Richard Pryor

Richard Franklin Lenox Thomas Pryor (born December 1, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois) is an American comedian and actor.

Living with MS

Today, Richard Pryor uses a wheelchair because of MS. In late 2004 his sister claimed that Pryor has lost his voice. However, on January 9, 2005, Pryor himself rebutted this statement in a post on his official website, where he stated, "Sick of hearing this shit about me not talking... not true... good days, bad days... but I still am a talkin' motherfucker!"

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January 9 - 2005

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In 1999, Pryor won the inaugural Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. According to Former Kennedy Center President Lawrence J. Wilker, "Richard Pryor was selected as the first recipient of the new Mark Twain Prize because as a stand-up comic, writer, and actor, he struck a chord, and a nerve, with America, forcing it to look at large social questions of race and the more tragicomic aspects of the human condition. Though uncompromising in his wit, Pryor, like Twain, projects a generosity of spirit that unites us. They were both trenchant social critics who spoke the truth, however outrageous."

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1999 - Mark Twain Prize for American Humor - John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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In 2000, Rhino Records remastered all of Pryor's Reprise and Warner Bros. albums for inclusion in the box set ...And It's Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968-1992).

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2000 - Rhino Records - ...And It's Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968-1992)

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In 2002, Pryor and his wife/manager Jennifer Lee Pryor, won the legal rights to all of the Laff material - almost 40 hours of reel-to-reel analog tape. After going through the tapes and getting Richard's blessing, Jennifer Lee Pryor gave Rhino Records access to the Laff tapes in 2004. These tapes, including the entire Craps album, form the basis of the double-CD release '.

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2002 - 2004

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In 2004, Pryor was voted #1 of the "Greatest Standup Comedians of All Time" by Comedy Central.

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2004 - Comedy Central

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In a 2005 British poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, Pryor was voted the 10th greatest comedy act ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

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2005 - British - The Comedian's Comedian

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