Richard Pryor
American, Comic
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential stand-up comedians of all time. Pryor won a Primetime Emmy Award and five Grammy Awards. He received the first Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 1998. He won the Writers Guild of America Award in 1974. He was listed at number one on Comedy Central's list of all-time greatest stand-up comedians. In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked him first on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.
View details
Richard Pryor was born on Sunday, 1 December 1940 in Peoria, Illinois, USA. His full name at birth was Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr.. He was best known as a comic. Pryor's country of citizenship (nationality) was American. He died on Saturday, 10 December 2005 in Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA at the age of 65. He is buried at Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend. Richard attended high school at Peoria High School, Peoria, IL (expelled). He was 5' 10" (178 cm) tall and weighed 165 lbs (75 kg) with a slim build. He had black eyes and black hair (color). His net worth was reported to be $40,000,000 US dollars. His zodiac star sign was Sagittarius.
You can find people similar to Richard Pryor by visiting our lists Arnold–Bridges–Pryor family and Male actors from Peoria, Illinois.
| Full name at birth | Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr.
|
||
| Claim to fame | reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style and his raw, honest, and often controversial material, such as his hilarious improvisations during his live comedy shows, in addition to his roles as Lieutenant Whitaker in the 1967 comedy film The Busy Body, Stanley X in the 1968 dystopian comedy-drama film Wild in the Streets, Pvt. Jonathan Crunk in the 1970 made-for-television war drama film Carter’s Army, Wino in the 1971 low-budget satire comedy-drama film You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat, Piano Man in the 1972 biographical musical drama film Lady Sings the Blues, Slim in the 1973 blaxploitation crime drama film The Mack, Jeff in the 1973 romantic mystery erotic drama film Some Call It Loving, Mike Willmer in the 1973 action thriller film Hit!, Sharp Eye Washington in the 1974 action crime comedy film Uptown Saturday Night, Sam Spade in the 1975 Western comedy film Adiós Amigo, Charlie Snow, All-Star (RF) in the 1976 sports comedy film The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings, Rev. Daddy Rich in the 1976 comedy film Car Wash, Grover T. Muldoon in the 1976 thriller comedy film Silver Streak, Wendell Scott in the 1977 biographical comedy-drama film Greased Lightning, Leroy Jones, Reverend Lenox Thomas, and Rufus Jones in the 1977 comedy film Which Way Is Up?, The Wizard in the 1978 musical fantasy adventure film The Wiz, Dr. Chauncey Gump in the 1978 anthology comedy film California Suite, Zeke in the 1978 crime drama film Blue Collar, Balloon Vendor in the 1979 musical road comedy film The Muppet Movie, Pharaoh in the 1980 Biblical spoof film Wholly Moses!, Harold "Harry" Monroe in the 1980 black comedy film Stir Crazy, G.O.D. in the 1980 comedy film In God We Tru$t, Joe Braxton in the 1981 road comedy-drama film Bustin' Loose, Eddie Keller in the 1982 comedy-drama film Some Kind of Hero, Jack Brown in the 1982 comedy film The Toy, August "Gus" Gorman in the 1983 superhero film Superman III, Montgomery "Monty" Brewster in the 1985 comedy film Brewster’s Millions, Jo Jo Dancer in the 1986 biographical comedy-drama film Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, Kevin Lenahan/Dr. Eddie Slattery in the 1987 comedy film Critical Condition, Arlo Pear in the 1988 comedy film Moving, Wallace "Wally" Karue in the 1989 crime comedy film See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Sugar Ray in the 1989 crime comedy-drama film Harlem Nights, Eddie Dash in the 1991 comedy film Another You, Vic in the 1996 ensemble crime comedy film Mad Dog Time, Arnie in the 1997 surrealist neo-noir horror film Lost Highway, and Mr. Johnson in the ABC sitcom The Norm Show, as well as his collaborations with actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, and author Gene Wilder
|
||
| Date of birth | 1 December 1940
|
||
| Place of birth | Peoria, Illinois, USA
|
||
| Date of death | 10 December 2005
|
||
| Age | 65 (age at death)
|
||
| Place of death | Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA
|
||
| Cause of death | Heart attack caused by coronary artery disease that was at least partially brought about by years of tobacco smoking
|
||
| Resting place | Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend
|
||
| Occupation | Stand-Up Comedian, Actor, Producer, Film Director, Social Critic, Satirist, Writer, MC
|
||
| Occupation category | |||
| Nationality |
PERSONAL DETAILS
| Height | 5' 10" (178 cm)
|
||
| Weight | 165 lbs (75 kg)
|
||
| Build | |||
| Hair color | |||
| Eye color | |||
| Gender | |||
| Ethnicity | |||
| Sexuality | |||
| Religion |
 religion
|
||
| Zodiac sign | |||
| Distinctive feature |
distinctive feature
|
||
| Pets |
pets
|
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
| Net worth | $40,000,000 USD
|
||
| High school | Peoria High School, Peoria, IL (expelled)
|
|
|
| University |
university
|
||
| Talent agency |
talent agency
|
||
| Political affiliation |
political affiliation
|
||
| Political party |
political party
|
![Richard Pryor - Interview Magazine Cover [United States] (March 1986)](http://img3.bdbphotos.com/images/130x130/z/h/zh1bs80dt5yl8lt.jpg?skj2io4l)
Comedy rules! Don't let anybody tell you otherwise, and there are no rules in stand-up comedy, which I really like. You can do anything you want and you can say anything that comes to mind, just so long as it's funny. If you ain't funny then get the fuck off the stage, it's that simple.
- Mother, Gertude, died when Pryor was 27 years old.
- Won five Grammys in the "Best Comedy Recording" category for "That Nigger's Crazy" (1974), "Is It Something I Said?" (1975), "Bicentennial Nigger" (1976), "Rev Du Rite" (1981) and "Live On the Sunset Strip" (1982).
- Has admitted the fire that nearly killed him while free-basing cocaine in the early 1980s was in fact a suicide attempt. His management created the "accident" lie for the press in hopes of protecting him.
- Was originally considered for the role of Billy Ray Valentine on Trading Places (1983), before Eddie Murphy ultimately won the part.
- Dated actress Pam Grier in the 1970s.
More...
- Albums (44) keyboard_arrow_right
- Songs (356) keyboard_arrow_right
- Quotes (8) keyboard_arrow_right
- Trivia (25) keyboard_arrow_right
- Pictorials (1) keyboard_arrow_right
- Magazines (6) keyboard_arrow_right
- Photos (98) keyboard_arrow_right
- Lists (99) keyboard_arrow_right
- Filmography (231) keyboard_arrow_right
- Awards (12) keyboard_arrow_right
- Forum (4) keyboard_arrow_right
- Fans (24) keyboard_arrow_right
This page is the FamousFix profile for Richard Pryor. Content on this page is contributed by editors who belong to our editorial community. We welcome your contributions... so please create an account if you would like to collaborate with other editor's in helping to shape this website.
On the Richard Pryor page you will be able to add and update factual information, post media and connect this topic to other topics on the website. This website does skew towards famous actors, musicians, models and sports stars, however we would like to expand that to include many other interesting topics.