Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III was an American comedian, actor, and writer.
Pryor was a storyteller known for unflinching examinations of racism and customs in modern life, and was well-known for his frequent use of colorful, vulgar and profane language and racial epithets. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations, although public opinion about his act was often divided. He is commonly regarded as one of the most important stand-up comedians of his time: Jerry Seinfeld called Pryor "The Picasso of our profession"; Whoopi Goldberg cited him as her biggest influence, stating "The major influence was Richard - I want to say those things he's saying." Bob Newhart has called Pryor "the seminal comedian of the last 50 years."
His body of work includes such concert movies and recordings as Richard Pryor: Live and Smokin' (1971), That Nigger's Crazy (1974), ...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. He also starred in numerous films as an actor, usually in comedies such as Silver Streak, but occasionally in dramatic roles, such as Paul Schrader's film Blue Collar and epic roles like Gus Gorman from Superman III (1983). He also collaborated on many projects with actor Gene Wilder. He won an Emmy Award in 1973, and five Grammy Awards in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, and 1982. In 1974, he also won two American Academy of Humor awards and the Writers Guild of America Award. In 2004, Pryor was voted the greatest stand-up act of all time by the cable television network Comedy Central.
“Do you know how you felt when you would lean all the way back in a chair, and just before you were about to tip over, at the very last second, you'd catch yourself ? That's how I feel all the time.”
“*kiss*”
“But thoughts don't care about truth and shit. They sit up in your mind and fuck with you whenever.”
“What I'm saying might be profane, but it's also profound.”
“Who you gonna believe, bitch? Me? or your lying eyes?”
“Crosses only scare vampires away because they're allergic to bullshit.”
“The reason people use a crucifix against vampires is because vampires are allergic to bullshit.”
“I believe the ability to think is blessed. If you can think about a situation, you can deal with it. The big struggle is to keep your head clear enough to think.”
“I never met anybody who said when they were a kid, "I wanna grow up and be a critic.”
“You can't talk about fucking in America, people say you're dirty. But if you talk about killing somebody, that's cool.”