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>> Narrator: HE CAME OUT OF THE</font> GHETTO AND STEPPED INTO THE LIMELIGHT. HIS WILD, UNPREDICTABLE ONE-MAN SHOWS REDEFINED THE ART OF STANDUP COMEDY. BUT A COMBUSTIBLE MIX OF DRUGS AND VIOLENCE THREATENED TO BRING HIM DOWN IN FLAMES. EVEN LATE IN LIFE, WHILE SUFFERING FROM MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, RICHARD PRYOR SOMEHOW CONTINUED TO PERFORM. RIGHT UP UNTIL HIS DEATH IN DECEMBER 2005, HE MAINTAINED HIS REIGN AS THE KING OF COMEDY. >> RICHARD PRYOR IS THE MOST INFLUENTIAL COMIC OF HIS TIME. >> RICHARD PRYOR IS THE GREATEST COMEDIAN THAT EVER LIVED. >> WITHOUT PRYOR, I WOULDN'T BE DOING WHAT I'M DOING. >> HE WAS THE FIRST GUY TO BRING WHITE AND BLACK TOGETHER IN AN AUDIENCE. THERE ISN'T A COMIC THAT'S WORKING TODAY THAT DOESN'T OWE SOMETHING TO RICHARD PRYOR. >> Narrator: RICHARD PRYOR DEVELOPED HIS COMEDIC VOICE IN THE POOL HALLS AND BROTHELS AROUND PEORIA, ILLINOIS, THE WORLD INTO WHICH HE WAS BORN ON DECEMBER 1, 1940. RICHARD FRANKLIN LENOX THOMAS PRYOR WAS FOUR YEARS OLD WHEN HE FIRST SAW HIS FATHER, WHO HAD RETURNED FROM SERVING IN WORLD WAR II. PRYOR'S MOTHER WOULD GO ON DRINKING BINGES AND DISAPPEAR FOR MONTHS AT TIME. YOUNG RICHARD WAS RAISED BY HIS PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER, MARIE CARTER, WHO HE CALLED "MAMA." MAMA WAS A FORMIDABLE LOCAL CHARACTER WHO RAN THE FAMILY BUSINESS, A STRING OF BROTHELS AND BARS ALONG WASHINGTON STREET. >> SHE WAS THE FOUNDATION, PERIOD, IN HIS LIFE, IN GROWING UP. SHE WAS HIS SPIRITUALITY, SHE WAS HIS CARETAKER, SHE WAS A LOT OF HIS COMEDY, YOU KNOW. SHE WAS ON THE FOREFRONT OF EVERYTHING. >> Narrator: RICHARD WAS A SMALL, QUICK-WITTED CHILD WHOSE BIG ROUND EYES TOOK IN EVERYTHING THAT WENT ON AROUND HIM. >> RICHARD PRYOR CERTAINLY HAD A UNIQUE BACKGROUND. HE OBSERVED BRUTALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN; HE OBSERVED THE SEXUAL HABITS OF BLACK MEN AND WOMEN AT A TIME... WELL, WHEN HE WAS A YOUTH; HE OBSERVED VIOLENCE THAT THE AVERAGE PERSON DOES NOT HAVE TO OBSERVE. >> Narrator: WHILE HE WAS A SMALL CHILD, RICHARD DISCOVERED HE COULD MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH. BEING FUNNY HAD ITS REWARDS. IF PEOPLE LAUGHED, THEY MIGHT NOT HURT HIM. LATER, YOUNG PRYOR DISCOVERED THE GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER CENTER, A POPULAR AFTER-SCHOOL GATHERING PLACE FOR PEORIA'S BLACK CHILDREN. >> WE WERE REHEARSING "RUMPELSTILTSKIN", AND YOU KNOW HOW THE THEATER IS DARK? AND THIS LITTLE BOY, THIS LITTLE SKINNY BOY WHO MUST HAVE BEEN ABOUT 13, BUT HE LOOKED LIKE HE WAS TEN, WALKED UP TO THE EDGE OF THE STAGE, AND HE KEPT WATCHING US, AND HE SAID, "I CAN DO THAT." AND SO ONE DAY THE YOUNG MAN WHO WAS PLAYING THE PART OF THE KING DIDN'T SHOW UP FOR REHEARSAL, AND THAT WAS HIS MISTAKE. BECAUSE RICHARD GOT ON THE THRONE THEN AND HE'S NEVER BEEN DOWN SINCE. (<i> LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE</i> ) >> Narrator: ONCE HE FELT THE THRILL OF GETTING APPLAUSE, RICHIE PRYOR DREAMED OF BEING ON TELEVISION. AT THE TIME, TV COMEDY WAS AN ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY WHITE MALE CLUB, THOUGH BY THE EARLY '60s, A FEW BLACK COMICS ACHIEVED LIMITED SMALL-SCREEN SUCCESS, INCLUDING REDD FOXX, GODFREY CAMBRIDGE AND DICK GREGORY. >> IN THE EARLY DAYS OF TELEVISION, YOU JUST NEVER DID SEE NO BLACK FOLKS ON IT. THE ODDS OF A RICHARD PRYOR EVEN SLIPPING THROUGH WAS, LIKE, NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE, COMING OUT OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS. AMERICA JUST DID NOT PERMIT A BLACK PERSON TO STAND FLATFOOTED AND TALK. NOW, YOU COULD DANCE AND ROLL YOUR EYES AND SAY SOME FUNNIES. >> Narrator: YET, PRYOR WANTED TO BE AS FAMOUS AS TV COMEDIANS LIKE RED SKELTON, JERRY LEWIS AND MILTON BERLE. BY HIS EARLY 20s, HE LEFT SCHOOL, FINISHED A STINT IN THE ARMY AND SET OUT TO MAKE IT BIG. PRYOR STARTED OUT WORKING THE SEGREGATED CLUBS ON THE BLACK BELT, OR "CHITLIN' CIRCUIT." PLAYING ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY TO BLACK AUDIENCES, PRYOR CREATED COMIC CHARACTERS BASED ON THE PIMPS, WHORES, AND WINOS AROUND WHOM HE'D GROWN UP. HE WAS SPENDING MUCH OF HIS $50- A-WEEK SALARY ON DRUGS, OFTEN STAYING UP FOR DAYS AT A TIME. PRYOR'S PROBLEMS WITH WOMEN BEGAN A FEW YEARS EARLIER. HE'D GOTTEN HIS GIRLFRIEND, PATRICIA PRICE, PREGNANT AND MARRIED HER IN 1961 JUST BEFORE SHE GAVE BIRTH TO THEIR SON, RICHARD PRYOR, JR. BUT BY 1963, SETTING HIS SIGHTS ON LARGER CROSSOVER SUCCESS, HE ABANDONED HIS WIFE AND CHILD AND HEADED FOR NEW YORK CITY AND STARDOM. >> THE FIRST TIME I EVER LAID EYES ON RICHIE WAS DOWN AT THE CLUB, THE CAFE WHA. RICHIE WAS THE NEW GUY IN TOWN. I BOOKED RICHIE AROUND IN THE VILLAGE. HE PLAYED THE VILLAGE GATE, AND I GOT HIM IN OVER AT THE BITTER END. AND THEN I GOT HIM A GIG UPTOWN, HIS FIRST GIG UPTOWN, AND HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY CLOTHES TO WEAR. SO RICHIE AND I WENT SHOPPING. I BOUGHT HIM A COUPLE OF SUITS, BOUGHT HIM A COUPLE OF SHIRTS, BOUGHT HIM TIES, SOCKS, SHOES, CUFFLINKS, EVERYTHING FOR THE BIG TIME. >> Narrator: IN THE GREENWICH VILLAGE NIGHTCLUBS, PRYOR HONED HIS ACT ALONGSIDE SUCH YOUNG PERFORMERS