For those of my readers that are too young to be familiar with the work of Mr. Richard Pryor, I suggest going out and buying some history. It will be money well spent, but don't just go looking for his movies. Mr. Pryor was part of a rare class of entertainers, Black or otherwise, that made everyone laugh. He was more than just a great comedian, better than just a comedy actor.
Mr. Pryor was one of the few people that could combine being Black in America, having a... difficult, to say the least, childhood and problems with drugs and women in a manner that could touch all people with laughter. He did these things without the advantages of cable television, major studio media blitz, the internet, stunning looks, flagrant displays of wealth or blatant abuse of the culture. Mr. Pryor was an innovator in the manner of Mr. Lenny Bruce, Mr. George Carlin and few others and yet he went further than them all in my opinion. Perhaps that is why Mr. Damon Wayans has said "Any comic who ain't stole from Richard ain't funny." Because the profound statements he made that not only kept everyone laughing, but thinking as well.
The 5 time Grammy ('74-'76, '81, '82), Emmy award winner started life quite humbly. The son of a prostitute, and molested, Mr. Pryor left school at 14. He was jailed during his time in the Army, and was a long time abuser of cocaine. To say Mr. Pryor was flawed would be true, but it would also be a shallow portrayal of the man. Mr. Pryor used these and other facets of his life and experiences in his comedy, something that a lesser man could never have done.
To my knowledge, Mr. Pryor was the first to make a movie of his comedy routine. Today a comedy specials on a cable network or a movie of several comedians on stage may be common, but Mr. Pryor was the first and needed no one else to keep people going back to the theater to see him again. Mr. Bill Cosby has said "Had Richard really been allowed a level playing field in the movie industry … that is, a place where Richard's ideas, his character development were worked on and developed the way they do things with ‘ordinary people’ – then there would be – think about it – great movies, stories with rich, refreshing characters, much like those in John Steinbeck's wonderful works. But what was available to Richard was the stage, where he played all of the characters by himself.” And by himself, on stage or on records (before there were MP3, CD, and tape cassettes there was vinyl) he caputure the attention and admiration of the nation.
Like any great innovator Mr. Pryor inspired and blazed the trail for generations of comedians including Mr. Chris Rock, Mr. Robin Williams, Ms. Whoppi Goldberg, Mr. Damon Wayans, Mr. Eddie Murphy and many more. Like only a few, he has affected culture and race relations in this nation for decades. Many of those affected, like artists of today may not even realize the breakthroughs made by Mr. Pryor that enable them to do what they do.
Some of the things that stand out in my mind about Mr.Pryor is his appearance on Saturday Nite Live, to which Mr. Chevy Chase said "When I wrote the now-infamous Job Interview sketch for SNL, I remember asking Richard for as many slang words for white people as he could come up with. He hesitated and then realized that there were many more for African-Americans than he could think of for ‘whities.’ I think this reflected on the sketch, and it was reflective of the lack of bigotry in the man.” His movies, Silver Streak and Bustin' Loose with Mr. Gene Wilder, Blazin' Saddles (which he co-wrote) and unforgettable to me his performance in Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip are all movies I have seen several times and look forward to seeing several more.
Why? I think it can be best said by a joke Mr. Pryor made in Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip (which is after his receiving 3rd degree burns on half his body due to fire which was well publicized) that went [please forgive me if I screw this up] like this:
Mr. Pryor on stage thanks everyone for the cards and expressions of well wishes he recieved after his being set on fire. But he says he also heard the jokes too.
Mr. Pryor lights a match and bobbles it from right to left. He says 'What's this? It's Richard Pryor running down the street.'
It was funny then, and it still is now. Too few can make us laugh at pain that should make us cry. Mr. Pryor will be sorely missed as America has lost a true and great treasure.
No comments:
Post a Comment