WHAT OTHER COMEDIANS
DO I THINK RICHARD PRYOR INFLUENCED?
ARE YOU CRAZY?
YOU NAME ME A COMEDIAN WHO HADN'T, THROUGH SOME WAY,
HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED BY RICHARD PRYOR,
BECAUSE WE CALL HIM THE KING.
WE CALL HIM THE GREATEST.
FROM ROBIN WILLIAMS
TO ROBIN HARRIS, J ANTHONY BROWN,
BRUCE BRUCE, LOUIS CK,
GEORGE CARLIN, DON RICKLES,
I KNOW JERRY SEINFELD.
YOU NAME ME A COMEDIAN--
CARROT TOP.
EVERYBODY WAS INFLUENCED
BY RICHARD PRYOR.
male narrator: FOR RICHARD PRYOR,
HIS STIRRING JOURNEY THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
BEGAN THE FIRST TIME HE APPEARED ON TELEVISION--
SOMETHING A COMEDIAN NEVER FORGETS.
- ON BROADWAY TONIGHT,
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TELEVISION,
RICHARD PRYOR.
[applause]
- THE VERY FIRST TIME I WAS EVER ON TV DOING STAND-UP,
IT HAPPENED SO QUICK THAT I DIDN'T EVEN
HAVE TIME TO GET NERVOUS.
- I'M GONNA TELL YOU A FEW THINGS ABOUT MYSELF,
BECAUSE A LOT OF YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW ME.
I'M NOT A NEW YORKER.
MY HOME'S IN PEORIA, ILLINOIS.
- THEY ASKED ME DID I HAVE SEVEN MINUTES,
SO I SAID "YEAH,"
AND THEY SAID, "GO OUT ONSTAGE,"
AND I WAS ONSTAGE, SO I DIDN'T HAVE TIME.
- I'M FROM A AVERAGE-TYPE FAMILY.
11 KIDS.
NO MOTHER OR FATHER.
JUST KIDS.
- WHEN YOU WALK ONSTAGE NOW, AND YOU KNOW
THESE PEOPLE HAVE PAID TO COME SEE YOU.
- I GRABBED THE CROOK.
THAT WAS THE WRONG MOVE.
- I ALREADY KNOW EVERY NIGHT, BEFORE I GO ONSTAGE,
I'M GONNA HAVE A GOOD TIME,
WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT.
- HE THREW ME DOWN.
I GOT UP.
HE KNOCKED ME DOWN.
I GOT UP.
HE KICKED ME DOWN.
HE SAID, "GET UP."
I SAID, "HA HA HA."
- AND THE NEXT FIVE TO SEVEN MINUTES
IS A COMPLETE BLUR.
IT'S OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCE.
I REMEMBER, AT ONE POINT,
I WAS UP ABOVE MYSELF LOOKING DOWN AT ME
DOING STAND-UP.
- THEN MY WIFE THREW HIM ACROSS THE FURNITURE.
SHE SLAPPED ME.
THE POLICE CAME.
SHE BEAT THEM UP.
THEY TOOK HER AWAY.
ME AND THE CROOK LIVING HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
THE END.
GOOD NIGHT.
- AND IF YOU DID WELL,
THE NEXT DAY, YOU KNOW, IT ALL CHANGES.
- EVEN WHEN HE WAS SUPPOSEDLY SQUARE AND LEGIT,
HIS HEART WAS STILL IN THE STREETS.
DR. TODD BOYD, PROFESSOR OF CRITICAL STUDIES,
USC SCHOOL OF CINEMATIC ARTS.
THIS SORT OF PERSPECTIVE
OF A BLACK MAN FROM THIS GENERATION
WHO'S CONNECTED TO THE STREETS
AND HOW YOU USE LANGUAGE
TO SORT OF COMMUNICATE THIS WAS VERY FAMILIAR TO ME.
RICHARD PRYOR'S INTERESTING
BECAUSE HE'S SOMEONE WHO'S FROM THE MIDWEST
AND SORT OF MOVED THROUGH
VARIOUS LOW-LEVEL CIRCLES IN THE MIDWEST.
EVENTUALLY MADE HIS WAY INTO NEW YORK.
- AT EASE.
AT EASE.
THAT'S RIGHT.
I'M TIRED OF TELLING YOU THIS, GUYS.
OVER AND OVER, EVERY TIME I TURN AROUND, I GOT TO TELL YOU.
THE TORPEDO TUBES ARE ON THE LEFT.
THE LAVATORY'S ON THE RIGHT.
- YOU CAN TAKE ALL THE RANCOR OUT OF IT,
YOU CAN TAKE THE-- ALL THE MISOGYNY OUT OF IT,
AND YOU STILL HAVE A VERY, VERY FUNNY MAN.
MY NAME IS CECIL BROWN.
I AM A FRIEND OF RICHARD PRYOR.
THE COMEDY OF RICHARD PRYOR IS UNIVERSAL,
AND THAT KIND OF HUMOR ADDRESSES THE NEW MILLENNIUM VERY WELL.
VERY WELL.
THE TYPE OF COMEDY RICHARD WAS DOING WHEN I FIRST MET HIM
WAS CALLED "WHITE BREAD HUMOR."
NO CURSE WORDS.
NO REFERENCES TO ANYTHING
SUCH AS RACE, SEX, OR DRUGS.
- LAST WEEK WE'S WATCHING TELEVISION.
I HEARD A KNOCK ON THE DOOR.
I SAID TO MY WIFE,
"THERE'S A KNOCK ON THE DOOR."
- RICHARD STARTS OUT AS A PERSON
IMITATING BILL COSBY.
- TO BE GREAT, YOU GOT TO STUDY THE GREATS.
BILL COSBY WAS INSPIRATION FOR RICHARD PRYOR.
- YOU KNOW, THIS SKINNY GUY,
AND HIS, LIKE, YOU KNOW, SUIT IS TOO BIG.
RICHARD PRYOR WAS TRYING TO BE THE BEST HE COULD BE.
- I LIKE NEW YORK CITY.
I'VE BEEN WORKING IN THE VILLAGE IN COFFEE HOUSES,
AND I LIKE IT, BECAUSE THEY DON'T SERVE ANY BOOZE,
JUST COFFEE, ICE CREAM, WEIRD PILLS,
AND IT'S PRETTY WILD.
- AND THEN RICHARD PROBABLY THOUGHT
THAT HE HAD TO BE LIKE BILL TO BE IN.
- HE'S NOT, SORT OF, TAKING A STRONG POLITICAL STAND.
HE'S NOT ATTEMPTING TO BE CONFRONTATIONAL.
HE'S QUITE THE OPPOSITE.
- [groaning] AMEN.
- AND HE STARTED BACK IN THE DAY WHEN THERE WERE NO BLACKS ON TV,
AND IT WAS SO LONG AGO, IT WAS ONLY BLACK-AND-WHITE TVs,
SO YOU HAD TO BE EITHER BLACK OR WHITE.
EITHER WAY, YOU HAD NO CHOICE.
- I THINK HE WAS JUST FINDING HIS WAY.
YOU WANT TO SELL TICKETS AND YOU WANT TO BE POPULAR.
- OH, YOU GUYS ARE FACETIOUS.
[laughter]
WHAT'D HE SAY, MAN?
I DON'T KNOW.
YOU WANT TO KILL HIM?
- WHAT CAN I DO TO GET SOME OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES
THAT ARE POTENTIALLY AVAILABLE?
- HERE HE IS, OUR OWN LITTLE RICHIE PRYOR.
RICHIE!
narrator: PRYOR'S NON-OFFENSIVE PHYSICAL STYLE
IS GAINING LOTS OF ATTENTION.
HE IS NOW A RISING STAND-UP COMIC STAR
AND A FREQUENT GUEST
ON THE MERV GRIFFIN SYNDICATED TALK SHOW.
- EVERY BLACK PERSON IN AMERICA WATCHED RICHARD PRYOR.
- HOW YOU DO THAT, RICHARD?
YOU JUST--
- [in high-pitched voice] I DON'T KNOW.
I JUST KIND OF GO OUT THERE AND I JUST DO IT.
I DON'T KNOW HOW.
- BECAUSE THAT'S ALL WE DID.
WE NEVER SAW ANY BLACK PEOPLE BACK THEN.
EVERYBODY WOULD CALL ON THE TELEPHONE.
EVERYBODY WOULD GO TO EVERYBODY'S HOUSE.
IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE A TV,
YOU SHOWED UP AT SOMEBODY'S HOME WITH A TELEVISION.
[laughter]
- OH, THAT'S IN MY TEETH.
YOU'RE UNDER ARREST.
