Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Richard Pryor



Richard Pryor, 1940-2005


Say what you want about Bill Cosby, but nobody was more prolithic to the advancement of black comedians than Richard Pryor. He wasn't profane for the sake of profanity and he didn't just tell jokes. He told stories. Stories about himself. Pryor took personal tragedies and turned them into comedic gold, teaching us that we can be brutally honest and really funny at the same time.
It's been said that stand up comedy has it's own Holy Trinity; consisting of Lenny Bruce, George Carlin and Richard Pryor. A bigger pedastel cannot be built or be more accurate.
If death comes in 3's, and an entertainer of Pryor's stature has passed, who the hell are we gonna lose next???