Richard Pryor was born 82 years ago today.
A stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, satirist and writer, Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities and profanity, as well as racial epithets.
Pryor reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time. Jerry Seinfeld called Pryor "the Picasso of our profession" and Bob Newhart termed Pryor "the seminal comedian of the last 50 years."
Pryor’s legacy can be attributed, in part, to the unusual degree of intimacy Pryor brought to bear on his comedy. His body of work includes the concert movies and recordings Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin' (1971), That Nigger's Crazy (1974), ...Is It Something I Said? (1975), Bicentennial Nigger (1976), Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979), Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982) and Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983).
He also starred in numerous films as an actor, such as Superman III (1983), but was usually in comedies such as Silver Streak (1976), and occasionally in dramatic roles, such as Paul Schrader's film, Blue Collar (1978). He collaborated on many projects with actor Gene Wilder. Another frequent collaborator was actor/comedian/writer Paul Mooney.
On December 10, 2005, nine days after his 65th birthday, Pryor suffered a heart attack in Los Angeles. He was taken to a local hospital after his wife's attempts to resuscitate him failed. He was pronounced dead at 7:58 am PST. His widow Jennifer was quoted as saying, "At the end, there was a smile on his face."