Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor (abt. 1940 - 2005)

Born about 1 Dec 1940 in Peoria, Peoria, Illinois, United States

Ancestors

Died 10 Dec 2005 at about age 65 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Richard Pryor is Notable.

Richard Pryor was a Freemason and a member of Oriental Lodge No. 68, Chicago, Illinois.

Richard Pryor was a famous stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time. He won a Primetime Emmy Award and 5 Grammy Awards. In 2017 Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 1st on its list of 50 best stand-up comics of all time. ^[1]

Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was born on December 1st, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois. His parents were Leroy Pryor (1915 - 1968) and Gertrude L (Brown) Emanuel (1920 - 1969). Unmarried at Richard's birth, they married later in 1943 but divorced in 1946. Richard was mainly raised by his paternal grandmother, Marie Carter Pryor, who ran a brothel and was known for her toughness.^[2][3][4]

Richard had a difficult and traumatic childhood; he dropped out of school at age 14 and had a variety of menial jobs before serving in the U.S. Army from 1958-1960.^[4] After his discharge Richard got his first professional gig and began working as a professional comic in clubs throughout the Midwest, and by 1963 was performing in New York as a stand-up comic with other big names including Bob Dylan. By 1967 he was appearing regularly on television variety shows including The Ed Sullivan Show, The Merv Griffin Show, and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. By 1968 he was performing as a stand-up comic in Las Vegas.^[1]

Richard Pryor is a Military Veteran.
Served in the United States Army

Military Service--Richard served 18 months in the US Army, stationed in Germany most of the time. He had clashes with his superiors and fellow soldiers. He spent time in confinement. His superiors offered him 'an early honorable discharge' or further confinement. Several articles cover his life during this time period. One article |How the Army Turned Richard Pryor from a 'Truck Driver' into an 'Actor' is about his military career.

In the 1970s he wrote material for television shows, including Sanford and Son and the Flip Wilson show, winning an Emmy for his writing on a Lily Tomlin special.^[5] His first screenwriting attempt (with Mel Brooks), Blazing Saddles, earned him the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen. He made a number of films, totaling almost 50 in his lifetime, and recorded multiple albums. His third album, That Nigger's Crazy, hit gold and won the Grammy Award in 1975 for Best Comedy Album, the first of five that he would win.^[6]

Richard was also a host on Saturday Night Live, the hottest TV show in America, where he performed alongside other comedic greats such as Dan Akroyd, John Belushi and Chevy Chase.^[7]

Richard's personal life was tumultuous and he struggled with drugs, depression and other demons. In 1980 he intentionally set himself on fire in an attempted suicide, but recovered and regained a will to live. In 1986 he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and suffered with that until his death 9 years later.^[8]

Richard was married seven times to five different women (two he remarried twice) and had at least six children.^[4][9] His wives were:

• Patricia B Watts (1944 - 2003) in 1960 ^[10]
• Rochelle (Shelly) Bonus, 1968-1969, married in Minden, Nevada ^[11]
• actress and model Deborah McGuire September 22, 1977 to August 1978, married in Los Angeles County, California^[12]
• actress Flynn BeLaine (1986-1987; remarried 1990-1991) ^[4][13]
• Jennifer Lee, married 1981-1982 and remarried again in 2001; widowed at his death, ^[9]

Richard died on 10 Dec 2005 in Los Angeles, California aged 65.^[3][14]

Richard was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.^[15]

Research Notes

• His Social Security Applications and Claims record lists his mother as Ann Carter.
• His official bio states he was married 8 times and had 7 children, but only lists 7 marriages and 6 children.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Wikipedia: Richard Pryor
2. ↑ "Richard Pryor," Peoria: A Digital Companion To The Biography 'Becoming Richard Pryor,' https://www.becomingrichardpryor.com/pryors-peoria/people/richard-pryor/
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Social Security: "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007"
   Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007
   Ancestry Record 60901 #34419156 (accessed 11 February 2023)
   Name: Richard Frank Pryor [Richard F Pryor]; Gender: Male; Race: Black; Birth Date: 1 Dec 1938; Birth Place: Peoria Peori, Illinois; Death Date: 10 Dec 2005; Father: Leroy Pryor; Mother: Ann Carter; Notes: Aug 1955: Name listed as RICHARD FRANK PRYOR; 19 Jan 2006: Name listed as RICHARD F PRYOR.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} Official Biography on RichardPryor.com
5. ↑ Emmy Awards History for Richard Pryor
6. ↑ Grammy Awards History for Richard Pryor.
7. ↑ "Richard Pryor appears in first season of ‘Saturday Night Live’: Part 6," posted 17 Jan 2020, ABCNews, https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/video/richard-pryor-appears-season-saturday-night-live-part-68341814#:~:text=Video%20Richard%20Pryor%20appears%20in,'%3A%20Part%206%20%2D%20ABC%20News
8. ↑ Chris Summers, "The demons that drove Richard Pryor to make us laugh," BBC, 25 Aug 2013, https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-23724276 : accessed 12 Feb 2013.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Obituary: "U.S., Newspapers.com™ Obituary Index, 1800s-current"
   The Beaufort Gazette; Publication Date: 11 Dec 2005; Publication Place: Beaufort, South Carolina, USA; Free View of Clipping, URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/781889625/?article=7b78a4b1-399a-4efd-9a4f-11a67dbd7f39&focus=0,0.3650527,0.6360823,0.54971176&xid=3355
   Ancestry Record 61843 #1012763813 (accessed 11 February 2023)
   Name: Richard Franklin Thomas Pryor III; Gender: Male; Death Age: 65; Birth Date: 1 Dec 1940; Residence Place: Los Angeles; Death Date: Abt 2005; Death Place: Los Angeles-Area; Obituary Date: 11 Dec 2005; Obituary Place: Beaufort, South Carolina, USA; Newspaper Title: The Beaufort Gazette; Spouse: Jennifer Lee Pryor; Child: Richard Pryor.
10. ↑ Divorce Papers on Becoming Richard Pryor site
11. ↑ Marriage: "Nevada, U.S., Marriage Index, 1956-2005"
    Ancestry Record 1100 #1088765 (accessed 11 February 2023)
    Richard Pryor marriage to Rochelle Bonis on 13 Jan 1968 in Minden.
12. ↑ Marriage: "California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1960-1985"
    State of California. California Marriage Index, 1960-1985. Microfiche. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1144 #1198526 (accessed 11 February 2023)
    Richard F Pryor (36) marriage to Deborah D Mcguire on 22 Sep 1977 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
13. ↑ IMdB entry for Flynn BeLaine
14. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12650257/richard-pryor : accessed 24 January 2022), memorial page for Richard Pryor (1 Dec 1940–10 Dec 2005), Find a Grave Memorial ID 12650257, ; Maintained by Find a Grave Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend.
15. ↑ List of Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Winners on Wikipedia

• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK4V-Z3DR : accessed 1 December 2021), Richard Pryor, Bremerton, Washington, United States, 11 Dec 2005; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Kitsap Sun, born-digital text.
• https://blog.oup.com/2016/11/peoria-south-side-history/

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q294912