AS BOB DYLAN, GEORGE CARLIN AND WOODY ALLEN. WHILE HE WORKED TO FIND HIS OWN UNIQUE COMIC VOICE, TWO BOLD AND RISING COMEDY STARS MADE A LASTING IMPRESSION ON HIM. THE FIRST WAS LENNY BRUCE, WHOSE BITING SATIRE ATTACKED SOCIAL AND POLITICAL HYPOCRISY. THE SECOND COMIC WAS SOFT- SPOKEN, FUNNY AND UTTERLY NON- THREATENING. HE WAS BLACK, AND HIS ALBUMS MADE MILLIONS. HIS NAME WAS BILL COSBY. >> RICHIE AND COSBY WOULD GET ON THE STAGE AND IMPROVISE. AND I REMEMBER WALKING IN THERE, INTO THE CLUB ON A GIVEN NIGHT, AND I'D SAY, "HEY, WHAT'S COS' DOING?" AND I'D LOOK, AND PRYOR WAS DOING COS'. HE'D SOUND JUST LIKE HIM. THEN HE'D COME OFF AND I'D START YELLING AT HIM, "RICHIE, YOU CAN'T BE COS'. THERE'S ONLY ONE PERSON YOU CAN BE HERE. YOU CAN BE RICHARD PRYOR, OR YOU CAN BE NOBODY." >> Narrator: PRYOR WAS PLAYING BIGGER HOUSES, BUT HE HADN'T TOUCHED COSBY'S FAME. >> FOR THE FIRST TIME ON TELEVISION, RICHARD PRYOR. >> Narrator: ON AUGUST 31, 1964, PRYOR MADE HIS TELEVISION DEBUT ON RUDY VALLEE'S SUMMER VARIETY SHOW, "ON BROADWAY TONIGHT." >> I'M GONNA TELL YOU A FEW THINGS ABOUT MYSELF, BECAUSE A LOT OF YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW ME. I'M NOT A NEW YORKER. MY HOME'S IN PEORIA, ILLINOIS. AND... (<i> SCATTERED LAUGHTER</i> ) (<i> APPLAUSE</i> ) THANK YOU. I'M FROM AN AVERAGE-TYPE FAMILY: 11 KIDS. (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) NO MOTHER AND FATHER, JUST KIDS. (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I USED TO THINK MY PEOPLE DIDN'T LIKE ME, BECAUSE THEY USED TO SEND ME TO THE STORE FOR BREAD. THEN THEY'D MOVE. (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) I NOTICED WHEN I WAS YOUNG, LIKE, MY PEOPLE, IF THEY DIDN'T WANT TO HOLLER AT YOU, THEY'D MAKE A FUNNY MOVE WITH THEIR BODY. YOU EVER HAVE YOUR PARENTS DO THIS IF YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING WRONG? THEY'D LOOK AT YOU AND GO... (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) I HAD A WILD NEIGHBORHOOD, I GOT TO TELL YOU, BECAUSE MY MOTHER'S PUERTO RICAN AND MY FATHER'S NEGRO, AND WE LIVED IN A REAL BIG JEWISH TENEMENT BUILDING... (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) ...IN AN ITALIAN NEIGHBORHOOD. (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) EVERY TIME I'D GO OUTSIDE, THE KIDS WOULD SAY, "GET HIM! HE'S ALL OF 'EM!" (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) >> Narrator: OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, PRYOR'S STAR CONTINUED TO RISE. IN ADDITION TO HIS APPEARANCES IN NIGHTCLUBS, IN LAS VEGAS AND ON TELEVISION, PRYOR PLAYED BIT PARTS IN FILMS LIKE "WILD IN THE STREETS." IN 1969, HE RELEASED HIS FIRST COMEDY ALBUM, THE SELF-TITLED "RICHARD PRYOR." ON THIS ALBUM, HE BARED HIS COMIC SOUL. NO ONE COULD MISTAKE PRYOR'S RAW, PROFANE MATERIAL FOR A BILL COSBY ROUTINE. >> HE CORRUPTED, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT 12 GENERATIONS OF COMICS, BECAUSE THEY NEVER REALIZED THAT HE NEVER USED PROFANITY AS A PUNCH LINE. I MEAN, HE USED PROFANITY AS A CONVERSATION PIECE. BUT IF YOU GO AND LISTEN TO ALL OF HIS TAPES AND PULL THE PROFANITY OUT, THE STUFF IS JUST AS FUNNY. >> Narrator: BY 1970, AT THE AGE OF 29, RICHARD PRYOR FACED A PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CRISIS. THE VIETNAM WAR AND THE ASSASSINATION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING IN 1968 HAD RADICALIZED MANY IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY, AND PRYOR WAS ALSO DEEPLY AFFECTED. THOUGH HE'D ALREADY EXPERIMENTED WITH A MORE RADICAL COMIC VISION ON HIS FIRST ALBUM, ON STAGE, HE WAS STILL TORN BETWEEN THE BILL COSBY-LIKE ROUTINES THAT HAD WON HIM A WIDER AUDIENCE AND THE GRITTY, ROUGH-EDGED STORIES AND CHARACTERS HE HAD ONLY PERFORMED FOR BLACK AUDIENCES. >> HE WAS AS DISARMING AND CHARMING AS COSBY WAS, BUT HE WAS DISSATISFIED WITH WHAT WAS GOING ON, DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE HAD APPEARED ON MAJOR TV SHOWS AND WAS ACCEPTED BY A LARGE MAJORITY OF THE AMERICAN TV AUDIENCE. HE WANTED TO EXPRESS OTHER PARTS OF HIS OWN EXPERIENCE AND TO SAY THINGS ABOUT THE CHARACTERS THAT HE SAID WERE ALWAYS IN HIS HEAD STRUGGLING TO GET OUT. THE WHOLE THING CAME TO A HEAD WHEN HE WAS PERFORMING AT THE ALADDIN HOTEL IN LAS VEGAS. >> Narrator: LOOKING OUT AT THE CELEBRITY-PACKED AUDIENCE, PRYOR FROZE. HE COULD NO LONGER PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE HE WASN'T, NO MATTER HOW BIG THE CHECK. HE STORMED OFF THE STAGE AND LEFT VEGAS FOR GOOD. HE SPENT A BRIEF, TROUBLED TIME IN LOS ANGELES. THEN, PRYOR WENT NORTH TO BERKELEY AND DROPPED OUT. >> IF HE WANTED TO BECOME MORE SERIOUS WITH HIS COMEDY, BERKELEY WAS THE PERFECT LOCATION FOR THAT. IT WAS SORT OF A HOTBED OF RADICAL THOUGHT. IT WAS A FREETHINKING CROWD. THERE WERE MANY BLACK OR AFRICAN-AMERICAN INTELLECTUALS THERE WHO COULD HELP PRYOR IN MAKING THIS TRANSITION. HE STARTED TO USE THE CHARACTERS THAT HE HAD GROWN UP WITH, HE HAD OBSERVED WHEN HE WAS GROWING UP. HE STARTED TO USE SOME INCIDENTS FROM HIS OWN LIFE, AND HE UNLEASHED HIMSELF BASICALLY AND ALLOWED HIS REAL PERSONALITY TO EMERGE. WHEN RICHARD PRYOR LEFT BERKELEY AND WENT BACK TO L.A. AND STARTED TO PERFORM THE NEW COMEDY, STARTED TO PERFORM AS