Richard Pryor
Date of birth: 1940-12-01
Place of birth: Peoria, Illinois, USA
Known for: Acting
Also known as: Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor, Ρίτσαρντ Πραιορ, Річард Прайор, ریچارد پرایور, ریچارد پرایر
Biography
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, film director, social critic, satirist, writer, and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets. He 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: receiving praise from notable comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Newhart, and Bill Cosby. His body of work includes the concert movies and recordings starting in the 70s and spanning three decades. He also starred in numerous films as an actor, in both comedic and dramatic roles. He collaborated on many projects with actor Gene Wilder and actor/comedian/writer Paul Mooney. Pryor won an Emmy Award (1973), and five Grammy Awards (1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, and 1982). In 1974, he also won two American Academy of Humor awards and the Writers Guild of America Award. The first ever Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor was presented to him in 1998. Pryor is listed at Number 1 on Comedy Central's list of all-time greatest stand-up comedians.
Movie Credits
Lost Highway
1997-01-15
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, g
Wattstax
1973-02-04
A documentary film about the Afro-American Woodstock concert held in Los Angeles seven years after t
See No Evil, Hear No Evil
1989-05-12
A murder takes place in the shop of David Lyons, a deaf man who fails to hear the gunshot being fire
Brewster's Millions
1985-05-22
Monty Brewster, an aging minor-league baseball player, stands to inherit $300 million if he can succ
Richard Pryor: Here and Now
1983-10-28
One of comedian Richard Pryor's later stand-up performances. As foul-mouthed as ever, Pryor touches
Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip
1982-03-12
Richard Pryor's stand-up act includes his frank discussion about his freebasing addiction, as well a
Silver Streak
1976-12-03
A somewhat daffy book editor on a rail trip from Los Angeles to Chicago thinks that he sees a murder
Richard Pryor: Live in Concert
1979-01-26
Richard Pryor delivers monologues on race, sex, family and his favorite target—himself, live at the
Stir Crazy
1980-12-12
New Yorkers Skip Donahue and Harry Monroe have no jobs and no prospects, so they decide to flee the
Bustin' Loose
1981-05-22
After ex-con Joe Braxton violates his probation, he is given a second chance. All he has to do is dr
Lady Sings the Blues
1972-10-12
Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic
Another You
1991-07-26
George has been in a mental hospital for 3 years and is finally ready to go out into the real world
Which Way Is Up?
1977-11-04
Orange picker Leroy Jones inadvertently becomes a union leader and is forced out of town, leaving be
Critical Condition
1987-01-16
Eddie is a con artist. When he's framed and comes before a judge, he hopes to get off the hook by cl
Carter's Army
1975-05-25
A racist officer is put in charge of an all-black squad of troops charged with the mission of blowin
The Toy
1982-12-10
On one of his bratty son Eric's annual visits, the plutocrat U.S. Bates takes him to his department
The Wiz
1978-10-24
Dorothy Gale, a shy kindergarten teacher, is swept away to the magic land of Oz where she embarks on
I Am Richard Pryor
2019-03-12
The life story of Richard Pryor (1940-2005), the legendary performer and iconic social satirist who
Wholly Moses
1980-06-13
Harvey and Zoey, two tourists in Israel, discover an ancient scroll about Herschel, the man who was
Harlem Nights
1989-11-17
'Sugar' Ray is the owner of an illegal casino and must contend with the pressure of vicious gangster
Superman III
1983-06-17
Aiming to defeat the Man of Steel, wealthy executive Ross Webster hires bumbling but brilliant Gus G
California Suite
1978-03-19
The misadventures of four groups of guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Richard Pryor: I Ain't Dead Yet, #*%$#@!!
2003-01-01
This documentary praises comedian Richard Pryor by showing fragments of various shows Pryor made and
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise
2013-05-20
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise journeys through Brooks’ early years in the creative beginnings of live tel
Moving
1988-03-04
Arlo accepts what seems to him to be a dream promotion to Idaho. He soon discovers, however, that mo
Greased Lightning
1977-07-01
The true life story of Wendell Scott, the first black stock car racing driver to win an upper-tier N
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
1976-07-16
Top baseball pitcher Bingo Long is fed up with how his Negro League team owner treats him, so he for
Uptown Saturday Night
1974-07-26
Two blue-collar buddies search the underworld for a winning lottery ticket lost in a nightclub holdu
The Busy Body
1967-03-12
Sid Caesar is a bumbling gopher to a mob boss who must recover a fortune in cash stowed in the suit
The Mack
1973-04-04
A recently-released convict becomes the most powerful pimp in Oakland, but tragedy ensues when his a
Wild in the Streets
1968-05-29
Musician Max Frost lends his backing to a Senate candidate who wants to give 18-year-olds the right
Blue Collar
1978-02-10
Fed up with mistreatment at the hands of both management and union brass, and coupled with financial
Some Kind of Hero
1982-04-02
A Vietnam vet returns home from a prisoner of war camp and is greeted as a hero, but is quickly forg
The Phynx
1970-03-06
A rock band is invented by the government as a cover to find hostages in a remote castle in Albania
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling
1986-05-02
Although Jo Jo Dancer has achieved success as a stand-up comedian, he hasn't found happiness. After
Richard Pryor: Live and Smokin'
1971-04-29
Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin' is the first stand-up act of Richard Pryor to be filmed out of the
Cutting Edge Comedians of the '60s & '70s
2007-04-10
In the late 1950s, a fresh, unconventional style of standup comedy emerged in sharp contrast to the
Sam Kinison: Why Did We Laugh?