- NOW WHAT DO WE DO?
- SMOKE A CIGARETTE.
THEY TASTE GOOD.
MAYBE THEY SMOKE WELL.
- AND HE'S FUNNY,
BUT THAT RICHARD PRYOR'S VERY DIFFERENT
THAN THE RICHARD PRYOR WHO BECOMES POPULAR IN THE 1970s.
THAT'S ALMOST A DIFFERENT GUY.
narrator: DESPITE HIS METEORIC RISE TO SUCCESS,
RICHARD PRYOR IS RESTLESS.
HE'S BEGINNING TO FEEL CONSTRAINED ONSTAGE.
- HE'S NOT FULLY EXPRESSING HIMSELF
IN THE WAY THAT HE WOULD LIKE.
HE'S REALLY AN IMITATOR OF OTHER COMICS.
narrator: AS PRYOR CONTINUES TO PERFORM
A BILL COSBY STYLE OF COMEDY,
THE TASTE OF AMERICAN POP CULTURE
IS NOW REFLECTING THE SWELLING TIDES
OF SOCIAL CHANGE AND UNREST.
NOWHERE IS THIS REFLECTED MORE THAN IN NEW YORK CITY.
- RICHARD TAUGHT ME A LOT OF WHAT NOT TO DO.
[laughs]
HE WAS DEFINITELY A ROLE MODEL OF WHAT NOT TO DO.
HE THOUGHT I WAS, LIKE, THE SQUAREST...
[laughing]
GUY ON THE PLANET.
- IT WAS A VERY VIBRANT TIME IN NEW YORK.
THERE WAS SOCIAL ACTIVISM IN THE STREETS.
IF YOU WEREN'T DOING SOCIALLY RELEVANT MATERIAL,
YOU WEREN'T REALLY RELEVANT YOURSELF.
- NOW, WHAT'S HAPPENING IS HIS MOVE AWAY
FROM, SAY, PURELY PHYSICAL COMEDY--
GAGS AND STUNTS AND SKITS--
TO WHAT WE MIGHT CALL MORE INTELLECTUAL COMEDY,
MORE POLITICAL COMEDY.
- RICHARD TRIED TO BE SAFE IN THE BEGINNING.
I DON'T THINK HE FOUND MUCH HAPPINESS
IN TRYING TO BE SOMEBODY ELSE.
narrator: IN SEPTEMBER 1967,
PRYOR HAS WHAT HE WOULD LATER CALL AN EPIPHANY.
PRYOR WAS PERFORMING AT THE ALADDIN HOTEL
IN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA.
- AND HE WOULD MENTION SOME OF THE RAT-PACK PEOPLE
WERE SITTING AND WATCHING HIM.
- HE WAS ONSTAGE,
AND EVERYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE SITTING IN JACKETS.
YOU COULDN'T GO TO A SHOW UNLESS YOU HAD A JACKET ON
AND A SHIRT AND TIE.
HE WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE FEW BLACK PEOPLE IN THE CLUB.
- AND RICHARD SORT OF REALIZES
THAT HE'S IMITATING THIS VERY SQUARE GUY IN BILL COSBY.
HE'S NOT FOUND HIS OWN VOICE.
- AND HE THOUGHT THE IDEA OF HIM
WAS OF A JOKE, A RIDICULOUS PERSON.
- COMICS WANT TO ENTERTAIN PEOPLE,
BUT THEY ALSO WANT TO KEEP THEIR SELF-RESPECT.
- KIND OF BOILED OVER,
AND WHEN HE LOOKED IN THE AUDIENCE
AND SAW HIM TELLING JOKES
TO PEOPLE THAT LOOKED AT HIM ODD--
I MEAN, IF THEY'RE GONNA LOOK AT YOU,
AT LEAST HAVE THEM LOOK AT YOU AS A MAN.
- YOUR SELF-RESPECT IS BEING CHALLENGED,
AND YOU TAKE IT VERY PERSONAL.
- AND RICHARD SAID HE WAS SO EMBARRASSED
THAT HE WALKED OFF THE STAGE.
- A VERY IMPORTANT TURNING POINT IN HIS CAREER,
BECAUSE THIS IS THE MOMENT WHEN HE DECIDES
THE OLD RICHARD PRYOR IS GOING TO BE LAID TO REST.
- HE WALKED OFF THE STAGE IN THE WRONG DIRECTION,
AND THEY TOLD HIM, "YOU GOT TO GO BACK ACROSS THE STAGE."
HE SAID, "NO, I'M NOT GOING BACK ACROSS THAT STAGE."
- IT'S ALMOST POETIC THAT THIS GUY
WHO, IN THE NEXT DECADE WILL BECOME THIS HUGE STAR,
ARRIVES AT THIS POINT BY WALKING AWAY
FROM SOMETHING--IT'S WORKING.
IT'S A COMING-TO-CONSCIOUSNESS.
IT'S A TRANSITION FROM ONE PHASE TO THE NEXT.
narrator: RICHARD FRANKLIN LENNOX THOMAS PRYOR
WAS BORN DECEMBER 1, 1940, IN PEORIA, ILLINOIS.
- PEORIA, ILLINOIS, IS ONE OF A NUMBER OF MIDWESTERN TOWNS
THAT WOULD DEVELOP A SIZEABLE BLACK POPULATION.
narrator: PRYOR'S FATHER, LEROY "BUCK CARTER" PRYOR,
WAS A FORMER GOLDEN GLOVES BOXER AND A PIMP.
HIS MOTHER, GERTRUDE THOMAS,
WAS A BOOKKEEPER AND A PROSTITUTE.
- NOW, I DON'T THINK ONE HAS TO THINK TOO FAR AND TOO LONG
TO IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE
TO BE THE SON OF A PROSTITUTE.
narrator: BOTH PARENTS WERE VIOLENT AND ALCOHOLIC.
HIS FATHER RARELY SAW HIM,
AND HIS MOTHER ABANDONED HIM WHEN HE WAS TEN.
PRYOR WOULD LATER RECONCILE WITH HER.
[applause]
- SO MY REAL MOTHER CALLS ME UP ON THE TELEPHONE,
AND SHOCKS ME, MAN, AND SHE COMES UP,
AND I'M REALLY HAPPY ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW.
THAT'S MY MOTHER.
- IS SHE HERE?
- COME ON, MOM.
DON'T HIDE YOUR FACE.
RIGHT THERE.
- I DIDN'T KNOW THAT.
[applause]
- SHE'S BEAUTIFUL, MAN, AND I JUST DON'T KNOW.
SHE USED TO--SHE'S BEEN TRYING TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ME
AND STUFF LIKE THAT, AND I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT.
narrator: HIS GRANDMOTHER WOULD BE
HIS SOLE MEANS OF SUPPORT AS A CHILD.
- RICHARD'S GRANDMOTHER RAN A BROTHEL,
WHAT RICHARD WOULD CALL A HO HOUSE.
HIS MOTHER WORKED IN THE BROTHEL
AS A PROSTITUTE.
RICHARD JUST HAPPENED TO GROW UP IN ONE OF THOSE MANY BROTHELS.
narrator: PRYOR'S GRANDMOTHER, MARIE CARTER,
WAS A VIOLENT WOMAN
WHO WOULD BEAT HIM FOR ANY OF HIS MISCHIEF.
- THE ENVIRONMENT IS ONE, YOU KNOW,
DEFINED BY ABUSE OF ALL SORTS.
- SELFISHLY, WE WANTED MORE FROM HIM.
YOU KNOW, WE BEGAN TO GET IT NOW,
AND YOU WANT SOMEONE THAT WAS THAT HONEST WITH YOU,
AND NOW THAT IT'S NOT IN, YOU ALWAYS
MISS THE WATER WHEN THE WELL IS DRY.
MY NAME IS RASHON KHAN,
AND I'VE BEEN CALLED RICHARD'S BODYGUARD,
BUT I WOULD LIKE TO REFER TO IT AS
ONE OF HIS FRIENDS.
THE RICHARD PRYOR STORY, FOR ME,
BEING TOLD AND WHO WOULD TELL IT
AND HOW WOULD IT BE TOLD,
BECAUSE IF IT DOESN'T REFLECT RICHARD'S HONESTY,
IT'S A BULL[bleep] STORY.
FOR HIM TO SAY, "THE MOUTH THAT WOULD KISS ME GOOD NIGHT
JUST PERFORMED THIS ACT."
JUST TO HAVE THAT THOUGHT AS A KID,
AND HOW MANY GOOD NIGHT KISSES DID YOU GET?
HOW MANY ACTS DID YOU SEE?