RICHARD PRYOR, BILL COSBY CAME TO SEE HIM, AND COSBY SAID SOMETHING VERY INTERESTING. HE SAID THAT RICHARD PRYOR HAD KILLED THE BILL COSBY IN HIM. IT WAS PURE RICHARD PRYOR, AND HE WAS MAGNIFICENT. >> Narrator: HAVING FINALLY FOUND HIS OWN COMIC VOICE, RICHARD PRYOR WAS READY TO MEET NEW CHALLENGES. HIS NEXT GOAL WAS HOLLYWOOD STARDOM. >> Narrator: BY 1971, PRYOR WAS FEELING MORE COMFORTABLE ON STAGE, PERFORMING HIS TOUGHER, RAUNCHIER, MORE PERSONAL MATERIAL. BUT MIXED AUDIENCES WEREN'T ALWAYS AS ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT HIS NEWFOUND COMIC HONESTY. NEITHER WERE CLUB OWNERS AND TV PRODUCERS. BOOKINGS WERE FEW, AND PRYOR'S CAREER WAS STALLED. STILL, HIS TALENT WAS OBVIOUS TO RON DEBLASIO, WHO OFFERED TO HELP PRYOR FIND REPRESENTATION. >> I WENT TO HEADS OF AGENCIES, I WENT TO THE STUDIOS, I WENT TO TELEVISION NETWORKS. EVERYBODY HAD ACKNOWLEDGED THAT YES, THEY FELT THAT HE WAS CLEVER, VERY, VERY SMART, VERY ENTERTAINING AND VERY, VERY FUNNY. BUT A QUOTE WAS "TOO HOT TO HANDLE." >> Narrator: BUT TALENT LIKE PRYOR'S COULD NOT BE DENIED FOR LONG, AND A CONCERT IN VIRGINIA BEGAN A CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT PROVED A BREAKTHROUGH FOR PRYOR. >> THE ASSISTANT MANAGER OF THE VENUE HAD WANTED TO PREVENT RICHARD FROM PERFORMING, BECAUSE HE HEARD THAT THERE WERE CURSE WORDS IN HIS ACT. A COOLER HEAD PREVAILED. HE ALLOWED HIM TO PERFORM, BUT CALLED THE CHIEF OF POLICE RIGHT AFTER THE SHOW, AND RICHARD WAS ARRESTED AND BROUGHT DOWN TO THE POLICE STATION, TOGETHER WITH MYSELF. RICHARD WAS BOOKED AND THEN LET GO. >> Narrator: THE NEXT DAY, PRYOR FLEW TO PHILADELPHIA FOR AN APPEARANCE ON THE "MIKE DOUGLAS SHOW." PRYOR TOLD THE WHOLE STORY OF HIS ARREST TO THE LOCAL PAPERS AND A NATIONWIDE TV AUDIENCE. >> AND BY THAT EVENING, I HAD RECEIVED TELEPHONE CALLS FROM MANY OF THE SAME PEOPLE THAT HAD NOT BEEN AS EXCITED ABOUT RICHARD AS A PERFORMER, AND AFTER THAT, THINGS GOT A LOT EASIER FOR US. >> Narrator: FOR PRYOR, THE GOAL WAS NOW FILMS, AND IN LATE 1971, PRYOR GOT HIS FIRST BIG MOVIE BREAK IN "LADY SINGS THE BLUES," THE SMASH SCREEN BIOGRAPHY OF BILLIE HOLIDAY, WHICH STARRED DIANA ROSS. PRYOR'S TOUCHING PERFORMANCE AS PIANO MAN ESTABLISHED HIM AS A MOVIE STAR. >> I CRIED, BECAUSE I REALLY THOUGHT MY DAD DIED IN THAT MOVIE. LIKE, THE CHARACTER DIES, AND I REALLY THOUGHT HE DIED. AND THEN I REALIZED, "OH, HE'S ACTING." MY MOM'S LIKE, "I THINK YOU NEED TO CALL HIM," AND I CALLED, AND I WAS LIKE... AND I HEARD HIS VOICE, AND I WAS LIKE, "I THOUGHT YOU DIED," YOU KNOW. HE WAS LIKE, "NO." >> Narrator: PRYOR'S PERFORMANCE IN "LADY SINGS THE BLUES" PROVED THAT THE COMIC COULD MAKE IT ON THE BIG SCREEN AS A SERIOUS ACTOR. THAT SAME YEAR, MEL BROOKS ASKED PRYOR TO HELP HIM WRITE THE SCRIPT FOR A WESTERN SPOOF. >> WE HAD HOPED THAT HE WAS GOING TO GET THE LEAD IN THAT FILM, BUT THE STUDIO WOULDN'T OKAY IT. I HAD SPOKEN TO MEL BROOKS ABOUT THAT, AND MEL SAID HE HAD NO CONTROL. THE STUDIO WOULDN'T APPROVE HIM. >> Narrator: HOWEVER, PRYOR DID WIN A SHARE OF THE 1974 WRITER'S GUILD AWARD FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE "BLAZING SADDLES" SCREENPLAY. BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER BENEFIT: HE CONNECTED WITH THE FILM'S CO- STAR, GENE WILDER, WITH WHOM HE WOULD TEAM IN A SERIES OF HIT COMEDIES. PRYOR'S FILM CAREER REACHED A MILESTONE WHEN HE SIGNED A MULTI-PICTURE, MULTIMILLION- DOLLAR DEAL WITH UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, THE BIGGEST MOVIE CONTRACT AWARDED A BLACK ACTOR TO DATE. >> I HAD JUST BECOME HEAD OF PRODUCTION AT UNIVERSAL, AND I WAS VERY YOUNG, AND I HAD A MANDATE FROM LEW WASSERMAN TO CREATE A PROGRAM ORIGINALLY OF BLACK MOTION PICTURES THAT WOULD QUALIFY FOR THE N.A.A.C.P. IMAGE AWARD, THAT WOULD NOT FALL IN THE REALM OF BLAXPLOITATION FILMS, BUT WOULD STILL HAVE A POP CULTURE EDGE. RICHARD WAS MY ANCHOR FOR THAT PROGRAM OF PICTURES. >> Narrator: PRYOR MADE OVER A DOZEN FILMS FOR UNIVERSAL, INCLUDING "BINGO LONG AND HIS TRAVELING ALL-STARS AND MOTOR KINGS," "CAR WASH," AN IMMEDIATE CULT HIT WHICH EXPANDED PRYOR'S MAINSTREAM AUDIENCE, AND "BLUE COLLAR," CONSIDERED BY MANY TO BE PRYOR'S FINEST WORK IN FILM. >> WE HAD A VERY, VERY HARD TIME GETTING A LOT OF WHITE THEATER OWNERS TO PLACE A PICTURE LIKE "CAR WASH" BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT YOUNG, ROWDY BLACK KIDS IN THEIR THEATERS. >> Narrator: EVENTUALLY, PRYOR'S GROWING POWER AT THE BOX OFFICE COULD NOT BE DENIED. >> THE MINUTE IT BECAME CLEAR THAT MR. PRYOR REPRESENTED AN EVER-INCREASING BOX-OFFICE NUMBER, THAT THE MONEY WOULD FLOW OVER THE TRANSOM REGULARLY, HE WAS FREER AND FREER TO DO WHAT HE WANTED WHEN HE WANTED HOW HE WANTED. >> Narrator: ON TELEVISION, PRYOR WON AN EMMY FOR CO-WRITING LILY TOMLIN'S SERIES OF SPECIALS. AS THE DECADE PROGRESSED, PRYOR'S HIGHS GOT HIGHER AND HIS LOWS SANK LOWER. IN 1974, HE SPENT TEN DAYS IN JAIL FOR TAX EVASION. AS USUAL, RICHARD FOUND THE HUMOR IN HIS PAIN. >> SOMETIMES PAIN IS FUNNY LATER ON, LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? >> LIKE WHAT? >> WHEN I WAS IN JAIL, I WAS IN JAIL FOR INCOME TAX EVASION. >> WHEN? >> LAST YEAR. (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) >> HOW