Richard Pryor Summary

Pryor, Richard (1940—) In the 1970s and 1980s, Richard Pryor was one of America's top comedians, creating a daring new comedy of character by transforming African-American culture into h... Read more

Richard Pryor (born 1940) was one of the most influential stand- up comedians of his generation, and starred in a number of hit films and comedy recordings. He created a new type of humor, one that bl... Read more

Critical Essay by James Mcpherson Almost singlehandedly, [Richard Pryor] is creating a new style in American comedy, a style that some of his admirers have called "theater" because there... Read more

Critical Essay by Robert Hatch Like other professions, that of the comedian has its own hierarchy. Pryor is a jester, a high rank that can be defined as a clown who goes armed…. [His] charm is ... Read more

Critical Essay by Colin L. Westerbeck, Jr. I like Pryor. I think he's funny. But I've never thought he was off the charts, absolutely hilarious. A few years ago he did [a performance fil... Read more

Critical Essay by Jonathan Rosenbaum At the center of Richard Pryor's comedy is his grasp of poverty and weakness, pain and defeat—the very reverse of that strength and self-confidence w... Read more

Critical Essay by Tom Carson Bill Cosby may rent his smile to Ford while Dick Gregory retreats into sanctimonious oblivion, but Pryor is still a defiant, freakily incorrigible survivor—someone ... Read more

Critical Essay by David Denby Bending low, microphone in hand, Richard Pryor turns himself into two cheetahs calmly stalking a herd of gazelles in his new performance film, Richard Pryor Live on Sunse... Read more