- SEEING THE ONLY WHITE GUYS COMING TO YOUR HOUSE
ARE GUYS LOOKING TO GET LAID, YOU KNOW,
AND BEING A LITTLE KID
AND LOOKING UP AND SEEING THESE PEOPLE
HAD TO BE TRAUMATIC.
- YOU GOT TO UNDERSTAND,
RICHARD PRYOR NEVER HAD A NORMAL LIFE.
OF COURSE IT'S GONNA BE DIFFICULT.
narrator: LIVING IN ONE OF THE WORST SLUM AREAS IN PEORIA,
YOUNG PRYOR OFTEN FOUND HIMSELF THE TARGET OF GANGS.
HIS SENSE OF HUMOR WAS HIS ONLY DEFENSE MECHANISM,
AND PRYOR SOON DEVELOPED THE REPUTATION
AS A CLASS CUTUP.
HIS DIFFICULT CHILDHOOD WOULD PROVIDE
A WEALTH OF MATERIAL HE WOULD LATER MINE
FOR STAND-UP ROUTINES.
- THERE ARE AFTER-HOURS JOINT.
THE COPS WHO COME IN THESE PLACES
AND THE NUMBERS RUNNERS
AND VARIOUS AND SUNDRY OTHER INDIVIDUALS
AND THE WAY IN WHICH THEY SPOKE--
THESE WERE THE PEOPLE RICHARD GREW UP AROUND.
THESE WERE THE VOICES HE HEARD AS A CHILD.
THIS IS THE BLUEPRINT
FOR EVERYTHING HE WOULD DO GOING FORWARD.
- WITH COMEDY, I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE IT'S A STEW.
THAT, FOR THE FIRST 18 YEARS OF YOUR LIFE,
IT'S SITTING ON THE STOVE,
AND ALL YOUR LIFE EXPERIENCES GET PUT INTO IT,
AND IT'S BUBBLING,
AND IF IT COOKS AT THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE--
YOU KNOW, LIKE, SOMETIMES IT GETS TOO HIGH,
SOMETIMES IT'S TOO LOW--
WHAT YOU END UP WITH AT THE END OF THAT 18 YEARS
OR HOW MANY YEARS FOR YOUR DEVELOPMENT,
I THINK THAT'S WHAT MAKES YOU WHO YOU ARE.
narrator: AS A CHILD, PRYOR'S ESCAPE FROM HIS TROUBLED LIFE
WAS THE SILVER SCREEN.
WHILE SEATED IN THE BLACK-ONLY SEATS IN LOCAL CINEMAS,
HE ESPECIALLY LOVED WESTERNS,
STIRRING WITHIN THE YOUNG CHILD
A WILD AMBITION TO BECOME A STAR.
[gunshots]
ANOTHER UNLIKELY HOLLYWOOD ICON
FUELED PRYOR'S PASSION TO PERFORM.
- MY GRANDMOTHER, WHEN WE MOVED,
SHE HAD A BUNCH OF RECORDS UPSTAIRS--
OLD DORIS DAY RECORDS--
AND I'D GO UPSTAIRS AND, YEAH, LISTEN TO THOSE,
AND IMAGINE I WAS IN A PLAY AND IMAGINE I WAS IN HOLLYWOOD.
- FOR RICHARD, HIS CIRCUMSTANCES WERE SO DIRE
THAT IT WAS MOTIVATION.
CAN IT GET ANY WORSE?
HOW DO I GET OUT OF HERE?
WELL, IF YOU'RE SOMEONE WHO'S MOTIVATED,
THAT CAN BE A VERY GOOD, YOU KNOW,
INSTIGATOR OF CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE,
AND I THINK FOR RICHARD PRYOR IT WAS.
[marchers chanting]
narrator: LOOKING TO ESCAPE THE NEIGHBORHOOD HE GREW UP IN,
PRYOR JOINED THE ARMY IN 1958.
LIKE BILL COSBY, PRYOR SAW THE ARMED FORCES
AS AN OPPORTUNITY OF ADVANCEMENT.
HOWEVER, DUE TO A RACIALLY CHARGED INCIDENT,
HE SPENT VIRTUALLY THE ENTIRE TWO YEARS OF HIS ENLISTMENT
IN AN ARMY PRISON IN EUROPE
FOR SLASHING A SOLDIER WITH A SWITCHBLADE.
UPON HIS DISCHARGE FROM THE ARMY,
PRYOR GOT HIS FIRST CABARET GIG
AT AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN NIGHTCLUB IN PEORIA,
WHERE HE SANG AND PLAYED THE PIANO.
- IN SOME WAYS, IT SORT OF TAUGHT HIM
A RANGE OF DIFFERENT SHOW BUSINESS STYLES.
RICHARD'S FROM AN ERA WHEN YOU MIGHT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING.
MAYBE THAT NIGHT, YOU NEEDED TO SING.
MAYBE THIS NIGHT, YOU NEED TO TELL JOKES.
SO YOU HAD TO BE FAMILIAR WITH ALL THESE THINGS.
narrator: REALIZING THAT AUDIENCES PREFER HIS JOKES
TO HIS SINGING,
PRYOR BEGAN TO WORK AS A COMIC
IN MIDWESTERN, ALL-BLACK COMEDY CLUBS.
IN 1963, FUELED BY HIS AMBITION TO BECOME A STAR,
HE LEFT THE MIDWEST FOR NEW YORK CITY.
HE WOULD HONE HIS ACT IN GREENWICH VILLAGE NIGHTCLUBS
ALONGSIDE A YOUNG GEORGE CARLIN
AND RICHIE HAVENS.
BUT GROWING UP AS AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN
IN A PEORIA, ILLINOIS, BROTHEL
WOULD BE THE BLUEPRINT OF A LIFE
RICHARD PRYOR COULD NEVER ESCAPE.
- IF YOU GROW UP IN A WHOREHOUSE,
IT'S A PRETTY GOOD CHANCE THAT, YOU KNOW,
YOU'RE GOING TO BEAR SOME SCARS OF THAT, YOU KNOW,
AS YOU GROW UP AND BECOME AN ADULT.
- SO I THINK, WITH RICHARD PRYOR,
HE WAS THE ALCHEMIST THAT WAS ABLE TO TRANSFORM
ALL OF THE TRAGEDY INTO A--INTO A DRINK
THAT EVERYBODY WANTED A SIP OF.
narrator: AFTER WALKING OFF THE STAGE IN LAS VEGAS
IN SEPTEMBER OF 1967,
RICHARD PRYOR FOUND HIMSELF BANNED FROM MANY NIGHTCLUBS,
ALLEGEDLY DUE TO OFFENDING THE MOB-CONNECTED NIGHTCLUB OWNERS.
- NOBODY WALKS OUT ON DEAN MARTIN
AND THESE BIG GUYS, AND ALL THESE PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE.
- BACK THEN, IT WAS IN VARIETY,
AND IN VEGAS, THEY WERE LIKE, "WE DON'T WANT HIM."
narrator: NOW BROKE, HE HITCHED A RIDE
TO BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.
- TO TAKE THAT AND LEAVE,
KNOWING THAT THAT WAS THE WAY YOU MADE YOUR LIVING,
AND JUST SAID, "I'M NOT DOING THIS,"
AND GO AND FIND YOURSELF WITH VERY LITTLE MONEY.
narrator: PRYOR WAS IN THE EPICENTER
OF THE AMERICAN COUNTERCULTURE.
- FREE SPEECH MOVEMENT.
THE SDS MOVEMENT AT BERKELEY,
AND THEN, LATER, THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY.
- YOU HAD THE WHITES PROTESTING THE WAR IN VIETNAM.
- AND IT'S THE HEIGHT OF, SORT OF, RACIAL CONFLICT,
ATTEMPTS AT ENDING RACIAL SEGREGATION IN THE SOUTH,
THE PASSING OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT
FOLLOWED BY THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT--
A VERY POLITICALLY CHARGED ERA.
- IN ADDITION TO THAT,
YOU HAD THE RESURGENCE OF DRUGS.
- RICHARD'S IN THE MIDST OF ALL THIS.
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO BE THERE
AND NOT BE TOUCHED BY THESE THINGS.
HE MEETS HUEY P. NEWTON, HEAD OF THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY.
RICHARD TALKS ABOUT READING THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X
AND HOW MUCH THAT INFLUENCED HIM.
- YOU COULDN'T SEPARATE RICHARD FROM THE TIMES.
- I THINK WHAT RICHARD EXPERIENCED
WAS, IN SOME WAYS, A KIND OF, LIKE,
A SPIRITUAL CONVERSION.
