Richard Pryor is an American comedian and actor, considered by television channel Comedy Central as the greatest stand-up comedian of all time.
Born on Peoria, Illinois on December 1, 1940, he was raised primarily by his grandmother, after his mother left him. After playing drums professionally and a stint at the U.S. Army, he moved to New York City in 1963 to perform with the likes of Bob Dylan and Nina Simone. Pryor was inspired by Bill Cosby, and began doing stand-up routines, and guest appearances in shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show followed.
Richard Pryor moved to Berkeley, California in 1969, immersing in the counterculture and signing with the comedy-oriented label Laff Records in 1970. In 1972, he appeared in his first film, Wattstax, and continued releasing comedy albums under Stax Records. He was later writing for television shows like Sanford and Son, and a Lily Tomlin special, where he won an Emmy award. He was also a guest host on Saturday Night Live. In 1977, NBC launched The Richard Pryor Show, but was cancelled after four episodes.
In 1983, Pryor signed a contract with Columbia Pictures, which led to his appearance in films such as Lady Sings the Blues, The Mack, Silver Streak, Car Wash, Superman III, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and the allegedly autobiographical Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling, partly because of the opening scenes which some say are inspired by an incident when he burned himself after taking cocaine in 1980. Pryor also co-wrote the Gene Wilder comedy Blazing Saddles.
In 1991, Richard Pryor announced that he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1986. He started moving away from stand-up performance, and appeared in a few other films, such as 1991’s Another You. His last film appearance was in the 1997 film Lost Highway. He also had a guest appearance on medical drama Chicago Hope; his 1994 appearance gave him an Emmy nomination.
On December 10, 2005, Richard Pryor died in his home in Encino, California, of a heart attack. He was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 2006.