Richard Pryor on Letterman, January 15, 1987

[Applause] [Music] [Applause] welcome back to our welcome back to our little program we do for you here Monday through Thursday and we're awfully glad you're here with us tonight you ready Paul it's a pleasure to finally welcome our first guest to this show he is often called the funniest comedian of our time and he can currently be seen in a brand new motion picture entitled critical condition please say hello to and welcome Richard Pryor yeah thank you thank you very much for being here this is very exciting I was backstage with Richard Dominik I've known you for a long long time I don't know if you've known me for a long long time but I've known you I met you years and years ago and I don't know if you remember that or not at the comedy style comedy store I remember that and my first encounter with you I have a really vivid recollection of that one night I was emceeing and you were gonna go on and I went up to you you didn't know who I was and I introduced myself and I said how would you like to be introduced when I get up on stage and you told me and we shook hands and for the rest of the night I had this wonderful wonderful scent of what I assumed was really really expensive cologne on my hand and I thought this man is very very successful I've not had anything like that this is and I was mightily impressed by that well it filled up when you know when you come back to New York the ad does this bring back a lot of exciting memories for you but when you come back to New York you haven't been there for a while you realize how big it is it's like very big and people are moving all the time they don't stop for nothing just go go go go go I can't wait to get back in the hotel go huh because I'm guessing when you go out on the streets people are just just want to be all over you don't think no they don't bother me I'll rock out with my son so they I'm bothering with him so they don't bother with me very much sometimes they should yeah should they bother me well I would think you're the kind of guy that people are drawn to and when you're out in public that they would want to get up there and shake your hand and pat you on the back and stuff [Laughter] well no matter but doesn't happen to me so don't worry about oh okay yeah but you worked here in clubs when you were a kid Cafe Wha yeah that was the first club a Senate is still in a village maybe I don't know if they're still a village is it is the Cafe Wha still down there Paul yeah I was just hanging out there the other night bellies I don't think it is yeah and you started doing television from New York I started doing I did the first year I did was called Entertainment Tonight I was a summer replacement show what network was it that was CBS hmm like an hour variety kind of deal yeah was this summer and Rudy Vallee was the host and I got on that show and Merv Griffin saw a tape of that and he let me come on this show every night for about six years is that right yeah and you did you also do the Ed Sullivan Show here yeah yeah now do you have it no I just remembered you know yeah it's all right it comes back every now and indeed do you have any special stories about and subtle seems like everybody who did the show has it no I remember it someone came up in my dressing room I did nine minutes and people just freaks it you can't do that and I went up to his room he said I do the worst Ed Sullivan as you can see he was a nice man to me so he lets you go ahead and do the 9 minutes on the show yeah and how many times were you on that program I think about maybe 11 12 something yeah do you uh at this stage your life you miss doing stand-up on a regular basis I know you do and up in clubs I miss a lot I missed a lot I haven't been on the road a while I want to go after my next film I like to get back into a concert so you can get in front of people and they can ask you know what are you tell them when they ask you about the shoes I throw it out and say here smell it what do you think that's it's it's tough work isn't it I think they love it you do love it I love it and you do six months of that it's great because I did films a constant I mean I'm not putting it down and I'm glad the constant films were successful but they weren't complete you know how you finish it then you say but it was more to do if I just worked on it more but they offer you so much money you can't go no I don't want it yeah take that check and stop it give me thank you very much what about and I don't know that this would happen to you but but what about hecklers if you're working in a club or even in a concert I have two guys they take care of getting a real bad hecklers no not no serious hecklers most of the hecklers I'd get it people add to the act you know I don't get nobody just takes it out yeah so it doesn't bother you if somebody does that then there's a line I do yeah yeah a very thin line yeah now would you ever see yourself doing like a a massive concert tour or just wicked one night I'd like to do like I'd like to do about 20 cities or something yeah I'd love to do that yeah I really would man I really enjoy it a lot yeah I'd be a hot ticket what to do oh yeah yeah all right let's let's uh we'll do it we'll do a commercial here and we're gonna talk some more with Richard before we bring out mr. Dominic but he'll be here don't worry about it [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] tonight but when you were first starting to do nightclub work I guess back in Illinois in that area yes yeah what were the acts of the day aside from yourself yeah I guess work as a comedian and maybe an emcee sometimes yes what kind of stuff would you appear with I kept here with strip dancers there was be one strip dancer and then a