HE, YOU KNOW, REALIZED WHO HE HAD BEEN,
AN IMITATOR,
SOMEONE WHO WAS VERY GOOD AT IMITATING OTHER PEOPLE,
BUT WHEN YOU'RE IMITATING OTHER PEOPLE,
YOU'RE NOT BEING YOUR TRUE SELF.
narrator: WHILE AT BERKELEY, PRYOR CAME TO THE REALIZATION
THAT HE COULDN'T SIT ON THE SIDELINE
AND WATCH THE SOCIAL AND RACIAL INEQUALITY THAT SURROUNDED HIM
CONTINUE UNOPPOSED.
HE NEEDED TO BE INVOLVED.
HE NEEDED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH HIS COMEDY.
- YOU EVER NOTICE HOW NICE WHITE PEOPLE GET
WHEN THERE'S A BUNCH OF NIGGERS AROUND?
RIGHT?
THEY GET OUTSIDE.
THEY TALK TO EVERYBODY.
RIGHT?
THEY SAY, "HI, HOW YOU DOING?
I DON'T KNOW YOU, BUT HERE'S MY WIFE.
HELLO!"
narrator: WHILE ON SABBATICAL IN BERKELEY,
RICHARD PRYOR FINDS HIS VOICE.
- WELL, THIS IS FUN PART FOR ME,
WHEN THE WHITE PEOPLE COME BACK AFTER INTERMISSION
AND FIND OUT NIGGERS DONE STOLE THEIR SEATS.
YOU NIGGERS TAKING A CHANCE
BEING IN LONG BEACH, THOUGH, JACK.
I SAW THE POLICE HAD SOME BROTHER JACKED UP
WHEN WE WAS COMING IN HERE.
NIGGER'S HANDS WAY UP HERE,
TALKING 'BOUT, "HUH?
WHAT?"
AND THEY'RE SEARCHING AND [bleep].
BET THEY TAKE HIM AWAY TO JAIL.
- WHEN HE CAME TO BERKELEY,
HE SAID HE WANT TO DO SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT,
OTHERWISE HE WAS GONNA FINISH WITH DOING COMEDY.
- THERE WAS TIMES I HAD TO THROW MY WHOLE ACT AWAY
AND SAY, "YOU KNOW, I'MA DO THIS--
"I'M GONNA DO MY MATERIAL THE WAY I--THIS IS MY LIFE.
"THIS IS WHAT I DIG.
THIS IS WHAT IT WAS BEFORE SHOW BUSINESS."
- AND WHAT HE DID IN BERKELEY--
WAS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT--
WAS TO INVOKE ALL OF THOSE TABOO SUBJECTS
LIKE RACE, SEX, POVERTY--
ALL THE THINGS HE COULDN'T TALK ABOUT ON TELEVISION.
- I REMEMBER THINKING THAT WAS GOOD,
YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I THINK COMICS ARE MOSTLY ANARCHISTS.
YOU KNOW, I'M ALL FOR ANARCHY
AS LONG AS I CAN KEEP ROOM SERVICE.
narrator: PRYOR LEFT BERKELEY WITH A REJUVENATED CAREER.
- I THINK HIS CAREER WAS OVER
WHEN HE WALKED OFF THE STAGE OF THE ALADDIN,
BUT THAT CAREER HE WANTED TO BE OVER.
I THINK A NEW RICHARD PRYOR WAS BORN,
AND I THINK ALL THOSE PEOPLE
THAT WERE MAD BECAUSE HE WALKED OFF--
I THINK THEY'D NEVER BOOK HIM AGAIN
UNTIL THEY WERE MADE TO BOOK HIM AGAIN
BECAUSE HIS POPULARITY HAD SUPERSEDED THEIR PREJUDICE,
YOU KNOW, THEIR IGNORANCE AND THEIR STUPIDITY,
BECAUSE RICHARD PRYOR BECAME A MAN THAT DAY,
A COMIC'S COMIC, YOU KNOW, A COMEDY GENIUS.
- HE HIT ROCK BOTTOM WITH NO MONEY
AND HAD WHITE GIRLFRIENDS IN BERKELEY
AND HUNG OUT WITH THE BLACK PANTHERS,
AND THEN CAME BACK RICHARD PRYOR.
- AND ONCE RICHARD DISCOVERED HIS VOICE,
THE GENIE WAS OUT OF THE BOTTLE,
AND HE WAS NOT GOING BACK IN.
narrator: THE NEW RICHARD PRYOR
WAS GOING TO WAR WITH THE STATUS QUO.
- YEAH, TWO GRAB YOUR LEGS, ONE GRAB YOUR HEAD,
THEY'LL SNAP-- "OH, [bleep], HE BROKE.
"CAN YOU BREAK A NIGGER?
IS IT OKAY?
"LET'S CHECK THE MANUAL.
YEP, PAGE EIGHT.
'YOU CAN BREAK A NIGGER,' RIGHT THERE."
narrator: AND HIS WEAPON OF CHOICE WAS HIS VOCABULARY.
- THE POINT WAS TO USE THE LANGUAGE AS A WEAPON,
TO USE THE LANGUAGE TO DRAW ATTENTION
TO, YOU KNOW, THESE LARGER SOCIAL ISSUES,
AND, YOU KNOW, AS IS OFTEN THE CASE,
A LOT OF TRUTH IS SAID IN JEST.
- THE WORD "NIGGER" IS NOT A PERSON.
IT'S A PERSONALITY,
AND THAT'S WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT.
RICHARD PRYOR SAID,
"THE WORD NIGGER DESCRIBES OUR OWN WRETCHEDNESS."
- I THINK HE WAS SPEAKING THE SPEAK
HE HEARD IN HIS HEAD,
AND I THINK IT WAS AUTHENTIC TO HIM,
BUT I DON'T THINK IT WAS VULGAR.
I DON'T THINK HE WAS TRYING TO BE VULGAR.
I DON'T THINK HE WAS TRYING TO SHOCK ANYONE.
I THINK HE PROBABLY SPOKE LIKE THAT ALL THE TIME.
- YOU KNOW, PLANNED PROFANITY IS NOT COMEDY.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S A SPONTANEITY
THAT IT JUST SLIDES IN.
IT JUST--IT JUST IS,
AND IT'S NOT PLANNED.
- BUT RICHARD, WHEN HE DID IT,
THERE WAS SOME SUBSTANCE THERE.
THERE WAS A MEANING
AND A REASON WHY HE USED IT.
- THERE'S A FILTER OF FRUSTRATION IN THE PROJECTS.
POVERTY, FRUSTRATION-- IT'S A POWDER KEG.
THAT'S WHERE IT COMES FROM.
PEOPLE USE THOSE WORDS
WHEN THERE'S FRUSTRATION AND ALL THAT AND POVERTY.
I'M FROM THAT.
RICHARD WAS FROM THAT.
- BLACK FUNERALS ARE DIFFERENT THAN WHITE FUNERALS, RIGHT?
BLACK PEOPLE LET IT HANG OUT AT THE FUNERAL.
THEY DON'T CARE, THEY'RE-- WAH!
[wailing]
TAKE ME, GOD, TAKE ME, TAKE ME, TAKE ME.
RIGHT, AND THEN THEY FALL ALL ON YOUR ASS.
RIGHT, IT'S LIKE, "GODDAMN, BABY.
GET YOUR BIG ASS UP."
narrator: PRYOR'S NEW ACT WAS A POTENT MIX
OF COLORFUL EPITHETS,
PAINFULLY ACCURATE CHARACTER STUDIES OF STREET TYPES,
AND HILARIOUS HOSTILITY OF BLACK-WHITE INEQUITIES.
- WHEN YOU WAS IN HIS WORLD, IT WAS A CIRCUS,
AND HE TALKED ABOUT IT.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY.
- BUT REALLY, WHAT HE'S DOING
IS THE SAME THING CATS STANDING ON THE STREET CORNER ARE DOING,
CATS IN THE POOL HALL ARE DOING, CATS ON THE BANDSTAND ARE DOING.
THIS IS ALL HE'S DOING.
HE'S THE MOUTHPIECE,
BUT NOW, THIS WAY OF SPEAKING
CAN BE EXPRESSED IN THE PUBLIC,
WHEREAS BEFORE, IT WAS PRIVATE.
narrator: PRYOR HAD STRUCK A RAW NERVE
IN THE PART OF AMERICA THAT WAS STILL LIVING IN DENIAL
OVER ITS PREJUDICES.
- SO THE REASON PEOPLE ARE UPSET
IS BECAUSE THESE PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS
THAT BLACK PEOPLE WERE HAVING AMONGST THEMSELF
WERE NOW BEING BROADCAST THROUGH THE PUBLIC.
