Comedic legend Richard Pryor is dead of a heart attack at the age of 65 after a nearly two decade battle with multiple sclerosis.
Pryor was a one-man tour-d’-force in the entertainment industry, probably the one person most responsible for eliminating the color barrier within Hollywood.
His comedy and acting talents were legendary. There was never one like him before and it is doubtful there will be one to follow. Pryor fathered a whole generation of new comedic and acting talent such as Eddie Murphy, Sam Kinison, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg and Dave Chappelle, just to name a few.
Pryor starred in two fantasy/sci-fi features in his long and turbulent career, The Wiz in 1978 and Superman III in 1983, but he will always be remembered for two things; his hard-won battle with addiction and his groundbreaking standup comedic stylings.
Richard Pryor, dead at 65 will be sorely missed in this world.
Many have called Richard Pryor: “The funniest mother****** on the planet.”
True, that.
He was a man who could with one moment make you breathless with laughter, and in the next moment make you gasp and cry.
A genius has left us.
By the way…it’s The Wiz–no “h”.
The movie was based on the Broadway musical that was a black version of The Wizard of Oz. Diana Ross was miscast as Dorothy, but that’s neither here nor there.
Pryor played The Wiz.
The man was a wiz alright.