singer and an emcee I do emcee all the jokes as it were and then they alternate every week to be a different show but I got to stay three or four weeks plus they say I just Club yeah like was there anything you go to one city or one act would come in that would be a little more bizarre than others or was it pretty much as a flame dancer I worked with one time she was great and you wish to do a thing in the in the black theater it was called barring the show at the ending engagement the last night everybody would do everybody else is active and they've buried a show and this guy one time was doing the flame dancer and the emcee would be the woman she put on a mustache and she'd come out and do the jokes and then the other girl was saying there's a scene like that in Jo Jo dancer right yes yeah when you're working the club I appreciate you coming here you know I saw the other night they were running an old variety series that you did on NBC that was on the air how many weeks did that last seven weeks or something like seven weeks and it was at the time it was a really big deal and it was with a lot of guys that you and I both knew yeah a lot of mutual friends and and it was pretty interesting stuff that you guys were doing that and I guess this is a photograph from the first show yes explain what we're looking at there and that's a thing I wanted to do but the NBC censors cut it out yeah and I was standing there I say as you can see and you only see me from the waist just this part right you as you can see I've given up absolutely nothing to be on television now was that show was that a constant battle with those here was this this was was it a constant struggle to keep that thing it was a constant struggle in the sense of like we do stuff in a sense or would come into the dress rehearsal go all that you can't do that please and I go well we'll do something else and you keep trying and more you if once you step with them that keep stepping until you end up with nothing yeah like that I wonder now if things are any different not I don't care now I'm guessing certain things would be the same other things might be a little different but I think you know the pendulum goes one way and then it swings back when you maybe don't really gain in television is different I guess I have I don't do it so I don't know I really don't well go ahead and test him tonight Richard what are the kind of things did you do before you were in show business or when you were maybe not doing show business full times other kind of do be depressed a lot and good money in that yeah the press a lot I tried to be a fee for a while and it wasn't good at that what kind of things were you thieving I would I was a second-story man yeah yeah climb over transits because I was the skinniest one in the game have you do the climbing over the transom and you're in there looking for appliances or a jewelry or cash or well I didn't know [Laughter] how long were you a thief like that too my father found out he entered my thievery career yeah in the in the movie here critical condition you you were a guy playing a doctor you're not really a doctor though no no he's a guy that's a businessman it gets in a bad situation and they think he's a cop and to keep from going to penitentiary he tries to fake insanity so he can go to mental institution I mean while there there's the blackout and they think he's the doctor in charge yeah and he takes over like that he don't know what he's doing yeah I run in the show though yeah yeah do we have some of that here okay let's take a look here we have time for this it's a minute or so from Richard Pryor's latest film entitled the critical condition here he is now you ever have any interest in being a doctor none whatsoever never did have an interest in it but I like them I think it's amazing they go to school eight years you know at least and then people don't want to pay their bills that tickles me I'll do something I'm the guy who goes I ain't gonna pay that much and you break the other arm let me you're married again Richard yeah Dave congratulations thank you very much where where did you go where did you meet your wife I met my wife in Washington DC about three years ago and she was there I was doing a constant my men and I like to ride away yeah when we talked and became friends it's good so we got married how old a woman do we have here she's about well the school bus was late taking her home she's 23 yeah and I got my cell with me see now wait a minute how old a man are you I'm 46 46 so she passed your age she's smart as me she's smarter actually I think yeah she knows a lot of stuff she's a good person she has a lot of a lot of good ideas and she's lovely and I'm happy when I'm with well there you go see [Music] [Applause] sometimes what's the woman's name its Flynn Flynn and she is she in town with you know she's in California sorry I didn't get a chance to meet her well she told me to bring our son she said oh you're going to New York by yourself take our son my son's too I brought him he's watching me taking notes yeah and does he have anything to say about New Yorker probably just another he don't care yeah doesn't care you know he just wants that says cookie I know I mentioned this earlier too in the in the dressing room but I really do appreciate you coming to visit us because it's a big thrill for us and we've wanted to have you for the longest time and just come back anytime I'm happy that you had me here and God bless you good luck good luck with the phone 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Channel: Don Giller

Views: 298,194

Rating: 4.8249159 out of 5

Keywords: Richard Pryor

Id: wVvZIHoKh5Q

Length: 13min 19sec (799 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 16 2016