RICHARD WAS LIKE THE MEGAPHONE.
- NOW, THAT MIGHT NOT MAKE PEOPLE COMFORTABLE,
BUT THAT WAS RICHARD, AND RICH WAS LIKE,
"WELL, THIS IS WHERE THE [bleep] I'M FROM.
"THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH.
THIS IS MY LIFE.
I'M GONNA TELL IT."
narrator: AND AUDIENCES ATE IT UP.
- YOU COULD DISAGREE WITH IT,
BUT YOU COULDN'T IGNORE IT.
HE MADE IT SO THAT YOU HAD TO DEAL WITH THESE IDEAS
THAT, OTHERWISE, PEOPLE WOULD PREFER TO SWEEP UNDER THE RUG.
HE WAS SO IN-YOUR-FACE, HE WAS SO BLUNT,
HE WAS SO DIRECT, BUT THAT'S PART OF THE POLITICS--
TO FORCE PEOPLE TO DEAL WITH IT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
narrator: MUCH TO THE SURPRISE OF RECORD EXECUTIVES,
PRYOR'S CAREER SOARED.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN AUDIENCES LOVED HIM,
BUT WHITE AUDIENCES PURCHASED HIS ALBUMS AS WELL.
- YOU TELL THEM THE TITLE OF THE ALBUM.
I CAN'T SAY THAT.
THE TITLE OF THE ALBUM IS...
- MY DADDY-- - THAT NIGGER'S CRAZY.
AND THEN DON'T THAT NIGGER LOOK CRAZY?
THAT IS ONE CRAZY NIGGER.
- WELL, DON'T YOU GET--SEE, NOW, YOU CAN JUST SAY THAT, AND...
- YEAH, WELL, LOOK.
- IF I SAID THAT, WOULDN'T YOU GET MAD?
- I'D PUNCH YOU OUT.
[laughs]
[cheers and applause]
- BEFORE RICHARD PRYOR, NO RAPPER
OR NO ONE COULD PUBLICLY USE THE LANGUAGE
THAT JAY Z AND OTHERS HAVE USED TO MAKE THEMSELVES MILLIONAIRES.
BEFORE RICHARD PRYOR, NO ONE COULD EVEN BEGIN
TO USE LANGUAGE IN THE WAY THAT RAPPERS DO.
RICHARD WAS THE PIONEER ON THAT LEVEL.
narrator: LOCKED AND LOADED
WITH THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL AND PROFANE ACT
IN STAND-UP COMEDY,
RICHARD PRYOR IS ON THE FAST TRACK TO STARDOM.
- HE BROUGHT BLACK AND WHITE AUDIENCES
INTO THE SAME ARENA, SITTING NEXT TO EACH OTHER,
WHILE HE DID IMPRESSIONS OF WHITE PEOPLE,
AND NOT TOO MANY PEOPLE
HAD DONE IMPRESSIONS OF WHITE PEOPLE AT THE TIME,
AND IT WAS A VERY, VERY FUNNY THING.
- YEAH, COME ON, PECKER-HEAD.
SON OF A BITCH, COME ON.
narrator: PRYOR GOES ON MULTIPLE TOURS
WHILE RELEASING A SERIES OF GRAMMY-WINNING ALBUMS
THAT GO PLATINUM IN SALES.
- HE JUST CHANGED THE WORLD,
AND IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE A RICHARD PRYOR ALBUM,
YOU HAD--YOU SHOULDN'T BE IN COMEDY.
I MEAN, YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO THOSE ALBUMS TODAY,
AND THEY'LL STILL MAKE YOU LAUGH.
- I MEAN, HIS ALBUMS ARE, LIKE,
THE MOST POPULAR THING IN THE WORLD,
AND HE BECOMES A FIGURE
WHO IS CUTTING ACROSS THE CULTURE.
YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC CAN'T SEEM TO GET ENOUGH OF HIM.
narrator: IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
BEFORE HOLLYWOOD COMES CALLING
TO CASH IN ON PRYOR'S POPULARITY.
- RICHARD PRYOR'S TRANSITION FROM STAND-UP TO MOVIES
IS A NATURAL PROGRESSION IN HOLLYWOOD.
FUNNY IS MONEY.
narrator: IN WHAT COULD BE CONSIDERED
THE BIGGEST BREAK IN HIS CAREER,
HE IS CAST TO PLAY OPPOSITE DIANA ROSS
AND BILLY DEE WILLIAMS IN LADY SINGS THE BLUES.
- RICHARD STOLE THE FILM JUST WITH THAT LITTLE PIECE,
AND HE GOT ALL THE RECOGNITION,
AND IT DIDN'T GO BILLY'S WAY,
AND NOBODY REALLY WAS TALKING ABOUT BILLY IN THE FILM,
EVEN THOUGH HE DID A GREAT JOB.
THEY WAS TALKING ABOUT WHO WAS THIS NEW GUY,
RICHARD PRYOR.
AND FROM THERE ON, RICHARD--
THE MOMENTUM FOR MOVIES STARTED.
narrator: FOR HIS WORK IN LADY SINGS THE BLUES,
PRYOR WOULD EARN CRITICAL ACCLAIM.
- YOU KNOW, THE TRANSITION FROM STAND-UP TO FILM
WASN'T HARD FOR HIM, BECAUSE HE HAD A NATURALNESS
AND HE HAD A DEPTH THAT, YOU KNOW, ACTORS TRY TO FIND.
- NOT EVERYBODY CAN MAKE THAT TRANSITION
TO THE BIG SCREEN, BUT RICHARD PRYOR COULD.
HE UNDERSTOOD WHEN YOU DO IT ON THE SCREEN,
YOU GOT TO PLAY IT BIG.
HE UNDERSTOOD CAMERA ANGLES.
HE UNDERSTOOD HOW TO BE FUNNY ONS--HE WAS BEING HIMSELF.
HE'D LET THE CAMERA FIND HIM.
narrator: HE SOON HAS A THRIVING CAREER
AS A SUPPORTING ACTOR IN FILMS
INCLUDING UPTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT,
THE BINGO LONG TRAVELING ALL-STARS & MOTOR KINGS,
AND THE 1976 RELEASE SILVER STREAK.
- RICHARD PRYOR WAS A GREAT ACTOR BECAUSE HE DIDN'T ACT.
THAT'S WHEN YOU KNOW YOU GOT A GREAT ACTOR.
- THE GREATEST THING ABOUT RICHARD PRYOR
IS THAT AS GREAT A COMIC AS HE WAS,
HIS MOVIES WERE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT,
LIKE HE WAS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSON
IN THE MOVIES,
LIKE HE DIDN'T KNOW HOW GREAT OF AN ACTOR HE WAS.
EVERY SINGLE MOVIE WAS ITS OWN SWEET THING.
- WELL, RICHARD EXPANDED THE VOCABULARY OF BLACK TYPES
AS FAR AS HOLLYWOOD WAS CONCERNED.
narrator: IN GREASED LIGHTNING,
HE PORTRAYS WENDELL SCOTT,
THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN STOCK CAR RACER.
THEN HE AMBITIOUSLY PLAYED THREE ROLES
IN WHICH WAY IS UP?
- AS I WAS DEVELOPING THE FILM WITH RICHARD,
I REALIZED THAT HE COULD PLAY NOT ONLY THE LEAD CHARACTER,
BUT HE COULD PLAY TWO OTHER CHARACTERS:
HIS FATHER AND A BOOTLEG PREACHER.
DEFINITELY THE FIRST BLACK FILM
THAT HAD MULTIPLE CHARACTERS PLAYED BY ONE ACTOR.
AND RICHARD JUST LOVED THAT WHOLE EXPERIENCE
AND WAS HYSTERICALLY FUNNY.
THE HARDEST JOB I HAD WAS TRYING TO KEEP THE CREW FROM LAUGHING.
- AND THAT WAS SO SUCCESSFUL THAT OTHER FILMMAKERS,
LIKE THE COMEDIAN EDDIE MURPHY AND SO FORTH,
THEY START DOING THE SAME THING,
BUT THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS, I THINK,
THAT RICHARD CONTRIBUTED TO FILMMAKING.
- HE IS THE HOTTEST ACT IN POPULAR CULTURE, BAR NONE.
BLACK, WHITE, MUSIC, FILM, WHAT--RICHARD PRYOR IS THE GUY.
narrator: PRYOR ALSO CONTRIBUTES HIS WRITING TALENTS
TO OTHER COMICS.
HE WRITES BITS FOR THE FLIP WILSON SHOW
AND SANFORD AND SON.
