Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III, called Ritchie, ( born December 1, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois, USA, † December 10, 2005 in Encino (Los Angeles ), California ) was an American actor and comedian.
Life
Pryor served from 1958 to 1960 in the United States Army. In 1969 he moved to Berkeley, where he published some plates with sketches at record label Laff Records. These included Craps (After Hours) (1971 ), Are You Serious? (1977 ), Who Me? I'm Not Him (1977 ) and Black Ben The Blacksmith (1978).
Pryor appeared in numerous films such as The fortune hunters (1989, with Gene Wilder and Kevin Spacey ), Harlem Nights (1989, opposite Eddie Murphy) and Lost Highway (1997, opposite Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette ). He was also one of the authors of the screenplay of the film Blazing Saddles in 1974, in which Mel Brooks directed. He was especially popular as a movie partner of Gene Wilder in various productions.
Pryor was a total of seven times, with five different women, married. The last marriage to Jennifer Lee, with whom he was married from 1981 to 1982, was closed in 2001. From his seven marriages he has seven children. Pryor also cultivated a relationship with Pam Grier. His daughter, Rain Pryor is also an actress.
In the 1970s, Pryor had major drug problems; in cocaine intoxication, he even caused a fire in his house where he almost died. In 1986, he staged with Jo Jo Dancer - Your life is calling a movie, which is based on this event. Three years earlier he had given to the semi-documentary film Richard Pryor ... Here and Now his directorial debut. Since the early 1970s, Pryor was also regularly active as a screenwriter.
In 1992, he withdrew almost completely from the film business, as he was suffering from multiple sclerosis. From this time he took only rare and brief guest appearances in film and television productions.
1999 he was awarded the Mark Twain Prize. In 2004 he was chosen by Comedy Central to the best stand - up comedian of all time. The Writers Guild of America recorded in 1975 his screenplay for What's Up, Sheriff? as the best of comedy screenplay. For the TV movie Lily ( 1973) he received an Emmy Award the following year. In addition, Pryor has been on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood a star at the address 6440 Hollywood Boulevard. Richard Pryor was a member of the Federation of the Freemasons, his box the Henry Brown Lodge No.. 22, is a resident of Peoria ( Illinois).
Richard Pryor died on 10 December 2005 of a heart attack.