Photo: GAC=General Artists Corporation (management)/Photographer:Berk Costello, New York City/Mister Kelly's, who sent the photo and release to the press. / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
For me, Richard Pryor remains the measuring stick for honesty in comedy. Plenty of comedians are funny; very few are brave, and he was both, mining his own scars and America's contradictions for laughter that still stings decades later. The five Grammys and the Mark Twain Prize feel almost beside the point — his real legacy is the permission he gave every comic after him to tell the truth on stage. When I revisit his albums, I'm struck by how current they sound. He died in 2005, but stand-up has never stopped answering to him.
Overview
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential comedians of all time. Pryor won a Primetime Emmy Award and five Grammy Awards.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Richard Pryor
- Name (Japanese)
- リチャード・プライヤー
- Reading
- りちゃーど・ぷらいやー
- Born
- December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Dragon
- Origin
- Peoria, Illinois, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- television actor / film actor / comedian / screenwriter / journalist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Peoria High School
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 2006 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
- 1976 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album
- 1998 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
- 1982 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album
- 1974 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special
- Writers Guild of America Award
- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Television actor — see all → · Film actor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.