Pioneering comedian Richard Pryor dies
Date: Tuesday, December 13 @ 09:23:04 UTC
Topic: Black Habits Articles
American comedian and actor Richard Pryor died on Saturday of a heart attack, aged 65.
He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the nervous system.
Although his foul-mouthed routines frequently shocked audiences, his audacious style influenced generations of standups.
"By expressing his heart, anger and joy, Richard Pryor took comedy to its highest form," Steve Martin said in tribute.
A series of hit comedies and concert films in the Seventies and Eighties helped propel Prior to the top of the Hollywood heap.
His films included 'Car Wash' (1976), 'Blue Collar' (1978), 'Superman III' (1983) and the 'Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip' (1982).
Throughout his career, Pryor focused on racial inequality. In 1977, while hosting the Academy Awards, he joked that Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier were the only black members of the Academy.
Pryor was married seven times, to five women, and had seven children.
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