One of my heroes died today.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/people/13378817.htm (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/people/13378817.htm)

Go with God, 'Daddy Rich.'
What a talent.

That's sad, The guy was so funny. "see no evil hear no evil" One of his funniest roles. Cracked me up to bits as the blind guy.

First dicovered him on cassettes at a "head" shop in the mid/late seventies. Some of his greatest bits can not only be hard to find but the titles can't be mentioned any longer, due to the PC world. A truely great, and cutting-edge, talent that I will greatly miss. Glad I still have some of those old cassettes.

Goodbye Mr Pryor, rest in peace.

You'll be missed... :(

Godspeed my fine lad, Godspeed.

I can hardly type this.

Thank you.

:wave: :cry:

He wasn't the greatest judge of material, but when Pryor was good there was nobody better. I still don't think I've ever laughed as hard as I did during his first concert movie Richard Pryor Live in Concert back in the seventies.

His bit about his Grandmother's special almond dressing at Thanksgiving still kills me ("Hey Rich, there's some feet on my almonds!).

"My Aunt Nacine, man, she could suck a neckbone like it was a work of art!"

[edited] For improper langage

Comedy Central ran a special last year called "Richard Pryor:I ain't dead yet m&^$@ f(&^#%". It was a lot of comedians talking about which of his bits they loved, how they grew up on his material, his influence on comedy and films, and so on, along with clips from his concert films and movies.

One of the clips of him in there was his concert film after his freebasing incident. He was talking about all the jokes he's been hearing about it "because you loooove me so much. :rolleyes: "

He strikes a match "What is this?" and bounces it left to right in a line in front of him...

"Richard Pryor runnin' downna street."

Another great comedy legend lost to the world.

Best wishes, Richard. Rest in peace now,.....your fight is finally over.

Scorp :cry:

Ex-Sen. Eugene McCarthy died as well. He wasn't as funny.

I am lucky enough to have ALL his albums. The cut "N" with a seizure" still makes me laugh. Mudbone and his other selves will be missed.

Pryor was like no other. It's such a shame drugs messed him up badly. He was too young and, had he not gotten into bad habits, could still have entertained us with his genius. The man will be missed.

José

Sorry to hear he's gone But, I never found him funny. I guess the less I say about that, the less anger I'll stir up for his fans.

So, on behalf of all you guys who enjoyed his comedy, I'm sorry he's departed.

- GJS

Pryor was like no other. It's such a shame drugs messed him up badly. He was too young and, had he not gotten into bad habits, could still have entertained us with his genius. The man will be missed.

José

When he first contracted MS about 20 years ago, Pryor was convinced that his drug usage had caused it somehow. Doctors said that was medically impossible. The fact is - the vast bulk of the work he is best known for was probably conceived, written, and or performed under the influence of something. That's just a fact and that's part of who he was. I still prefer to judge the man on the quality of his best work. And no, I don't believe his best work would have been "better" if he had been straight.

My favourite movie with him was Silver Streak.

Sorry to hear he's gone But, I never found him funny. I guess the less I say about that, the less anger I'll stir up for his fans.

So, on behalf of all you guys who enjoyed his comedy, I'm sorry he's departed.

- GJS

Pryor is horribly represented in TV and movies, frankly, most of his choices for roles were pretty bad. His real genius is on his old comedy records, even his concert movies don't capture his best material.

Pryor is horribly represented in TV and movies, frankly, most of his choices for roles were pretty bad. His real genius is on his old comedy records, even his concert movies don't capture his best material.