MUCH TIME DID YOU GET? >> I... I GOT ENOUGH. (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) 'CAUSE I TOLD THE JUDGE, I SAID, "I FORGOT ABOUT MY TAXES." HE SAID, "YOU'LL REMEMBER NEXT YEAR, (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) >> Narrator: IN 1975, PRYOR SCORED ANOTHER TV HIT AS GUEST HOST ON A HOT NEW LATE-NIGHT SERIES IN ITS FIRST SEASON ON NBC: "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE." >> I COULDN'T IMAGINE DOING THE SHOW WITHOUT HIM, AND HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE I ASKED. AND THERE WAS SOME RESISTANCE AT NBC TO PUTTING HIM ON, 'CAUSE I THINK THEY THOUGHT HE WAS TROUBLE. OF COURSE, THEY WERE RIGHT. BUT WHAT SEEMED LIKE TROUBLE TO THEM WAS, OF COURSE, ORIGINALITY, AND... AND EVERYTHING THAT I WANTED THE SHOW TO BE WAS SORT OF SYMBOLIZED IN WHAT HE REPRESENTED. >> Narrator: NERVOUS NBC CENSORS INSTALLED A SEVEN-SECOND DELAY. >> I THINK THEY WERE WORRIED ABOUT LANGUAGE. THEY WERE WORRIED AT THE TIME ABOUT LOSING AFFILIATES, ALL THE THINGS THEY'RE STILL WORRIED ABOUT. >> Narrator: BY NOW, RICHARD PRYOR HAD APPEARED IN OVER A DOZEN MOVIES, BUT NEVER IN MORE THAN A SUPPORTING ROLE. HE WAS ABOUT TO EMBARK ON A WINNING STREAK THAT WOULD MAKE HIM THE STAR. >> Narrator: IN 1975 PRYOR GOT HIS NEXT BIG MOVIE BREAK. WHEN CASTING A SUPPORTING ROLE IN THE GENE WILDER COMEDY "SILVER STREAK," WILDER THOUGHT OF PRYOR, WHO HE HAD FIRST MET ON "BLAZING SADDLES." >> NOW WE GOT TO MAKE THEM COPS THINK YOU'RE BLACK. >> IT'LL NEVER WORK, NEVER. >> WHAT, ARE YOU AFRAID IT WON'T COME OFF? >> THAT'S A GOOD JOKE. THAT'S HUMOROUS. >> LIKE THAT? >> Narrator: EARLY INTO THE SHOOT, DIRECTOR ARTHUR HILLER KNEW THAT HE SHOULD TAKE GREATER ADVANTAGE OF PRYOR'S TALENTS. >> ONCE WE GOT RICHARD, I SAID, "WE'RE WASTING HIM," BECAUSE IN THE FIRST SCREENPLAY, HE WAS IN ABOUT THREE-QUARTERS OF THE WAY; THAT WAS... THAT WAS IT. AND WE THOUGHT, YEAH, WE'RE LOSING. WE HAVE RICHARD PRYOR. AND COLIN HIGGINS SAT DOWN FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AND WROTE HIM BACK IN, AND WE KEPT HIM IN TO THE END, WHICH WAS, OF COURSE, JUST TERRIFIC. >> THIS IS CRAZY! IT'LL NEVER WORK. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? >> ARE YOU KIDDING? LOOK AT THAT. AL JOLSON MADE A MILLION BUCKS LOOKING LIKE THAT. >> Narrator: BY THE TIME, SHOOTING ON "SILVER STREAK" HAD WRAPPED, WILDER AND PRYOR WERE CO-STARS AND A BRILLIANT COMEDY TEAM WAS BORN. >> THEY WOULD WORK OFF EACH OTHER, AND FUNNY LITTLE THINGS WOULD OCCUR THAT JUST OCCURRED BECAUSE THAT'S THEM, AND I DON'T THINK EITHER ONE KNEW THEY WERE GOING TO DO IT AT THAT MOMENT. >> SLIDE THIS BEANIE ON YOUR HEAD. HERE YOU GO. ALL RIGHT. ACE OF DEUCE. THAT'S BAD, MAN. YOU'RE LOOKING GOOD. NOW HERE, TAKE THIS RADIO. AND WHEN YOU STEP OUT OF HERE, YOU GOT TO STEP OUT OF HERE LIKE KING [NO AUDIO], RIGHT? YOU BAD. PUT THAT RADIO TO YOUR EAR. THAT'S GOING TO HELP COVER YOUR FACE, RIGHT? AND JUST MOVE WITH THE RHYTHM OF THE MUSIC. MOVE YOUR BODY WITH THE RHYTHM OF THE MUSIC. THAT'S ALL YOU GOT TO REMEMBER, OKAY? LET ME SEE YOU TRY IT. STEP TO THE MUSIC. STEP TO THE MUSIC, YEAH. STEP TO THE MUSIC. STOP. HOW COME YOU WHITEYS GOT SUCH A TIGHS, MAN? >> Narrator: PRYOR WAS ALSO SCORING HITS ON VINYL. HE WON A 1974 GRAMMY AWARD FOR HIS COMEDY ALBUM "THAT NIGGER'S CRAZY." THE L.P. ACHIEVED COSBY-LIKE SUCCESS, SELLING OVER ONE MILLION COPIES. PRYOR EARNED A SECOND GRAMMY FOR HIS 1976 RECORDING "BICENTENNIAL NOW, BLACKS AND WHITES ALIKE WERE LAUGHING AT MATERIAL ONCE THOUGHT TOO CONTROVERSIAL TO CROSS OVER. >> HE HAD A BLACK EXPERIENCE, BUT HIS GENIUS MADE IT A HUMAN EXPERIENCE. EVERYBODY HAVE A COUSIN LIKE THAT. EVERYBODY HAVE A MOTHER LIKE THAT. EVERYBODY HAS A PEORIA IN THEIR... IN THEIR LIFETIME, AND THAT'S WHAT HE WAS ABLE TO COMMUNICATE. >> Narrator: YET, AS HIS PUBLIC STAR CONTINUED TO RISE, PRYOR'S PERSONAL PRIORITIES WERE MORE MONEY, PRETTIER WOMEN AND BETTER DRUGS. >> HE'S LIVING UP IN BEVERLY HILLS AT THE TIME, AND THERE'S THE ROLLS AND THE FERRARI, EVERYTHING IN THE GARAGE. AND I GO IN, AND THERE'S RICHARD SITTING ON THE COUCH WITH TWO BEAUTIFUL-- THEY HAD TO BE NORWEGIAN OR SCANDINAVIAN-- LIGHT, BLONDE, EVERYBODY'S NAKED. THEY'RE COMPLETELY NAKED, AND THEY'RE SITTING ON THE COUCH. AND HE'S GOT A SOUP BOWL OF COKE. LIKE YOU HAVE CASHEW NUTS ON YOUR BUREAU TABLE? HE HAD LIKE A SOUP BOWL. IT MUST... I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IT REPRESENTED. AND IT WAS ROUNDED. AND I FIGURED, LIKE, I CAME AT THE RIGHT TIME. RICHARD SAID, "LOOK, YOU CAN'T STAY. I JUST WANT YOU TO SEE WHAT I'M INTO. I'M TRYING TO GIVE YOU INCENTIVE TO MAKE IT." (<i> LAUGHS</i> ) >> Narrator: BY 1976, RICHARD PRYOR HAD MOVIE DEALS WITH FOUR SEPARATE STUDIOS, INCLUDING MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR DEALS WITH WARNER BROTHERS AND UNIVERSAL. >> RICHARD WAS, IN MY EXPERIENCE, CREATIVELY ENTIRELY RELIABLE. HE WOULD MISS DEADLINES, HE WOULD MISS SCHEDULING ISSUES, HE WOULD SCREW UP PRESS AND PUBLICITY THINGS. HE WOULD DO ALL SORTS OF MARGINALLY DESTRUCTIVE STUFF AROUND THE EDGES. BUT WHEN IT CAME TO WHERE HE LIVED, RICHARD PRYOR WAS HIS OWN BEST POLICEMAN ABOUT QUALITY AND CONTENT, IF NOT ABOUT LIFESTYLE. >> Narrator: THOUGH PRYOR HAD