Books/Articles
Abrahams, Roger D. Deep Down in the Jungle: Negro Narrative Folklore from the Streets of Philadelphia. Rev. ed. Chicago: Aldine, 1970.
———. Positively Black. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1970.
Ajaye, Franklyn. Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-Up Comedy. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press, 2002.
Als, Hilton. “A Pryor Love.” New Yorker, September 13, 1999, 68–81.
Asim, Jabari. The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn’t, and Why. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
Berger, Phil. The Last Laugh: The World of Stand-Up Comics. Updated ed. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2000.
Biskind, Peter. Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and Rock ’n’ Roll Generation Saved Hollywood. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
Bloom, Harold. Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. New York: Riverhead Books, 1998.
Bogel, Donald. “Black Humor—Full Circle from Slave Quarters to Richard Pryor.” Ebony, August 1975, 123–28.
Bowman, Rob. Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records. New York: Schirmer Trade Books, 2003.
Boyd, Todd. The Notorious Ph.D.’s Guide to the Super Fly ’70s: A Connoisseur’s Journey through the Fabulous Flix, Hip Sounds, and Cool Vibes That Defined a Decade. New York: Harlem Moon, 2007.
Brashler, William. “Berserk Angel.” Playboy, December 1979, 242–43, 248, 292–96.
Breckman, Andy. “Nobody Move! It’s Richard Pryor!” WFMU, 1997, http://wfmu.org/LCD/20/pryor.html.
Brown, Cecil. Days without Weather. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1983.
Brown, H. Rap. Die Nigger Die! New York: Dial, 1969.
Bruce, Lenny. The Essential Lenny Bruce. Compiled and edited by John Cohen. New York: Ballantine Books, 1967.
———. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. New York: Fireside. 1992.
Bullock, Ken. “ ‘Mrs. Pat’s House’ at La Peña Cultural Center.” Berkeley Daily Planet, November 6, 2008, http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2008-11-06/article/31549?headline=-Mrs.-Pat-s-House-at-La-Pe-a-Cultural-Center.
Cleaver, Eldridge. Post-Prison Writings and Speeches. Edited with an introduction by Robert Scheer. New York: Vintage Books, 1969.
———. Soul on Ice. New York: Dell, 1968.
Cohen, Scott. “Interview: Richard Pryor.” High Times, December 1977, 56–61.
Cross, Paulette. “Jokes and Black Consciousness: A Collection with Interviews.” Folklore Forum 2, no. 6 (November 1969): 140–61.
Daly, Michael. “The Making of The Cotton Club: A True Tale of Hollywood.” New York Magazine, May 7, 1984, 41–62.
DeGroot, Gerard J. The Sixties Unplugged: A Kaleidoscopic History of a Disorderly Decade. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008.
DeLeon, Robert A. “Richard Pryor Looks to ’75.” Jet 47, no. 16 (January 9, 1975), 56–61.
De Remigis, Peter. “A Canadian’s View of Harold’s Club in Peoria, Illinois.” http://www.scribd.com/doc/47719511/A-Canadian-s-View-Of-Harold-s-Club-in-Peoria-Illinois.
———.“Toronto’s Secret.” http://peterderemigis.net/.
Driver, Justin. “The Mirth of a Nation: Black Comedy’s Reactionary Hipness.” New Republic, June 11, 2001, 29–33.
Duberman, Martin Bauml. Paul Robeson. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.
Dumont, Frank. The Witmark Amateur Minstrel Guide and Burnt Cork Encyclopedia. New York: M. Witmark & Sons, 1905.
Dundes, Alan, ed. Mother Wit from the Laughing Barrel: Readings in the Interpretation of Afro-American Folklore. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1972.
Dylan, Bob. Chronicles: Volume One. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.
Ebert, Roger. “Hanging out with Wilder and Pryor.” Chicago Sun-Times, December 23, 1976, http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19761223/PEOPLE/612230302.
———. “Mad Dog Time.” Chicago Sun-Times, November 29, 1996, http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19961129/REVIEWS/611290303/1023.
Ellison, Ralph. “An Extravagance of Laughter.” In Going to the Territory, 145–97. New York: Random House, 1986.
———. Invisible Man. New York: The Modern Library, 1994.
Evans, Robert. The Kid Stays in the Picture. New York: Hyperion, 1994.
Falkenburg, Claudia and Solt, Andrew (editors), Leonard, John. A Really Big Show: A Visual History of the Ed Sullivan Show. Edited by Claudia Falkenburg and Andrew Solt. New York: Sarah Lazin Books, 1992.
Felton, David. “Einstein’s Brain.” In booklet included with Richard Pryor—Evolution Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974). Rhino (R2 78490), 2005.
———. “(Portrait of the Godhead as a Young Dog) Richard Pryor’s Life in Concert.” Rolling Stone, May 3, 1979, 22–26.
———. “Pryor’s Inferno.” Rolling Stone, July 24, 1980, 11–16.
———. “Richard Pryor: This Can’t Be Happening to Me.” Rolling Stone, October 10, 1974, 40–41.
Forbes, Camille F. Introducing Bert Williams: Burnt Cork, Broadway, and the Story of America’s First Black Star. New York: Basic Civitas, 2008.
Foxx, Redd, and Norma Miller. The Redd Foxx Encyclopedia of Black Humor. Los Angeles: W. Ritchie Press, 1977.
Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Gaut, Berys. “Just Joking: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Humor.” Philosophy and Literature 22, no. 1 (1998): 51–68.
Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen—Lenny Bruce!! New York: Random House, 1974.
Gottschild, Brenda Dixon. Waltzing in the Dark: African American Vaudeville and Race Politics in the Swing Era. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.
Goudsouzian, Aram. Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004.
Gregory, Dick. Dick Gregory’s Political Primer. Edited by James R. McGraw. New York: Harper & Row, 1972.
———. From the back of the bus. New York: Dutton, 1962.
Gregory, Dick, with Robert Lipstyle. Nigger: An Autobiography. New York: Washington Square Press, 1964.
Grier, Pam, with Andrea Cagan. Foxy: My Life in Three Acts. New York: Springboard Press, 2010.
Grier, William H., and Price M. Cobbs. Black Rage. New York: Basic Books, 1968.
Haggins, Bambi. Laughing Mad: The Black Comic Persona in Post-Soul America. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2007.
Handelman, David. “The Last Time We Saw Richard.” Premiere 5, no. 5 (January 1992): 78–90.
Haskins, Jim. Richard Pryor: A Man and His Madness; A Biography. New York: Beaufort Books, 1984.
Havens, Richie, with Steve Davidowitz. They Can’t Hide Us Anymore. New York: Avon Books, 1999.
Headlam, Bruce. “Dick Gregory.” “For Him, the Political Has Always Been Comical.” New York Times, March 14,2009, http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/g/dick_gregory/index.html. Accessed 6/24/2011.
“Healthy and No Longer ‘Ba-ad,’ Richard Pryor is ‘Bustin’ Loose.’ ” People Weekly, June 29, 1981, 74–78.
Henry, William A., III. The Great One: The Life and Legend of Jackie Gleason. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
Hinckley, David. “Not Just Black & White: The Curious Case of Vaudeville Comic Johnny Hudgins.” New York Daily News, September 3, 2000.
Horowitz, David. Radical Son: A Generational Odyssey. New York: Free Press, 1997.
Hughes, Langston, and Arna Bontemps, eds. The Book of Negro Folklore. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1958.
Jackson, Bruce. Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me: African American Narrative Poetry from Oral Tradition. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Johnson, Joanne. “Rest in Peace: Richard Pryor (1940–1995 [sic]).” Conspiracy Planet, n.d., http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/channel.cfm?channelid=104&contentid=3031&page=2
Jones, James Earl, and Penelope Niven. Voices and Silence. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1993.
Kisner, Ronald E. “Richard Pryor’s Richest Xmas.” Jet, December 29, 1977, 56–58.
Knoedelseder, William. I’m Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-Up Comedy’s Golden Era. New York: PublicAffairs, 2009.
Kravetz, Andy, and Leslie Williams. “North Valley Just the Newest Prostitution Hotbed: Even before the Days of the ‘Merry-Go-Round,’ Peoria Had a Long History of Sex for Sale.” Journal Star (Peoria), March 5, 2006.
Lee, Jennifer. Tarnished Angel: Surviving the Dark Curve of Drugs, Violence, Sex, and Fame. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 1991.
Lees, Gene. You Can’t Steal a Gift: Dizzy, Clark, Milt, and Nat. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2001.
[Lester, Peter.] “Richard Pryor’s Tragic Accident Spotlights a Dangerous Drug Craze: Freebasing.” People, June 30, 1980, www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20076864,00.html
Levine, Lawrence W. Black Culture and Black Consciousness: Afro-American Folk Thought from Slavery to Freedom. 30th anniversary edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Littleton, Darryl. Black Comedians on Black Comedy: How African-Americans Taught Us to Laugh. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2006.
Luciano, Phil. “A comedic genius—Peoria native had brutal honesty, love-hate relationship with hometown.” Journal Star (Peoria), December 12, 2005.
———. “As time goes by . . . snidely.” Journal Star (Peoria), April 14, 2011.
———. “Outsiders’ Insight Sheds Light on Pryor.” Journal Star (Peoria), March 3, 2011.
———. “Pryor Commitment: Despite Illness, Peoria Native Is Making a Comic Comeback.” Journal Star (Peoria), January 24, 1993.
Marable, Manning. Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. New York: Viking, 2011.
Maynard, Joyce. “Richard Pryor, King of the Scene-Stealers.” New York Times, January 9, 1977.
McCluskey, Audrey Thomas, ed. Richard Pryor: The Life and Legacy of a “Crazy” Black Man. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2008.
McLeod, Elizabeth. The Original Amos ’n’ Andy: Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll and the 1928–1943 Radio Serial. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2005.
McPherson, James Alan. “The New Comic Style of Richard Pryor.” New York Times Magazine, April 27, 1975, 20–22, 34.
Mitchell, Joni. “Joni Mitchell on Dylan.” Bob Dylan’s Musical Roots, n.d., www.bobdylanroots.com/mitchell.html#positive.
Monaco, James. American Film Now: The People, The Power, The Money, The Movies. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979.
Mooney, Paul. Black Is the New White: A Memoir. New York: Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2009.
Moore, Gilbert. A Special Rage: A Black Reporter’s Encounter with Huey P. Newton’s Murder Trial, the Black Panthers, and His Own Destiny. New York: Harper & Row, 1971.
Mosley, Walter. “The Stage of Life.” In booklet included with Richard Pryor . . . and It’s Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968–1992). Warner Bros. Records & Rhino Entertainment, Warner Archives, 2000.
Mount, Thom. “Richard Pryor.” Andy Warhol’s Interview 16, no. 3 (March 1986), 44–51.
Nachman, Gerald. Right Here on Our Stage Tonight: Ed Sullivan’s America. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2009.
———. Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s. New York: Pantheon Books, 2003.
Nazel, Joseph. Richard Pryor: The Man behind the Laughter. Los Angeles: Holloway House, 1981.
Oliver, Paul. Blues Fell This Morning: Meaning in the Blues. 2nd rev. ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Orth, Maureen. “The Perils of Pryor.” Newsweek, October 3, 1977, 60–63.
Paar, Jack. P.S. Jack Paar. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983.
Parish, James Robert. It’s Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2007.
Phillips, Gary, and Jervey Tervalon, eds. The Cocaine Chronicles. New York: Akashic Books, 2005.
Pond, Steve. “Lord, Give Me Another Chance.” Rolling Stone, July 24, 1980, 13.
Pryor, Cactus. “Richard Cactus Pryor—Biography, 2011,” http://cactuspryor.com/biography.html.
Pryor, Rain, with Cathy Crimmins. Jokes My Father Never Taught Me: Life, Love, and Loss with Richard Pryor. New York: Regan/HarperCollins, 2006.
Pryor, Richard, with Todd Gold. Pryor Convictions and Other Life Sentences. New York: Pantheon Books, 1995.
Rabin, Nathan. “Random Roles: Margot Kidder.” The Onion, A.V. Club, March 3, 2009, www.avclub.com/articles/random-roles-margot-kidder,24554/.
Reilly, Sue. “Bio: Richard Pryor’s Ordeal.” People Weekly, March 13, 1978, 44–49.
“Richard Pryor Joins Grieving Family For Grandmother’s Funeral.” Jet, January 4, 1979, 14–17.
Robbins, Fred, and David Ragan. Richard Pryor: This Cat’s Got 9 Lives. New York: Delilah Books, 1982.
Robinson, Louie. “Richard Pryor Talks.” Ebony, January 1978, 116–22.
Romano, Renée Christine, and Leigh Raiford, eds. The Civil Rights Movement in American Memory. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2006.
