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