Richard Pryor

Richard Pryor has a key influence on many modern comedians because he took standup comedy to greater heights. Pryor is well-known for his colorful language and his efforts to knock down the racial barrier. He was such a shock to the world because he said things that no one dared.
Pryor was born December 1, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois. In Peoria, he had a rough childhood living next door to a brothel ran by his grandmother and his mother even being a prostitute. Abandoned by his mother at the tender age of ten, he experienced an absence of a maternal figure growing up. His father, a WWII veteran, was a bartender and boxer who was an alcoholic and not necessarily a “fit father.” As a young teen, he was moved into his grandparents’ home, along with his other siblings. Throughout his life, Pryor was molested by a teenage neighbor and a Catholic priest. To escape this tyranny, he would spend his time in a local theater. In school, Pryor was noticed as a class clown. However at age fourteen, his clownery ways resulted in him being expelled from school. As a result of his consequences, Pry...