Hotmail
Richard Pryor
:
Overview
 Avg.User Rating:  1440 RatingsRate this person:
Screenwriter, Actor Born: December 1, 1940 in Peoria, IL Death: December 10, 2005 in Los Angeles, CA Biography:African-American comedian "Richard Pryor" grew up bombarded by mixed messages. Pryor's grandmother owned a string of brothels, his mother prostituted herself, and his father was a pimp. Still, they raised Richard to be honest, polite, and religious. Living in one of the worst slums in Peoria, IL, Pryor found that he could best defend himself by getting gang members to laugh at instead of pummeling him. This led to his reputation as a disruptive class clown, although at least one understanding teacher allowed Pryor one minute per week to "cut up" so long as he behaved himself the rest of the time. At age 14, he became involved in amateur dramatics at Peoria's Carver Community Center, which polished his stage presence. In 1963, Pryor headed to New York to seek work as a standup comic; after small gigs in the black nightclub circuit, he was advised to pattern himself after "Bill Cosby" -- that is, to be... Full Biography
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| advertisement |
Movie data provided by:
