Richard Pryor, R.I.P.
Posted by Richard on December 12, 2005
It saddened me to hear that Richard Pryor died Saturday. He was surely one of the funniest people of the twentieth century and a genuine original. I liked him a lot.
If you’re too young to remember him — or you’re old enough, but the 70s are just a blur — you owe it to yourself to check out some of his work. Start with a couple of his movies, Stir Crazy and Silver Streak. He and Gene Wilder made a terrific comedy team. But check out his TV show and albums, too. Just wonderful stuff. The funniest take on environmentalism I ever heard was Pryor’s routine, "Shortage of White People."
Everyone who likes Jim Carey’s ability to mug it up with his expressive, rubbery face should spend some time watching Pryor, the original. Carey is a pale imitation.
Yes, that joke was intentional.
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