I would agree with that. The movie "vehicles" built around Pryor as star vary in quality from mediocre to awful. For me "Which Way is Up" is the best of the bunch primarily because Pryor was able to manifest his Mudbone and Preacher characters in that film. His best acting work in films was early on - "Lady Sings The Blues", "The Mack", and maybe "Bingo Long and His Traveling All-Stars". But he also did some outstanding work in his very short-lived NBC TV series "The Richard Pryor Show" (1977). That series lasted all of six episodes before it was canceled but on it he was able to expand some of the best routines from his comedy albums into 5 minute skits that were devastating in their mix of comedy and tragedy. He could make you roll on the floor laughing at the behavior or demeanor of a wino, junkie, or preacher while at the same time cutting right to the emotional bone on issues of race, religion, and politics in America. That's one reason I get perturbed when I see an interview with every third young comic in America today who says Richard is his hero and his inspiration and then does a routine where the only thing he has taken from Pryor is the rough language and "dirty" humor. Sorry bud, you missed the point - entirely. At his best - and angriest - Pryor was a great artist who spoke truth to power by making people laugh. And like all great artists, he was one of a kind.

[edited] For improper langage

Two messages in this thread have been edited and both of the members banned. If you wish to use foul langage then go elsewhere. We DO NOT want you here.

Apologies all around for forgetting where I was.
Hank has been kind enough to let me resume my posting priviledges.

Apologies all around for forgetting where I was.
Hank has been kind enough to let me resume my posting priviledges.



I was getting worried there. I won't comment on the "offense".

Apologies all around for forgetting where I was.
Hank has been kind enough to let me resume my posting priviledges.
Yaaaaah! :thumbsup:

Bill Cosby is one funny fellow.

Bill Cosby is one funny fellow.When he was doing standup back in the ’60s and ’70s, Cosby was brilliantly funny — but the exact opposite of Pryor in everything but skin color. To make a rough analogy, Cosby's humor was to Pryor's as "Peanuts" is to "South Park". In any case, IMO, "The Cos" hasn't been funny in years.

I was getting worried there. I won't comment on the "offense".

Rules is rules. I broke 'em. It's a fair cop.

Rules is rules. I broke 'em. It's a fair cop.True ... but we're glad you're still with us, John P.

So let the record show that Hank takes the rules seriously and that he is also a reasonable guy. Not a bad combination, that.

Qapla'

SSB

When he was doing standup back in the ’60s and ’70s, Cosby was brilliantly funny — but the exact opposite of Pryor in everything but skin color. To make a rough analogy, Cosby's humor was to Pryor's as "Peanuts" is to "South Park". In any case, IMO, "The Cos" hasn't been funny in years.

Of course, Pryor was inspired by Bill Cosby. I vividly remember first seeing Pryor on "The Ed Sullivan Show" around '65 or '66. His entire routine revolved around his third grade class giving a performance of "Rumplestiltskin" for the school play. My Mom, Dad, and myself were in tears as he assumed the voice and personae of each third grader as they performed their parts: "My name is Rumplestiltskin, and I'm a Meanie! My name is Rumplestiltskin, and I'm a Meanie!" "Hark! I hear soldiers coming. I will hide behind a rock or a tree." "There he is! I see him! He is hiding behind a rock or a tree!" He was such a great mimic and such a great physical clown that it didn't matter whether he was working "clean" or "dirty" - he brought all of his characters to life in a way that was just devastatingly funny.

I remember a night he was on SNL that must have given the guy on the bleep button a coronary! :lol:

His bit about his Grandmother's special almond dressing at Thanksgiving still kills me ("Hey Rich, there's some feet on my almonds!)."Now, don't say nuttin' to her, cuz you know she goin' blind...but you did have roaches, baby."

Yeah, his comedy wasn't for everybody, but it sure worked for me! I rank him right up there with Lenny Bruce and George Carlin for being so brilliant and influential. He just seemed to find the humor in any situation, or inject the perfect touch of humor where there was none. Most people don't know this, but Richard Pryor wrote all of the "Mongo" stuff in Blazing Saddles; nobody will ever convince me he couldn't be funny without the "foul" language.

Mudbone and his other selves will be missed.Did anyone else see Morgan Freeman's performance in Driving Miss Daisy and immediately think of Mudbone?

Apologies all around for forgetting where I was.
Hank has been kind enough to let me resume my posting priviledges.

Kirk: "Aren't you dead?"

John P: Merely raises an eyebrow in response

José

Did anyone else see Morgan Freeman's performance in Driving Miss Daisy and immediately think of Mudbone?

Yep. Hoke must have been from Pe-Ora, Illinois.