February 5, 2019 ▸ History, People

Episode 364: Richard Pryor – Comedy, Cocaine, and Comebacks!

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we look at arguably the best stand-up comedian who ever graced a stage, the legendary Richard Pryor. He paved the way for vulgar, race-charged jokes that nobody in the mainstream was doing. Without him, we’d have no Dave Chappell, no Chris Rock, and no Eddie Murphy. Jerry Seinfeld called Richard Pryor “the Picasso of our profession,” and it was well-deserved.

His background was something out of a serial killer’s life story. His mother Gertrude was a hooker, and his father was a bouncer, boxer, pimp, and tough. A young Richard Pryor witnessed his father beat his mother almost to death on many occasions. When his mom abandoned him at five years old, he moved in with his grandmother. Oh, and his grandmother ran the brothel that Pryor’s mom worked at! From drug abuse to bathroom abortions, a young Richard Pryor saw it all, and somehow, his defense mechanism was to make jokes about it all, even late in life.

Eventually, he got away from home after dropping out of high school, joined the army, and cut a guy. Like you do. He spent two years in the brig, and when he got out, he dedicated his life to entertainment. He started as an MC and piano player and was so funny that he was soon propelled to the life of a stand-up comedian, playing black clubs on the East coast. He started to gain some success and opened for Bobby Darin in Vegas, but he took a break to develop his own style (and hang out with Huey P. Newton and the Black Panthers). When he returned, he was an insightful, envelope-pushing comic who pioneered the use of the N-Word.

After that, he was a rocket. He released album after album, won Emmy awards for writing on various TV shows, won Grammies for his albums, and made some of the highest grossing comedies of his era. His hard life style took its toll, however, as he had a heart attack and eventually tried to kill himself (by dousing himself in Bacardi 151 while high on freebased cocaine and lighting himself on fire). It didn’t work, and even his horrible suicide attempt and drug abuse became the butt of his own jokes.

Eventually, he fell ill with MS and still managed to find humor in the hard to reach places. So, what did Dean Martin have to do with his comedic transformation? What ties did he have to the mob? How much cocaine did he do? Why did they fire him from the lead role in Blazing Saddles? What did Lorne Michaels have to do in order to get him on SNL? How did he die? Why does Quincy Jones think he had sex with Marlon Brando? Listen, laugh, learn.

Eddie Murphy, Cosby, Pryor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZlQaE4GDUY

Mafia Joke: Great impression, best Italian mock I’ve ever seen

Great article on him: https://www.city-journal.org/html/richard-pryor-stand-philosopher-13173.html