IN 1973, HE WINS AND EMMY FOR HIS WRITING
ON THE TELEVISION SPECIAL LILY,
STARRING LILY TOMLIN.
HOWEVER, PRYOR'S WORK IN TELEVISION
WILL PROVE TO BE PROBLEMATIC.
HE WAS TAPPED TO BE A GUEST HOST
ON THE FIRST SEASON OF SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.
- NOW LORNE MICHAELS REALLY WANTS RICHARD TO BE THE HOST
OF THE INAUGURAL SHOW,
WHICH TELLS YOU HOW SIGNIFICANT RICHARD PRYOR IS
AT THAT MOMENT IN 1975.
NBC'S NERVOUS.
narrator: NETWORK EXECUTIVES AND AFFILIATES
THINK RICHARD IS TOO DANGEROUS TO PUT ON LIVE TELEVISION.
- RICHARD HAD A HISTORY.
HE COULDN'T GET INSURED FOR BLAZING SADDLES,
WHICH HE WROTE WITH MEL BROOKS,
BUT THEY END UP PICKING CLEAVON LITTLE
BECAUSE RICHARD HAS HIS REPUTATION
OF FIGHTING AND DRUG USAGE.
- IT WAS LIVE, AND WHEN RICHIE WENT LIVE--
ONCE YOU WALK OUT AND THOSE LIGHTS COME ON,
THAT AUDIENCE-- YOU CAN HAVE A SCRIPT,
YOU CAN HAVE YOUR CUE CARDS THERE,
BUT IF THAT AUDIENCE IS LAUGHING AT SOMETHING,
YOU MIGHT JUST GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
narrator: NBC EXECUTIVES AREN'T WILLING TO TAKE THE RISK.
- THEY COULDN'T PUT HIM ON THE FIRST SHOW--
THE NETWORK WAS CONCERNED--
SO EVENTUALLY, THEY COME UP WITH A DELAY.
RICHARD WOULD SPEAK
AND THE BROADCAST WOULD BE DELAYED
SO THAT THE NETWORK COULD POTENTIALLY CENSOR
ANYTHING HE SAID THAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED OFFENSIVE.
- THEY CREATED THE FIVE-SECOND DELAY ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE,
WHICH I WAS A PART OF FOR SEVEN SEASONS,
BECAUSE OF RICHARD PRYOR.
narrator: TODAY, THANKS TO RICHARD PRYOR,
VIRTUALLY ALL LIVE EVENTS ON BROADCAST TELEVISION
ARE ON A FIVE- TO SEVEN-SECOND DELAY.
- THE WAY I LOOK AT IT,
THAT IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST COMPLIMENTS
YOU COULD EVER POSSIBLY IMAGINE,
THAT YOU ARE SO O GNIFICANT,
LORNE MICHAELS HAS TO HAVE YOU ON THIS SHOW
IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE NETWORK WILL COME UP WITH
A SPECIAL PROTOCOL JUST TO ACCOMMODATE YOU.
THIS TELLS YOU, MAYBE BETTER THAN ANYTHING,
HOW IMPORTANT RICHARD PRYOR IS IN 1975.
[cheers and applause]
narrator: EVEN WITH MIXED REVIEWS ON TELEVISION,
ONE CAN'T DENY RICHARD PRYOR IS A COMIC SUPERSTAR
AT THE PEAK OF HIS POPULARITY.
BUT DESPITE HIS SUCCESS, PRYOR'S PERSONAL LIFE
IS SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL.
- AND BEING A COMEDIAN, YOU DON'T TRUST A LOT OF PEOPLE.
YOU DON'T LET A LOT OF PEOPLE INTO YOUR LIFE.
OUR LIVES ARE WAY DIFFERENT THAN EVERYBODY ELSE'S, YOU KNOW.
WE'RE GONE AND WE COME BACK AND PEOPLE HAVE LIVES
AND PEOPLE HAVE KIDS, AND, YOU KNOW,
WE GET INVOLVED WITH SOMEBODY AND SOMEBODY'S GONNA SAY,
"WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS GONE?
WHY DO YOU DRINK SO MUCH?
HOW COME YOU'RE ALWAYS QUIET?
HOW COME WE DON'T TALK?"
narrator: THERE ARE ISSUES AT HOME.
PRYOR WAS MARRIED SEVEN TIMES.
HE LOVED WOMEN,
BUT WITH HIS EXPLOSIVE TEMPER AND HIS TENDENCY
TO ISOLATE HIMSELF FOR DAYS ON END,
HIS RELATIONSHIPS WOULDN'T LAST.
- I DARE ANYBODY TO TELL YOU HONESTLY
THAT THEY GET OFFSTAGE
AND HAVE A BETTER LIFE OFFSTAGE THAN THEY DO ONSTAGE.
THERE'S NO [bleep] WAY THAT SOMEBODY'S GONNA TELL YOU
THAT'S BEEN DOING STAND-UP FOR A LIVING
THAT THEIR LIFE IS BETTER OFFSTAGE THAN IT IS ONSTAGE.
YOUR THINGS MIGHT BE BETTER, YOUR HOUSE MIGHT BE BETTER,
YOUR CAR MIGHT BE BETTER, BUT WE SUFFER.
- SO YOU NEED SOMEONE TO COME INTO AN UNDERSTANDING--
THE VERY THING THAT ATTRACTED ME TO YOU,
I SUPPORT THAT AND CONTINUE TO DO IT
AS OPPOSED TO WHAT ATTRACTED ME TO YOU,
STOP DOING IT.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE THE CONFLICT WITH A LOT OF WIVES CAME IN AT.
narrator: PRYOR IS A CHAIN-SMOKER
AND A HEAVY DRINKER,
WHICH LEADS TO A HEART ATTACK IN 1977.
BUT RICHARD PRYOR'S REAL DEMON WOULD BE DRUGS.
- RICHARD WAS A PART OF THE DRUG CULTURE.
HIS TIME, IT WAS COCAINE.
narrator: PRYOR HAS BEEN USING COCAINE SINCE THE EARLY 1960s.
- RICHARD WAS A JUNKIE.
HE'S A DOPE FIEND.
- IN TERMS OF INDULGENCE, RICHARD WAS THE KIND OF PERSON
THAT WOULD ALWAYS, ALWAYS GO TO THE DEEP WATER WITH IT,
AND THAT'S ALWAYS THE DANGEROUS PLACE.
narrator: A HUNDRED-DOLLAR-A-DAY HABIT IS NOW COSTING
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS A YEAR.
- THERE WERE DRUG DEALERS, AT TIMES--
AND RICHIE WOULD EVEN SAY IT AGAIN IN HIS COMEDY,
BUT I KNOW BECAUSE I WAS THERE--
THAT WOULD SAY NO TO HIM,
AND THEY HAD ALL KIND OF DRUGS,
BUT THEY WOULD SAY NO TO HIM,
BECAUSE HE DIDN'T COME AND BUY A GRAM OR TWO GRAMS OR--
HE WOULD BUY YOUR WHOLE SUPPLY.
narrator: IN 1980, PRYOR IS FREEBASING COCAINE
USING VOLATILE ETHER TO HELP LIGHT THE DRUG FOR SMOKING.
IT WOULD PROVE TO BE A NEAR-FATAL COMBINATION.
- RICHARD PRYOR, THE COMEDIAN AND WRITER,
WAS BADLY BURNED IN AN ACCIDENT
AT HIS HOME IN CALIFORNIA LAST NIGHT.
THE BURNS COVER THE UPPER HALF OF HIS BODY.
THEY ARE SEVERE ENOUGH TO ENDANGER HIS LIFE.
narrator: BY ALL ACCOUNTS, RICHARD PRYOR SHOULD HAVE DIED
ON JUNE 9, 1980.
- I WAS THERE WHEN RICHARD BURNED,
BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS RICHARD.
AND WHEN HE RAN PAST ME AND RAN OUT OF THE HOUSE,
AND THEN I REALIZED THAT WAS RICHARD.
narrator: THE LOS ANGELES POLICE REPORT
STATES PRYOR WAS BURNED WHILE FREEBASING COCAINE.
- AND I WAS, FRANKLY, AFRAID
WHEN I'D DO FREEBASE WITH RICHARD,
BECAUSE THE TORCH WAS SO BIG,
AND SO IT WAS INEVITABLE THAT ONE DAY,
IF YOU GOT THE TORCH AND THIS SSHH,
YOU MAY TURN IT THE WRONG WAY, ALL RIGHT?
AND OTHER PEOPLE HAD SIMILAR ACCIDENTS,
BUT WHEN HE DID IT, IT RESULTED IN A FIRE.
narrator: THERE WERE ALSO THE RUMORS
THAT PRYOR ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.
