

He was sexually abused at age seven, and expelled from school at the age of 14. Pryor was one of four children raised in his grandmother's brothel. After Gertrude abandoned him when he was 10, Pryor was raised primarily by Marie, a tall, violent woman who would beat him for any of his eccentricities. His father, LeRoy "Buck Carter" Pryor (June 7, 1915 – September 27, 1968), was a former boxer, hustler and pimp.

He grew up in a brothel run by his grandmother, Marie Carter, where his alcoholic mother, Gertrude L. Pryor was born on December 1, 1940, in Peoria, Illinois. He collaborated on many projects with actor Gene Wilder, including the films Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989), and Another You (1991). He also appeared in action films, like Superman III (1983). His occasional roles in dramas included Paul Schrader's Blue Collar (1978). As an actor, he starred mainly in comedies. Is It Something I Said? (1975), Bicentennial Nigger (1976), Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979), Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982), and Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983). Pryor's body of work includes the concert films and recordings: Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin' (1971), That Nigger's Crazy (1974). In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked him first on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. He was listed at number one on Comedy Central's list of all-time greatest stand-up comedians. He won the Writers Guild of America Award in 1974. He received the first Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 1998.


Pryor won a Primetime Emmy Award and five Grammy Awards. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential stand-up comedians of all time. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor.