A LIMITED FORMAL EDUCATION, HE WAS AN ACTIVE COLLABORATOR ON MANY OF HIS FILMS, OFTEN WITH A STRONG HAND IN THE SCRIPTING PROCESS. >> HE WAS FREQUENTLY GOING OUT OF HIS WAY TO BE AS SCATOLOGICAL AS POSSIBLE AT A GIVEN MOMENT. AND THEN THE STUDIO WOULD CALL HIM AND SAY, "YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO REDUB THIS FOR THE TELEVISION VERSION." AND RICHARD WOULD SAY, "I'M OUT OF TOWN FOR A WEEK. I'M SORRY," YOU KNOW. "MAKE SOMEONE ELSE DO IT." THAT WAS SO CONSISTENT THAT WE EVENTUALLY FOUND A VOICE DOUBLE WHO SOUNDED EXACTLY LIKE RICHARD WHO WOULD DO ALL THE TELEVISION REDUBS, BECAUSE RICHARD JUST WOULDN'T DO THEM. >> Narrator: IN 1977, RICHARD PRYOR WAS THE SUBJECT OF FEATURE STORIES IN BOTH "TIME" AND "NEWSWEEK," AND NBC SIGNED HIM FOR HIS OWN TV VARIETY SHOW. THE SHOW'S STELLAR SUPPORTING CAST INCLUDED ROBIN WILLIAMS, MARSHA WARFIELD AND SANDRA BERNHARD. ROBERT ALTMAN WAS ONE OF THE SHOW'S WRITERS. >> WE DID ONE VIGNETTE WHERE IT WAS A COURTROOM SCENE WHERE THIS BLACK MAN WAS ON TRIAL FOR RAPE. AND THE INFERENCE WAS EVERY PERSON IN THE ENTIRE COURTROOM HAD MADE IT WITH HER, EXCEPT THIS GUY. AND HE WAS GOING TO BE HUNG FOR RAPING HER, YOU KNOW? AND NBC COULDN'T HANDLE THAT. THAT'S WHY THEY CANCELED. THAT WAS THE CRUX OF THE SHOW. >> Narrator: PRYOR FELT SO STRONGLY ABOUT HIS COMIC VISION THAT HE WALKED OFF THE SHOW ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. NBC HAD ORDERED TEN SHOWS. ONLY FOUR WERE ULTIMATELY PRODUCED. >> RICHARD WAS WARY AND UNCOMFORTABLE IN A NETWORK STUDIO. I THINK THERE WERE WAY TOO MANY WHITE PEOPLE. I THINK IT WAS HE'D FOUGHT TOO HARD FOR HIS OWN CAREER AND TO BE WHO HE WAS WITHOUT HAVING TO FIT IN INTO SOMEONE ELSE'S GAME. I THINK, IN A CLUB OR IN A CONCERT, HE WAS COMPLETELY DOMINANT. IT WAS HIS WORLD. HE CONTROLLED IT. IT WAS HIS GAME. AND I THINK, COMING INTO TRADITIONAL TELEVISION, HE JUST NEVER FIT. >> Narrator: IN NOVEMBER OF THAT SAME YEAR, PRYOR'S HARD-WORKING, HARD-PARTYING LIFESTYLE CAUGHT UP WITH HIM AND HE SUFFERED A MILD HEART ATTACK. IT WOULD NOT BE HIS LAST. MEANWHILE, PRYOR'S RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS THIRD WIFE, DEBORAH McGUIRE, HAD TURNED ABUSIVE. ON NEW YEAR'S DAY, 1978, AFTER A NIGHT OF DRINKING AND DRUGS, DEBORAH WALKED OUT ON PRYOR, INTENDING TO TAKE OFF IN HIS MERCEDES. PRYOR GRABBED HIS .357 MAGNUM AND SHOT OUT THE TIRES. CHARGES WERE DROPPED AND THE COUPLE SOON DIVORCED. BUT AS USUAL, PRYOR TURNED HIS TRIALS INTO COMEDY. >> I SHOT HER TIRES, AND,<i> WHOOM!</i> (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) THE TIRES SAID, "AW-AW-AW-AW- AW." (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) IT GOT GOOD TO ME. I SHOT ANOTHER ONE. (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) <i>BOOM!</i> "AW-AW-AW-AW-AW!" (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) AND THAT VODKA I WAS DRINKING SAYS, "GO AHEAD, SHOOT SOMETHING ELSE." (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) >> THE 1979 CONCERT FILM IS OBVIOUSLY HIS GREATEST PERFORMANCE. IN FACT, PAULINE KAEL IN THE "NEW YORKER" SAID... SAID THAT IT WAS THE GREATEST PERFORMANCE SHE HAD EVER SEEN OR EVER HOPED TO SEE. >> I DON'T WANT TO NEVER SEE NO MORE POLICE IN MY LIFE... (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) ...AT MY HOUSE... (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) ...TAKING MYSS TO JAIL. >> WE TAPED ONE SHOW. WE SHOT IT ONE TIME. >> ALL OF A SUDDEN, HERE WAS A GUY THAT REALLY WASN'T DOING JOKES, BUT WAS TELLING STORIES ABOUT LIFE-- HIS LIFE, THINGS THAT HAD GONE ON. AND HE WAS LOOSE AND FREE AND WONDERFUL AND FUNNY. I MEAN,<i> FUNNY.</i> >> Narrator: TRUE TO FORM, PRYOR GOT COMIC MILEAGE OUT OF HIS 1977 HEART ATTACK. >> I WAS JUST WALKING ALONG AND SOMETHING SAID, "DON'T BREATHE." (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) "OKAY, I WON'T BREATHE, I WON'T BREATHE, I WON'T BREATHE." "GET ON ONE KNEE AND PROVE IT!" "I'M ON ONE KNEE, I'M ON ONE KNEE. DON'T KILL ME!" (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) "YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT DYING NOW, AIN'T YOU?" "YEAH, I'M THINKING ABOUT IT, I'M THINKING ABOUT IT." (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) "YOU DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IT WHEN YOU WAS EATING ALL THAT PORK." (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) >> THE EVENING WAS RIGHT, THE HOUSE WAS ABSOLUTELY FULL, EVERYBODY WAS READY FOR THIS GUY, THIS GUY WAS READY. PRYOR WAS READY TO JUST GO FOR IT. >> I WOKE UP IN THE AMBULANCE, RIGHT? AND THERE WASN'T NOTHING BUT WHITE PEOPLE STARING AT ME. (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) I SAID, "AIN'T THIS A I DONE DIED AND WOUND UP IN THE WRONG MOTHER [no audio] HEAVEN. (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) NOW I GOT TO LISTEN TO LAWRENCE WELK THE REST OF MY DAYS." >> I REALIZED THAT WE WERE MAKING HISTORY THAT NIGHT. AND ONCE WE GOT IN THERE AND HE TOOK THE STAGE AND THAT AUDIENCE LOVED HIM FROM THE MOMENT HE WALKED OUT THERE. >> Narrator: BY THE END OF THE '70s, RICHARD PRYOR HAD FOREVER CHANGED THE RULES OF STANDUP COMEDY. HIS FILM "LIVE IN CONCERT" ESTABLISHED HIM AS A COMEDY HERO. >> AT THE COMEDY STORE, THE