- RICHARD BURNED WAS NOT A ATTEMPT TO KILL HIMSELF,
EXCEPT IN A SYMBOLIC WAY.
IN A SYMBOLIC WAY,
ARTISTS ARE ALWAYS PRETTY MUCH DISSATISFIED WITH THEIR WORK.
REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST MET RICHARD IN BERKELEY,
HIS WORK WAS PERFECT, BUT HE SAID,
"MAN, I WANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT."
- EVERYTHING WAS SETTLED THAT NIGHT
JUNE 9, 1980.
SLATE WAS CLEAN.
narrator: PRYOR IS GIVEN A ONE-IN-THREE CHANCE OF SURVIVAL,
BUT AFTER SIX WEEKS OF A TORTUROUS COURSE OF TREATMENT,
HE WAS DISCHARGED FROM THE HOSPITAL.
- ALL THE PEOPLE YOU EVER HEARD OF FREEBASING,
HAVE YOU EVER OF ANYBODY BLOWING UP?
WHY ME?
[cheers and applause]
narrator: IN 1982, RICHARD PRYOR RETURNS TO THE STAGE
IN ONE OF THE GREATEST COMEBACKS IN ENTERTAINMENT HISTORY.
- IT'S LIVE ON SUNSET.
DESTROYED THE PLACE.
WE SAW AN AMAZING, MIRACULOUS THING HAPPEN RIGHT IN OUR FACE,
STARTING FROM NOTHING TO SOMETHING, AND SOMETHING BIG.
- STILL WENT UP ONSTAGE.
NEVER QUIT.
NEVER DISAPPEARED.
IN MY OPINION, THE GREATEST STAND-UP COMEDY
THAT'S EVER BEEN RECORDED.
- BUT I SAW ACTUAL HISTORY CREATED.
I SAW A GUY BUILD THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MASERATI ONSTAGE,
YOU KNOW, AND DRIVE IT OUT OF THERE.
narrator: FILMED TWO YEARS
AFTER HIS NEAR-FATAL FREEBASING ACCIDENT,
LIVE ON THE SUNSET STRIP
FEATURED A NO-HOLDS-BARRED PRYOR
TELLING ALL ABOUT HIS NEAR-FATAL DRUG ADDICTION.
- I DID IT SO BAD, DOPE DEALERS TRIED NOT TO SELL ME NOTHING.
NOW, THAT'S DOING IT-- WHEN THE DOPE DEALERS SAY,
"MAN, I AIN'T GONNA GIVE YOU NO MORE OF THAT [bleep]."
- WHEN HE BURNED, THERE WAS SOMEBODY HE OWED,
LIKE, $300,000, $400,000.
AND TWO OR THREE DAYS OUT OF THE HOSPITAL,
HE WAS LIKE, "HERE, TAKE THIS TO SO-AND-SO."
YOU KNOW, "GIVE 'EM THEIR MONEY."
AND I'M LIKE, "PRYOR, DON'T, MAN.
THEY DON'T REALLY DON'T CARE SO NOW."
AND HE INSISTED THAT THEY GOT PAID.
- I DON'T THINK HE CELEBRATED THE DRUGS IN THAT THING,
BUT I THINK HE SAID, "I BECAME A SLAVE TO THE DRUGS."
- I MEAN, I WAS STANDING THERE ON FIRE
AND SOMETHING SAID, "WELL, THAT'S A PRETTY BLUE.
YOU KNOW WHAT?
THAT LOOKS LIKE--FIRE!"
[laughter]
narrator: LIVE ON THE SUNSET STRIP
NOT ONLY REVEALED PRYOR AT HIS MOST VULNERABLE,
IT ALSO PROVED TO BE A TURNING POINT
FOR A MAN KNOWN FOR HIS PROVOCATIVE VOCABULARY.
PRYOR WOULD DETAIL A LIFE-CHANGING TRIP TO AFRICA
THAT WOULD FOREVER CHANGE THE WAY
HE REFERRED TO FELLOW AFRICAN-AMERICANS.
AND A VOICE SAID, "DO YOU SEE ANY NIGGERS?"
AND I SAY, "NO."
THEY SAY, "YOU KNOW WHY?
'CAUSE THERE AREN'T ANY."
- SO THAT'S WHEN RICHARD,
LIKE MALCOLM X,
BEGAN TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE.
- AND IT MADE ME THINK, "OH, MY GOD, I'VE BEEN WRONG.
I'VE BEEN WRONG.
I'VE GOT TO REGROUP MY [bleep]."
I MEAN, I SAID, "I AIN'T GONNA NEVER CALL
ANOTHER BLACK MAN 'NIGGER.'"
- IT WAS LIKE WHEN MALCOLM CAME BACK FROM ABROAD
AND SAID HE HAD PRAYED NEXT TO WHITE PEOPLE
AND HE DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS LIKE THAT
BECAUSE HE WAS TOLD ONE THING.
- THAT WORD'S DEAD.
WE MEN AND WOMEN.
WE COME FROM--WE COME FROM THE FIRST PEOPLE ON THE EARTH.
narrator: PRYOR'S DECISION TO STOP USING THE WORD
IN HIS STAND-UP COMEDY WILL BECOME YET ANOTHER CONTROVERSY
IN HIS ALWAYS CONTROVERSIAL LIFE.
- AND SO WHEN HE SHARED THAT,
YOU HAD A LOT OF HOLLYWOOD
THAT DIDN'T LIKE IT.
- HE WAS ATTEMPTING TO CHANGE FROM THE NIGGER
HE HAD BEEN IN THE 1970s
TO A MAINSTREAM BLACK MOVIE STAR IN THE 1980s.
I THINK RICHARD WANTS TO BE MAINSTREAM,
AND IF HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE MAINSTREAM,
HE CERTAINLY WANTS MAINSTREAM MONEY.
- I DIDN'T THINK RICHARD REALLY CHANGED MUCH
AFTER HE CAME BACK FROM AFRICA.
IT WAS ONLY OUT OF USAGE FROM THE PUBLIC,
NOT NECESSARILY FROM RICHARD.
- WHAT I'VE ALWAYS SAID--
THE MINUTE RICHARD PRYOR STOPS USING THE WORD "NIGGER"
IS THE POINT AT WHICH HE WAS NO LONGER FUNNY,
BECAUSE YOU CANNOT STOP DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS
WHEN YOUR WHOLE IDENTITY IS PREDICATED UPON THIS
AS A CENTRAL PART OF WHO YOU ARE.
- WELL, THAT WOULD MEAN YOU COULD JUST DO
AN ALBUM SAYING THAT WORD, AND YOU HAVE A HIT,
SO THAT WASN'T THE TRUTH.
narrator: PRYOR CONTINUES TO PERFORM STAND-UP COMEDY,
BUT IN TRUTH, HE DEDICATES THE REST OF THE '80s
TO STARRING IN MANY HOLLYWOOD MAINSTREAM FILMS,
INCLUDING THE TOY, BREWSTER'S MILLIONS,
AND SUPERMAN III,
WHERE HE EARNED $4 MILLION--
REPORTEDLY MORE THAN THE FILM'S LEADING MAN,
CHRISTOPHER REEVE.
RICHARD PRYOR, HOLLYWOOD SUPERSTAR,
WAS NOW ONE OF THE HIGHEST-PAID
AFRICAN-AMERICAN ACTORS OF THE TIME.
- HE WAS DOING THEM FOR MONEY,
YOU KNOW, AND HIS HEART REALLY WASN'T IN IT.
narrator: IN 1986, PRYOR APPEARS ON THE TONIGHT SHOW
WITH JOHNNY CARSON.
HE SHOCKS THE AUDIENCE WITH HIS EMACIATED APPEARANCE.
THIS BEING 1986, THE RUMORS SOON POINTED TO AIDS.
PRYOR IS FORCED TO REVEAL THAT HE SUFFERS
FROM MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, A DEGENERATIVE DISEASE
THAT ATTACKS THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.
- YOU KNOW, MS, IT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE.
YOU THOUGHT OF ALL THE OTHER THINGS
THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO HIM THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN TO HIM,
AND THIS MYSTERY DISEASE, MS, IS WHAT TOOK HIM OUT.
- AND WHEN HE BECAME ILL,
THAT MUST'VE BEEN VERY HARD ON HIM,
BECAUSE COMEDIANS ARE SO USED TO DOING ANYTHING WE WANT TO DO.
- FROM THAT POINT, EVERY TIME YOU SAW HIM,
HE WAS THINNER AND DETERIORATING MORE.
narrator: STAYING TRUE TO HIS FIGHTING SPIRIT,
PRYOR KEEPS PERFORMING.