1999-04-01
For fans of comedy, Sam Kinison needs no introduction. His scathing comedy tackled tough topics no o
Hit!
1973-09-18
A federal agent whose daughter dies of a heroin overdose is determined to destroy the drug ring that
In God We Tru$t
1980-09-26
A naive monk, named Brother Ambrose, is sent by the abbot on a mission to raise $5,000 in order to s
Some Call It Loving
1973-11-16
A jazz musician falls in love with a comatose woman at a carny sideshow and takes her to his mansion
The Hall: Honoring the Greats of Stand-Up
2022-05-19
In this comedy special, Jon Stewart, John Mulaney, Chelsea Handler and Dave Chappelle honor George C
Betye Saar: Drifting Toward Twilight
2023-11-11
"Betye Saar: Drifting Toward Twilight" covers renowned American artist Betye Saar’s large-scale work
But... Seriously
1994-03-25
A documentary juxtaposing the events of the 20th century with the commentary of stand-up comedians.
Richard Pryor: Icon
2014-11-23
Richard Pryor's impact on the craft of comedy and today's top comics is legendary and unrivaled. Thi
The Muppet Movie
1979-06-22
The Muppets gather to watch their newly-finished big-budget rich-and-famous feature film: a talent a
Remembering Gene Wilder
2024-03-15
This loving tribute to Gene Wilder celebrates his life and legacy as the comic genius behind an extr
Zeitgeist: Requiem
2024-03-15
In the fourth installment of the Zeitgeist series, director Peter Joseph explorers the fundamental i
Adiós Amigo
1975-12-25
Two incompetent Western outlaws engineer several failed crimes, including a botched stagecoach holdu
The Richard Pryor Special?
1977-05-05
Richard Pryor wanders around the NBC Studio, encountering various eccentrics. Meanwhile, the Reveren
Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration
1990-02-04
Celebrating Sammy Davis Jr 's 60th anniversary in show business, including musical,comic and dancing
Dynamite Chicken
1971-01-20
A collection of subversive comedy sketches and routines relating to the peace movement.
The Making of 'Superman III'
1985-08-26
This documentary treats movie fans to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Superman III, a more
TV's Funniest Comedians - 14 Stars Do Classic Routines
1986-04-16
A compilation film of stand up performances and comedy routines featuring some of the biggest stars
You've Got To Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat
1971-09-19
This oddball counterculture comedy/drama follows Zalman King through a series of kooky misadventures
Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales
1969-01-01
A white man goes on trial for having raped a black woman.
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution
2024-06-07
This rapturous documentary steps into the dynamic world of queer stand-up and examines the powerful
The Richard Pryor show Volume 2
1977-09-10
The Young Lawyers
1969-10-28
Attorney Michael Cannon leaves his Boston law firm to become director of the Neighborhood Law Office
Afro Promo
1997-01-31
Co-curated by Jenni Olson and the late Black gay activist Karl Knapper, this entertaining showcase o
Black and White Trypps Number Four
2008-06-20
Using a 35mm strip of motion picture slug featuring the recently deceased American comedian Richard
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever
1983-05-16
Television special taped before a live studio audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena,
Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic
2013-04-23
Mike Epps, Richard Pryor Jr. and others recount the culture-defining influence of Richard Pryor - on
The Richard Pryor Show Volume I
1977-09-10
An American comedy series hosted by comedian Richard Pryor
Juke and Opal
1973-12-01
“WINTER, 1973. Late afternoon: the entr'acte between dusk and darkness, when the people who conduct
The Three Muscatels
1991-11-01
Donna Bon Viant (Belaine) is a college student, who has to complete an assignment on the 14th centur
The Last Days of Richard Pryor
2020-01-16
A two-hour television special on the life of Richard Pryor featuring interviews by those close to hi
Lily
1973-11-02
TV special starring Lily Tomlin
Mad Dog Time
1996-11-08
With his boss in the madhouse, a mobster is temporary boss of the criminal empire just as vicious ri
Blacks and Jews
1997-07-29
This documentary attempts to go beyond the sensationalized media coverage and the stereotypes to exa
Car Wash
1976-10-22
This day-in-the-life cult comedy focuses on a group of friends working at Sully Boyar's Car Wash in
The N Word
2006-01-16
An exploration of the history of the word throughout its inception to present day. Woven into the na
The Lion Roars Again
1975-01-01
A chronicle of the 1975 International Press Conclave hosted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer over two days in
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
1979-03-01
Sesame Street celebrated its 10th anniversary in the spring of 1979 with a half-hour PBS special hos
Flip Wilson... Of Course
1974-10-18
Flip Wilson's stand-up special.
Me, Myself & Irene
2000-06-22
Rhode Island State Trooper Charlie Baileygates has a multiple personality disorder. One personality
A Huey P. Newton Story
2001-06-18
The story of how the radical Huey P. Newton developed the Black Panther Party based on his 10-point
101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment
2003-07-18
From Disturbing Discoveries to Astonishing Arressts, and Tragic Endings. In this tv-special, E! coun
Untitled Joan Rivers Documentary
Called “quite possible the most intuitively funny woman alive” by the New York Times television crit