Rovin, Jeff. Richard Pryor: Black and Blue. New York: Bantam Books, 1983.
Sanders, Barry. Sudden Glory: Laughter as Subversive History. Boston: Beacon Press, 1995.
Sanders, Charles L. “Ebony Interview: Richard Pryor.” Ebony, October 1980, 33–42.
Scott, Vernon. “Richard Pryor’s Recovery Is No Joking Matter.” Sarasota Herald-Tribune (UPI), June 29, 1980, http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19800629&id=p5wcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3WcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6498,5956113.
Seale, Bobby. Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton. New York: Vintage Books, 1970.
Shales, Tom, and James Andrew Miller. Live from New York: An Uncensored History of “Saturday Night Live” as Told by Its Stars, Writers & Guests. Boston: Little, Brown, 2002.
Slim, Iceberg [Robert Beck]. Pimp: The Story of My Life. 1969. Reprint. Los Angeles: Holloway House, 2007.
Smith, R. J. “Richard Speaks! Chasing a Tune from the Chitlin Circuit to the Mormon Tabernacle.” In This Is Pop: In Search of the Elusive at Experience Music Project, edited by Eric Weisbard, 75–89. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004.
Stein, Charles W., ed. American Vaudeville as Seen by Its Contemporaries. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984.
Stone, Laurie. Laughing in the Dark: A Decade of Subversive Comedy. Hopewell, NJ: Ecco Press, 1997.
Szwed, John F. Space Is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra. New York: Da Capo Press, 1998.
Tafoya, Eddie. The Legacy of the Wisecrack: Stand-Up Comedy as the Great American Literary Form. Boca Raton, FL: BrownWalker Press, 2009.
Tate, Greg. “Richard Pryor, 1940–2005: Used to Be a Genius, I Ain’t Lying, Booked the Numbers Didn’t Need Paper or Pencil.” Village Voice, December 6, 2005, www.villagevoice.com/2005-12-06/news/richard-pryor-1940-2005/.
Trav, S.D. [Stewart, Donald Travis] No Applause—Just Throw Money, or, The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous: A High-Class, Refined Entertainment. New York: Faber & Faber, 2005.
Upton, Julian. “Extinguishing Features: The Last Years of Richard Pryor.” Bright Lights Film Journal, 56 (May 2007), www.brightlightsfilm.com/56/richardpryor.php.
Van Gelder, Lawrence. “Theater Review: Replaying the Days of Black Vaudeville.” New York Times, January 29, 1999.
Wahl, Greg, and Charles Bobbit. It Didn’t Play in Peoria: Missed Chances of a Middle American Town. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2009.
Watkins, Mel. On the Real Side: Laughing, Lying, and Signifying. The Underground Tradition of African-American Humor That Transformed American Culture, from Slavery to Richard Pryor. New York: Touchstone, 1994.
———. “The Whole Cookie.” APF Reporter 3, no. 1 (1980), n.p., http://aliciapatterson.org/APF0301/APF0301.html.
Weiler, A. H. “Movie Review: ‘You’ve Got to Walk It . . .’: Genial Put-Down of Establishment.” New York Times, September 20, 1971.
Wilde, Larry. The Great Comedians Talk about Comedy. New York: Citadel Press, 1968.
Wilder, Gene. Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005.
Williams, Elsie A. The Humor of Jackie Moms Mabley: An African American Comedic Tradition. New York: Garland, 1995.
Williams, John A., and Dennis A. Williams. If I Stop I’ll Die: The Comedy and Tragedy of Richard Pryor. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 1991.
Wolfe, Tom. “Las Vegas (What?). Las Vegas (Can’t Hear You! Too Noisy). Las Vegas!!!!” In Smiling through the Apocalypse: Esquire’s History of the Sixties, edited by Harold Hayes, 201–18. New York: McCall, 1969.
Wolff, Craig. “At Home with Richard Pryor; Still Laughing through the Pain.” New York Times, February 18, 1993, www.nytimes.com/1993/02/18/garden/at-home-with-richard-pryor-still-laughing-through-the-pain.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm.
X, Malcolm. End of White World Supremacy: Four Speeches. Edited with an introduction by Benjamin Goodman. New York: Merlin House, 1971.
X, Malcolm, and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: Ballantine, 1965.
Zoglin, Richard. Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-Up in the 1970s Changed America. New York: Bloomsbury, 2008.