- HE STILL GOT THE CALLS.
COME TALK ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW.
WE WANT TO DO THESE MOVIES.
narrator: PRYOR WILL STAR IN SEVERAL MORE FILMS,
INCLUDING CRITICAL CONDITION,
SEE NO EVIL HEAR NO EVIL,
AND HARLEM NIGHTS.
- SO WHEN YOU GET TO THE LATE '80s,
AND EDDIE MURPHY'S DOING HARLEM NIGHTS,
TO PUT RICHARD AND REDD FOXX IN, I THINK IT'S GREAT,
BECAUSE IT SORT OF TIES TOGETHER THE TRADITION,
BUT AT THIS POINT, I THINK,
RICHARD'S BEST DAYS AS A PERFORMER WERE LONG GONE.
narrator: BY 1990, IT IS PAINFULLY OBVIOUS
THAT RICHARD PRYOR IS A VERY SICK MAN.
HE SUFFERS A SECOND, AND MORE SEVERE, HEART ATTACK
AND UNDERGOES TRIPLE HEART BYPASS SURGERY.
HE WILL REMAIN CONFINED TO A WHEELCHAIR
AND A POWERED SCOOTER FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE,
BUT HE REFUSES TO STOP PERFORMING STAND-UP COMEDY.
- YES, I'M IN A WHEELCHAIR.
SO ROLL HIM UP THERE.
YOU WERE STILL LAUGHING ABOUT THAT.
TELLING JOKES, "I KNOW Y'ALL LAUGHING AT ME
IN THIS WHEELCHAIR ONSTAGE."
AND THAT'S OKAY.
HE STILL HAD A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR.
HE WAS HOOKED ON LAUGHTER.
OF ALL THE DRUGS THAT RICHARD DID,
HE WAS HOOKED ON LAUGHTER.
- TO USE MS AS MATERIAL,
TO DESCRIBE MS KILLING YOUR PENIS
AND DESTROYING YOUR MUSCLES,
BUT ALSO TO MAKE NO BONES
ABOUT THE FACT THAT HE WAS SICK
IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT HE ALWAYS WAS,
WAS COURAGEOUS.
narrator: AS PRYOR'S MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
BEGINS TO TAKE ITS TOLL ON HIS BODY,
RICHARD SPENDS THE REMAINDER OF HIS LIFE IN HIS HOME.
- I GUESS IT--FOR ME,
IT WAS AS CLOSE TO WATCHING
A FRIEND ON A BATTLEFIELD GET WOUNDED,
AND YOU CAN'T STOP THE BLEEDING.
YOU JUST WATCH HIM SLOWLY SLIP AWAY.
narrator: ON DECEMBER 10, 2005,
PRYOR SUFFERS ANOTHER HEART ATTACK
AND THE ATTEMPTS TO RESUSCITATE HIM FAIL.
AT THE AGE OF 65,
RICHARD FRANKLIN LENNOX THOMAS PRYOR PASSES AWAY.
- RICHARD WAS SUCH A PHENOMENAL STAR AND ICON
THAT, AT A CERTAIN POINT, A NEW GENERATION EMERGED.
- DAMON WAYANS AND CHRIS ROCK AND EDDIE MURPHY
AND ARSENIO AND TRACY MORGAN AND JAMIE FOXX
AND MO'NIQUE AND MYSELF--
I'M NOT SURE WHERE I WOULD BE, PERSONALLY,
IF I DIDN'T FOLLOW THE RICHARD PRYOR LIGHT.
- OVER TIME, YOU COULD SEE HIS INFLUENCE
ON THIS NEW GENERATION.
YOU WOULD HAVE THE HIP-HOP CULTURE.
- MUSIC AND CULTURE AND THE TIMES
AND THE DECADES, '60s, '70, '80s, '90s,
EARLY 2000s.
- BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHO HAD THE MOST INFLUENCE
ON THE GUYS THAT'S DOING IT NOW, IT WAS RICHARD.
- TO THIS DAY, IT STANDS UP.
HE'S STILL INFLUENCING GENERATIONS TO COME.
- HIS COMEDY SHOULD PLAY ON SOME CHANNEL 24 HOURS A DAY.
THERE SHOULD BE A RICHARD PRYOR CHANNEL
SO THAT EVERYBODY GETS TO SEE THE MAN
AND WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO SAY.
- POLITICS, RACE, AND RELIGION--
HE TALKED ABOUT ALL THOSE THINGS PEOPLE FOUND OFFENSIVE,
BUT THE POINT WAS TO USE THE LANGUAGE AS A WEAPON.
- THROUGH COMIC, YOU'RE ABLE TO DIFFUSE AND BRING HUMOR
AND RELEASE TO YOUR AUDIENCE
AND PRESUMABLY, TO UNDERSTAND SOMETHING
THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND BEFORE.
HE PRETTY MUCH GOT THAT DOWN IN A PRACTICAL WAY.
- IT OPENED THE LANGUAGE UP IN THE COUNTRY,
AND THE LANGUAGE IS WHERE PEOPLE BEGIN TO COMMUNICATE.
- WOW, BLACK PEOPLE, WHITE PEOPLE,
POOR PEOPLE, RICH PEOPLE.
IT WAS HEAVY-DUTY.
POLITICIANS, REGULAR PEDESTRIANS.
LOOK AT HIS AUDIENCES.
- HE'S NOT "THE BLACK GUY" UP THERE.
HIS JOKES TRANSCENDED RACE.
HE WAS ALWAYS BRINGING YOU INTO HIS EXPERIENCE.
HE'S PUTTING YOU IN HIS SHOES.
AS A HUMAN BEING, YOU CAN'T HELP FROM RELATING TO THAT.
- HE KNEW WHAT TO SAY TO MAKE YOU LAUGH,
BUT RICHARD WAS GONNA SAY SOMETHING TOO.
SEXISM, RACISM, PREJUDICE--
HE USED HIS FUNNY TO GET YOUR ATTENTION.
- KNOWING THAT ALL OF THOSE THINGS
RAN THROUGH HIS BODY, INTO HIS MIND,
OUT OF HIS HAND, OUT OF HIS MOUTH,
THROUGH EVERYTHING THAT HE'S BEEN THROUGH,
THROUGH EVERYTHING THAT HE'S LEFT BEHIND,
THROUGH EVERY STORY,
RICHARD PRYOR IS, WITHOUT QUESTION,
A TRUE AMERICAN ICON.
- THE CONSUMMATE ENTERTAINER, THE CONSUMMATE COMEDIAN,
AND ULTIMATELY, THE CONSUMMATE AMERICAN.
- HE WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE MEDICINE FOR THE COUNTRY
IN A VERY FUNNY HYPODERMIC NEEDLE.
- I REMEMBER HIM SAYING, YOU KNOW,
"MAYBE I CAN TOUCH SOMEBODY'S PSYCHE
"OR CHANGE SOMEBODY'S MIND
OR TOUCH SOMEBODY'S HEART."
MAYBE.
- RICHARD PRYOR CARED,
UNFORTUNATELY, NOT AS MUCH ABOUT HIMSELF
AS HE DID, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE ELSE.
- HE NEVER LIED TO US.
THAT'S WHY I LOVE HIM.
SO I'VE GOT INTO TROUBLE ONSTAGE
AND SAID CONTROVERSIAL THINGS.
RICHARD HAS TOO.
I DON'T LIKEN MYSELF TO RICHARD
OR GHANDI OR MALCOLM X
OR MARTIN LUTHER KING OR KENNEDY,
BUT MOST GREAT PEOPLE ARE CONTROVERSIAL.
- I'M GLAD HE WENT AGAINST THE GRAIN.
I'M GLAD HE WAS HIMSELF,
OTHERWISE, HE WOULDN'T BE RICHARD PRYOR.
- IF SOMEBODY FOUND RICHARD PRYOR'S NOTEBOOK,
THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO STEAL ANY OF THAT STUFF,
BECAUSE IT'S THE PAIN AND THE STORY THAT COMES WITH IT.
- I LIKE THE PEOPLE TO SEE MY PICTURE AND LAUGH
AND HAVE STORIES TO TELL-- TELL SOME LIES ON ME.
"HE AIN'T MADE ME LAUGH, SO...
I WAS THERE, YOU KNOW?
I WAS THERE WEDNESDAY WHEN HE DROVE UP IN THE"--
YOU KNOW, WHATEVER.
LIKE THAT.
LIKE, TO BRING JOY.
THAT'S HOW I'D LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED.
Richard Pryor: Icon is available on DVD.
To order, visit
or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS
