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Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor (December 1, 1940 December 10, 2005) was anAmerican stand-up comedian, social critic, and actor. He is currently listed atNumber 1 on Comedy Central's list of all-time greatest stand-up comedians.[20]Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities and profanity, as well as racialepithets. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential

stand-up comedians of all time: Jerry Seinfeld called Pryor "The Picasso of ourprofession"[21] and Bob Newhart heralded Pryor as "the seminal comedian of thelast 50 years".[22] This legacy can be attributed, in part, to the unusual degree of intimacy Pryor brought to bear on his comedy. As Bill Cosby reportedly oncesaid, "Richard Pryor drew the line between comedy and tragedy as thin as one could possibly paint it."[23]

Pryor's body of work includes the concert movies and recordings: Richard Pryor:Live & Smokin' (1971), That Nigger's Crazy (1974), ...Is It Something I Said? (1975), Bicentennial Nigger (1976), Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979), RichardPryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982), and Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983).As an actor, he starred mainly in comedies such as Silver Streak (1976), but oc

casionally in dramas, such as Paul Schrader's Blue Collar (1978), or action films, such as Superman III (1983). He collaborated on many projects with actor GeneWilder. Another frequent collaborator was actor/comedian/writer Paul Mooney.

Pryor won an Emmy Award (1973) and five Grammy Awards (1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, and 1982). In 1974, he also won two American Academy of Humor awards and the Writers Guild of America Award. The first-ever Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor was presented to him in 1998.