WORD WAS SPREAD THAT RICHARD WAS WORKING. HE WOULD NEVER ANNOUNCE IT AND HE WOULD NEVER MAKE A BIG DEAL OF IT, BUT THE WORD WOULD SPREAD. RICHARD WOULD BE DOING FIVE MINUTES OF MATERIAL, SIX MINUTES OF MATERIAL, MUCH OF IT STUFF THAT HE WOULD THROW AWAY AND NEVER USE. AND OVER MY SHOULDER, IN THE DARKENED DOORWAY OF THE BACK HALL THAT LEADS THROUGH THE DRESSING ROOMS AT THE COMEDY STORE, THERE WERE ALWAYS FACES HOVERING, PEOPLE WHO CAME TO SEE RICHARD WHO DIDN'T WANT TO BE SEEN WATCHING RICHARD, AND HANGING ON EVERY WORD. AND THOSE FACES WERE ALWAYS THE SAME. THERE WAS ALWAYS EDDIE MURPHY. THERE WAS ALWAYS ARSENIO HALL. THERE WERE ALWAYS ALL THE INTERESTING YOUNG BLACK COMEDIANS AND ACTORS IN THE INDUSTRY COMING QUIETLY, SHYLY, HANGING BACK. WHEN JOHN BELUSHI WAS STILL ALIVE, JOHN NEVER MISSED AN OPPORTUNITY TO WATCH RICHARD WORK BECAUSE JOHN ALWAYS SAID THAT RICHARD WAS THE ONLY TRUE COMEDIAN IN THE COUNTRY. IT WAS PHENOMENAL TO SEE THE MAGNETIC POWER THE WORK HAD OVER HIS COLLEAGUES. >> Narrator: EARLY THE NEXT YEAR, PRYOR REUNITED WITH GENE WILDER FOR THEIR SECOND FILM TOGETHER. SHOT ON LOCATION IN PRISON, "STIR CRAZY" ALSO REUNITED PRYOR WITH DIRECTOR SIDNEY POITIER. ON THE SET, PRYOR'S PRIVATE PROBLEMS BEGAN TO TAKE THEIR TOLL. HE OFTEN SHOWED UP LATE FOR SHOOTING, AND ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS HE WALKED OUT ON THE CAST AND CREW, PROMPTING POITIER TO APPEAL TO THE BRASS AT COLUMBIA PICTURES FOR ASSISTANCE IN DEALING WITH HIS TROUBLED STAR. DESPITE SUCH PROBLEMS, "STIR CRAZY" PROVED TO BE COLUMBIA'S BOX OFFICE HIT OF THE YEAR. PRYOR'S LOVE LIFE WAS FAR LESS SUCCESSFUL. IN 1978, HE BEGAN A VIOLENT, SELF-DESTRUCTIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH JENNIFER LEE, A WOMAN HE HAD FIRST BECOME INVOLVED WITH WHILE STILL ENGAGED TO DEBORAH McGUIRE. >> RICHARD WOULD CALL ME SOMETIMES FROM A WHOREHOUSE. HE WOULD CALL ME AND SAY, "I'M WITH THIS WOMAN AND TELLING HER HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU." AND I WOULD SAY, "WELL, CAN YOU COME HOME AND TELL ME?" IT'S AMAZING WHAT YOU GET USED TO. I MEAN, IT'S LIKE, "WELL, THIS WAS UNACCEPTABLE LAST WEEK. THIS WEEK, ALL OF A SUDDEN IT'S ACCEPTABLE." I'M NOT FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, SO... I MEAN, I WANTED TO BE HIS LOVER AND HIS WIFE. >> Narrator: THEN, IN DECEMBER OF THAT SAME YEAR, HIS GRANDMOTHER DIED. PRYOR'S CAREER WAS HOTTER THAN EVER, BUT MAMA'S DEATH DROVE HIM INTO A SERIOUS DEPRESSION. >> I SAW MY FATHER CRY FOR THE FIRST TIME AT MY GRANDMOTHER'S FUNERAL. BUT I THINK THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME, MAYBE, IN HIS LIFE, BESIDES, I THINK, HIS MOTHER AND FATHER PASSING... WAS A VERY VULNERABLE TIME. NO, I DON'T THINK HE THOUGHT MAMA WOULD EVER DIE OR EVER GO AWAY. >> Narrator: PRYOR SANK INTO ANOTHER CYCLE OF SEX, DRUGS AND VIOLENCE. BY 1979, ALTHOUGH HE'D ALREADY SUFFERED ONE SMALL HEART ATTACK, PRYOR HAD BECOME OBSESSED WITH FREEBASING, SOMETIMES GOING THROUGH A KILO OF COCAINE IN A SINGLE WEEKEND. EVEN HIS DEALERS WORRIED ABOUT HIM. FRIENDS TRIED TO INTERVENE. JENNIFER WALKED OUT ON HIM, BUT NO ONE COULD REACH HIM. ON JUNE 10, 1980, WHILE FREEBASING COCAINE IN HIS HOME, RICHARD PRYOR SET HIMSELF ON FIRE. THOUGH ACCOUNTS VARY, PRYOR CLAIMS THAT WHILE IN A HAZE AT HIS PIPE, HE GRABBED A BOTTLE OF COGNAC, DOUSED HIMSELF, THEN FLICKED A POCKET LIGHTER AND SET HIS BODY ABLAZE. >> I DIDN'T REALLY KNOW ABOUT IT UNTIL I WAS ON MY WAY TO SCHOOL. YOU KNOW, MY MOM, MY GRANDPARENTS, THEY DIDN'T WANT ME TO HAVE THAT HURT, THAT PAIN OR WHATEVER, SO THEY SORT OF KEPT ME AWAY FROM WATCHING THE TELEVISION AND THIS AND THAT. AND IT WAS ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL, I JUST HAPPENED TO TURN ON THE RADIO, AND I HEARD ABOUT IT. AND I DON'T REMEMBER, REALLY. I THINK MAYBE I FREAKED OR CRIED, AND THEN OFF TO SCHOOL I WENT. >> WELL, IT WAS PAINFUL. IT HURT A LOT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT'S SOMEBODY YOU CARE ABOUT. DID HE JUST FEEL GUILTY DOING SO WELL? >> WHEN SOMEONE LIKE RICHARD PRYOR, WHO HAS THAT GENIUS, GOES OFF ON THE DEEP END, I THINK IT WAS MORE CONCERN... MOST FOLK DON'T CARE ABOUT NOBODY, YOU KNOW, DYING. "SO THEY GONE, SO WHAT?" BUT RICHARD, YOU KNOW, TOUCHED AMERICA'S PSYCHE, THEIR NERVES, THEIR EVERYTHING. >> Narrator: FOR DAYS, PRYOR LAY CLOSE TO DEATH. MEANWHILE, HIS FANS FLOODED THE HOSPITAL MAILROOM WITH OVER 25,000 GET-WELL CARDS AND LETTERS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AFTER SEVERAL LIFESAVING SURGERIES AND WEEKS OF PAINFUL PHYSICAL THERAPY AND SKIN GRAFTS, PRYOR HAD RECOVERED ENOUGH TO GO HOME. WHEN THEY RELEASED HIM FROM THE HOSPITAL, PRYOR'S DOCTORS BEGGED HIM TO LIVE HIS LIFE IN MODERATION. BUT WITHIN MONTHS, HE FELL INTO THE SAME CYCLE OF VIOLENCE, ALCOHOL AND FREEBASING. PRYOR FINALLY MARRIED JENNIFER LEE IN AUGUST OF 1981. TWO MONTHS LATER, DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS WERE FILED. >> THERE WERE A LOT OF TERRIFIC THINGS ABOUT IT, BUT WHEN IT STARTED GETTING UNHEALTHY, I REALLY NEEDED TO LOOK AT MYSELF. AND ULTIMATELY, I HAD TO. I WAS FORCED TO BECAUSE I GOT AWAY FROM HIM, SO I COULDN'T BLAME HIM ANY MORE. >> RICHARD'S A GOOD EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE WHO THE CULTURE EXACTED A HEAVY TOLL FROM AS HE PUSHED THROUGH BARRIERS AND WENT PLACES THAT NO ONE ELSE WOULD GO, AND STAYED IN THOSE PLACES WHEN NO ONE ELSE WOULD STAY THERE. >> Narrator: MIRACULOUSLY, PRYOR KEPT UP AN INTENSE SCHEDULE OF FILMMAKING. HE FINISHED WORK ON "BUSTIN' LOOSE," THE MOVIE HE'D BEEN SHOOTING AT THE TIME OF HIS ACCIDENT, THEN STARRED IN A SERIES OF OFFBEAT COMEDIES, INCLUDING "SOME KIND OF HERO" AND "THE TOY." >> THE LOW POINT IN HIS CAREER WAS HIS APPEARANCE IN "THE TOY," ONE THAT WAS DEMEANING AS FAR AS HE WAS CONCERNED AND DEMEANING IN FACT AS FAR AS THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY WAS CONCERNED. AND I THINK THAT THE CHOICE... HIS CHOICE OF DOING THAT WAS A... WAS A... ONE HORRIBLE CHOICE. >> Narrator: DESPITE THE LACKLUSTER BOX OFFICE PERFORMANCE OF HIS RECENT FILMS, STUDIOS STILL CONSIDERED PRYOR A BANKABLE STAR. AND THOUGH HIS CHOICE OF ROLES MAY HAVE BEEN POOR, PRYOR CONTINUED TO GET RICH. HE WAS PAID $4 MILLION FOR HIS VILLAINOUS ROLE IN "SUPERMAN III," THE HIGHEST SALARY A BLACK ACTOR HAD EARNED TO DATE. A SHORT TIME LATER, HE WENT INTO THERAPY AND ADMITTED TO THE WORLD HE WAS AN ADDICT. >> THERE WERE OCCASIONS WHEN RICHARD COULD HAVE BEEN MORE RELIABLE IN A PURE WORK POINT OF VIEW, BUT THERE WAS NO OCCASION IN MY EXPERIENCE WITH RICHARD OVER A LOT OF FILMS IN A LOT OF YEARS, THERE WAS NO OCCASION WHEN DRUGS INTERFERED WITH RICHARD'S SENSE OF SELF- CRITICISM. >> Narrator: HE'D FINALLY WON HIS BATTLE WITH DRUGS. BUT IN THE COMING YEARS, RICHARD PRYOR WOULD FACE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF HIS LIFE. >> Narrator: ON NOVEMBER 16, 1984, A SOBER RICHARD PRYOR WATCHED THE BIRTH OF HIS SON, STEVEN. STEVEN'S MOTHER WAS 20-YEAR-OLD FLYNN BELAINE. EVENTUALLY, RICHARD PRYOR WOULD HAVE SIX CHILDREN AND FIVE EX- WIVES. HAVING ACHIEVED A MEASURE OF SOBRIETY, PRYOR EMBARKED ON THE MOST AMBITIOUS FILM PROJECT OF HIS CAREER, THE SEMI- AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL "JO-JO DANCER, YOUR LIFE IS CALLING." PRYOR STARRED IN, DIRECTED, CO- WROTE AND PRODUCED "JO-JO DANCER" AS PART OF A $40 MILLION DEAL TO SET UP HIS OWN COMPANY, INDIGO PRODUCTIONS, AT COLUMBIA PICTURES. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF DIRECTING WAS AN EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCE FOR PRYOR, WHO, AS AN ACTOR, HAD BEEN KNOWN TO TAX THE PATIENCE OF HIS DIRECTORS. >> WHEN HE FIRST DIRECTED A FILM, JUST AFTER HE'D FINISHED FILMING IT, I WAS IN A RESTAURANT AND HE WALKED IN AND HE SAW ME. HE WALKED OVER TO THE TABLE, DROPPED TO HIS KNEES, GOT UP AND WALKED AWAY. AND I THOUGHT, "WHAT A WONDERFUL COMMENT, WHAT A WONDERFUL WAY TO SAY, 'BOY, DO I REALIZE WHAT A DIRECTOR GOES THROUGH. THANK YOU, THANK YOU.'" >> WOULD YOU WELCOME RICHARD PRYOR? (<i> CHEERS AND APPLAUSE</i> ) >> Narrator: IN 1986, PRYOR APPEARED ON THE "TONIGHT SHOW" LOOKING THIN AND SOMEWHAT SHAKY. >> YOU... YOU'VE LOST SOME WEIGHT. >> YES, I HAVE. >> YOU SAID YOU LOST IT TO DO A PICTURE. >> I LOST THE WEIGHT TO DO A PICTURE. I LOST 20 POUNDS TO DO A FILM AND I KEPT LOSING IT. I COULDN'T GET IT BACK, YOU KNOW? I GOT REAL SCARED, JOHNNY. >> YEAH? >> YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I WAS LOSING WEIGHT AND MY PANTS WERE FALLING DOWN. (<i> LIGHT LAUGHTER</i> ) AND I SAID, "SOMETHING'S WRONG, YOU KNOW. YOU KNOW, I SAID, "HEY, ALL THESE DISEASES AROUND, RICHARD. FINALLY, IT'S CAUGHT UP WITH YOU, AND YOU HAVE ONE OF THEM, AND YOU'RE GOING TO DIE." (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) SO I WAS VERY CALM ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW. "BUT I'M GOING TO DIE!" SO I WENT AND I GOT THE BLOOD CHECKUPS. YOU KNOW, THEY DO YOUR BLOOD, AND THE MACHINES, ON THE CARDIOVASCULAR... (<i> MAKES BEEPING NOISE</i> ) AND ALL THAT? AND THE DOCTOR SAID, "HEY, MAN, YOU'RE FINE." >> GREAT. GOOD. >> FINE. BUT THEN THE NEXT DAY, MY EYE WENT OUT. (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) >> I THOUGHT MAYBE IT WAS HE'D LOST WEIGHT BECAUSE OF THE TRIPLE BYPASS, QUADRUPLE BYPASS. I THOUGHT THAT'S WHAT IT WAS. ALL I KNEW IS HIS LEGS WOULD GO NUMB, HE WOULD GET CRANKY, HE WAS LOSING WEIGHT, HE COULDN'T EAT, HE COULDN'T SWALLOW. YOU KNOW, HE... EVERYTHING WAS MOVING SLOWER. HE COULDN'T STAND. YOU KNOW, ALL THESE THINGS STARTED TO HAPPEN, AND IT WAS LIKE, "WHOA, WHAT IS THIS?" >> Narrator: RUMORS SPREAD THAT HE WAS SUFFERING WITH AIDS, BUT PRYOR ALREADY KNEW THAT H.I.V. WASN'T THE PROBLEM. DURING THE FILMING OF "CRITICAL CONDITION," PRYOR WAS SITTING IN A CHAIR BETWEEN SHOTS AND WAS ASKED TO COME TO THE SET. WHEN HE TRIED TO GET OUT OF HIS CHAIR, HE WAS UNABLE TO MOVE. THE PARALYSIS WAS MOMENTARY, BUT PRYOR WAS FRIGHTENED ENOUGH TO GO TO THE FAMED MAYO CLINIC FOR A BATTERY OF TESTS. THE DIAGNOSIS WAS COLD AND TERRIFYING. PRYOR HAD MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. >> AND THEN, ABOUT THREE MONTHS LATER, I GOT OUT OF BED AND IT WAS LIKE SOMETHING SAID, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, "I'M WALKING TO THE BATHROOM." "YEAH, YOU WANT TO BET?" AND IT PETRIFIED ME AT FIRST, YOU KNOW? >> Narrator: PRYOR KEPT THE DIAGNOSIS A SECRET FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AND CONTINUED MAKING FILMS. IN 1989, HE TEAMED AGAIN WITH GENE WILDER AND DIRECTOR ARTHUR HILLER ON "SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL." >> MY DIFFICULT TASK AS A DIRECTOR WAS TO GET HIM TO BELIEVE IN HIMSELF. HE'D LOST A LOT OF FAITH IN HIMSELF. BECAUSE I KNEW HE COULD DO THE PART. I KNEW HE COULD DO IT IF I COULD JUST GET HIM UP TO BELIEVING IN HIMSELF. GENE WAS VERY CONSCIOUS AND AWARE, YOU KNOW, THAT... WHAT RICHARD HAD BEEN THROUGH AND WAS VERY SUPPORTIVE, AS WE ALL WERE, BECAUSE WE LOVED RICHARD. >> Narrator: PRYOR'S NEXT FILM WAS "HARLEM NIGHTS," WHICH STARRED THREE GENERATIONS OF BLACK SUPERSTARS: EDDIE MURPHY, PRYOR AND REDD FOXX. IN 1990, PRYOR TRIED CLEANING UP FOR GOOD AND CHECKED HIMSELF INTO THE BETTY FORD CENTER. AFTER REHAB, HE SUFFERED ANOTHER MILD HEART ATTACK. PRYOR DID HIS BEST TO FINISH "ANOTHER YOU," A COMEDY THAT REUNITED HIM FOR THE LAST TIME WITH GENE WILDER. BUT AS FILMING PROGRESSED, IT GREW STEADILY HARDER FOR RICHARD TO MOVE. "ANOTHER YOU" WAS PRYOR'S LAST FILM. THE MAN WHO SPENT HIS LIFE RUNNING FROM WOMAN TO WOMAN, DRUG TO DRUG, WAS FINALLY CONFINED TO A WHEELCHAIR. >> Narrator: AT THE BEGINNING OF THE '90s, RICHARD PRYOR HAD GONE FROM A WORLD OF LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES TO BEING CONFINED TO A WHEELCHAIR. >> I WAS ON THE... ON THE... WHAT DO THEY CALL IT, THE FAST TRACK? SO I THOUGHT THIS WAS IT. BUT THE M.S. SAID, "HEY!" TO ME. YOU KNOW, M.S. SAID, "HEY." >> Narrator: IN 1991, PRYOR WENT TO THE DOCTOR FOR A ROUTINE CHECKUP. HOURS LATER, HE UNDERWENT QUADRUPLE BYPASS SURGERY. LIKE A CAT FACING THE LAST OF HIS NINE LIVES, PRYOR ONCE AGAIN PULLED THROUGH. AFTER HIS HEART SURGERY, PRYOR WENT PUBLIC WITH THE NEWS OF HIS M.S. THE RESPONSE WAS A HUGE OUTPOURING OF LOVE AND SUPPORT. THE FRIAR'S CLUB HELD A ROAST IN HIS HONOR IN NEW YORK FEATURING SUCH LUMINARIES AS QUINCY JONES, LOU GOSSETT AND ROBIN WILLIAMS. >> RICHARD WAS THE FIRST MAN TO AUDITION AS THE OLYMPIC TORCH. AND WE ALMOST STARTED THE OLYMPICS FOUR YEARS TOO EARLY, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING TO BE AN INTERESTING DAY AND I THINK PEOPLE ARE READY TO TALK ABOUT THE MAN THAT THEY TRULY ADMIRE. >> HE'S ONE OF THE ALL-TIME FUNNIEST MEN IN THE WORLD. >> WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM HIS HUMOR? >> WELL, WE LEARNED THAT WE CAN TELL THE TRUTH AND BE FUNNY, WE CAN MAKE LIFE A LITTLE BIT BETTER. HE IS THE CONSUMMATE, CONSUMMATE COMIC. >> THAT'S WHAT MADE ME WANT TO BECOME A COMIC. THAT NIGHT, I PLAYED AN ALBUM AND SAID, "THIS IS WHAT I'M GOING TO BE." >> Narrator: PRYOR WAS INDUCTED INTO THE COMEDY HALL OF FAME AND THE APOLLO THEATER HALL OF FAME AND RECEIVED NUMEROUS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS. PRYOR ALSO GOT HIS STAR ON HOLLYWOOD'S LEGENDARY WALK OF FAME AND WAS AWARDED THE FIRST MARK TWAIN COMEDY PRIZE FROM THE KENNEDY CENTER. HE HAD OFFICIALLY BECOME A LEGEND OF COMEDY. >> SEE, RICHARD PRYOR DIDN'T DO DIXIE CUP/PAPER TOWEL JOKES, DIDN'T DO "TWO GUYS WALK INTO A BAR" JOKES. HE PURGED. HE BROUGHT OUT THINGS THAT HAD SCARRED HIS SOUL AND HIS MIND OUT, AND HE PUT OUT ALL THIS STUFF AND HE SAID, "HERE, MAN, SMELL THIS, TOUCH THIS, EAT THIS, TASTE THIS." AND... AND SOMEHOW IT WAS THE PENICILLIN TO HIS PAIN. >> SOMETIMES I GET ALZHEIMER'S. (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) I'M TALKING TO YOU AND IT GOES AWAY AND [NO AUDIO], AND MY MIND WENT, "DOO DOO DOO..." BUT IT'S LIKE ALZHEIMER'S. BUT A FRIEND OF MINE SAID I DON'T HAVE ALZHEIMER'S, I HAVE SOMETIMER'S. (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) >> Narrator: DESPITE HIS FAILING HEALTH, RICHARD PRYOR'S STRONG WILL TO LIVE WAS EVIDENT IN THE LAST DECADE OF HIS LIFE. HE CONTINUED TO APPEAR ON STAGE AND SCREEN, EVEN EARNING HIS THIRD EMMY NOMINATION IN 1996 FOR HIS APPEARANCE ON "CHICAGO HOPE." THEN, IN A LIFE FULL OF SECOND CHANCES, PRYOR HAD ANOTHER WHEN HE REMARRIED JENNIFER LEE, 19 YEARS AFTER THE COUPLE DIVORCED. THROUGH IT ALL, PRYOR KEPT CRACKING JOKES. HIS 2003 COMEDY SPECIAL, "I AIN'T DEAD YET," FEATURED DAVE CHAPPELLE, JON STEWART, JAMIE FOXX. AND MANY OTHERS JOINED THEIR IDOL ON STAGE ONE LAST TIME. SADLY, ON DECEMBER 10, 2005, JUST DAYS AFTER HIS 65th BIRTHDAY, RICHARD PRYOR DIED OF A HEART ATTACK. ACCORDING TO HIS WIFE, JENNIFER, WHO WAS WITH HIM WHEN HE PASSED, THE MAN WHO SO OFTEN TURNED HIS PAIN AND SUFFERING INTO COMEDY WAS SMILING UNTIL HIS FINAL MOMENTS. >> THE STORY OF RICHARD PRYOR IS DEFINITELY NOT A TRAGEDY. IT'S A TRIUMPH OF THE SPIRIT. HIS BODY OF WORK IS THERE FOR EVERYBODY TO SEE. >> THERE'S ONLY ONE. THERE'LL NEVER BE ANOTHER ONE, PERIOD. I MEAN, AS LONG AS SOMEONE IS TALKING ABOUT HUMAN BEINGS ON THIS PLANET, RICHARD PRYOR WILL BE TALKED ABOUT. >> I KNOW I CAN MAKE LOVE EIGHT, NINE TIMES A NIGHT. (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) >> WHAT? >> YES! I KNOW I CAN. I JUST NEED A WOMAN. (<i> LAUGHTER</i> ) >> RICHARD PRYOR WOULD HAVE TO BE THE SEMINAL COMEDIAN; INFLUENCED MORE COMEDIANS THAN ANYBODY ELSE. >> AND IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT SHEER TALENT AND THE GREATEST COMEDIAN THAT EVER LIVED-- TILL SOMEBODY BEATS THAT GUY-- RICHARD PRYOR, MAN, HEADS AND SHOULDERS. I'M SORRY.