Recordings
Bruce, Lenny. The Real Lenny Bruce. Reissue produced by Ralph J. Gleason. Fantasy Records (F-79003), 1975.
Cosby, Bill. Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow, Right! Produced by Allan Sherman and Roy Silver. Warner Bros. Records (1518), 1963.
Foxx, Redd. You Gotta Wash Your Ass. Produced by Redd Foxx. Atlantic (SD 18157), 1975.
Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me!: Narrative Poetry from the Black Oral Tradition. Recorded and edited by Bruce Jackson. Rounder Records (CD 2014), 1998.
Mooney, Paul. Race. Recorded live at the Punchline Comedy Club, San Francisco. Produced by Bill Stephney. StepSun Music/Tommy Boy (3005), 1993.
Page, LaWanda. Pipe Layin’ Dan. Laff Records (A150). Uproar, 2001.
———. Preach on Sister, Preach On! Laff Records (A173), 1973.
Pryor, Richard. “Am I Drunk or Are You Pregnant Raymond.” 45 rpm, promotional only. Produced by David Banks. Warner Bros. Records (PRO-S-2089), 1983.
———. . . . And It’s Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968–1992). Nine-CD boxed set containing Richard Pryor, That Nigger’s Crazy, . . . Is It Something I Said?, Bicentennial Nigger, Wanted: Richard Pryor—Live in Concert (2 CDs), Live on the Sunset Strip, Here and Now (with previously unreleased interview recorded at the Comedy Store, 6/5/83), and That African-American Is Still Crazy: Good Shit from the Vaults. Warner Bros. Records & Rhino Entertainment Co. Warner Archives (R2 76655), 2000.
———. Are You Serious??? Produced by David Drozen. Laff Records (LAFF A196), 1977. Reissued as Island Records (314-528 064-2), 1995.
———. Bicentennial Nigger. Recorded live at the Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA., July 1976. Produced by David Banks. Warner Bros. Records (BS 2960), 1976.
———. Black Ben the Blacksmith. Produced by David Drozen. Laff Records (LAFF A-200), 1978. Reissued as Island Records (314-526 213-2), 1994.
———. Craps (After Hours). Recorded live at the Redd Foxx Club, Hollywood, CA. Produced by David Drozen. Laff Records (LAFF A146), 1971. Reissued as Island Records (314-526 214-2), 1994.
———. Evolution Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974). Original sessions produced by Richard Pryor, Robert Marchese, and David Drozen. Rhino (R2 78490), 2005.
———. Insane. Laff Records (LAFF-LP-209), 1976.
———. . . . Is It Something I Said? Recorded live at the Latin Casino, Cherry Hill, NJ, May 26, 1975. Produced by David Banks. Reprise (MS-2227), 1975.
———. L.A. Jail. Tiger Lilly (TL-14023), 1977.
———. Live on the Sunset Strip. Produced by Richard Pryor and Biff Dawes. Warner Bros. Records (BSK 3660), 1982.
———. Outrageous. Laff Records (LAFF A206), 1979.
———. Rev. Du Rite. Produced by David Drozen. Andasol Records, 1976. Laff Records (LAFF A216), 1981.
———. Richard Pryor. Recorded live at the Troubador, West Hollywood, CA, September 1968. Produced by Robert Marchese. Dove/Reprise (RS 6325), 1968.
———. Richard Pryor Meets Richard & Willie and the SLA!! Produced by David Drozen. Laff Records (LAFF A188), 1976.
———. Supernigger. Laff Records (LAFF A224), 1983. Reissued as Island Records (314-528 062), 1995.
———. That Nigger’s Crazy. Recorded live at Don Cornelius’s Soul Train, San Francisco. Produced by Richard Pryor. Partee/Stax (2404), 1974. Reissued as Reprise (MS-2241), 1975.
———. Wanted: Richard Pryor—Live in Concert. Produced by Richard Pryor and Biff Dawes. Warner Bros. Records (2BSK-3364), 1978.
———. Who Me? I’m Not Him. Produced by David Drozen. Laff Records (LAFF A198), 1977. Reissued as Island Records (314-526 215-2), 1994.
———. The Wizard of Comedy. Reissued as Island Records (314-528 063-2), 1995.
Williams, Bert. “Elder Eatmore’s Sermon on Generosity.” On Bert Williams, The Remaining Titles: 1915–1921. Document Records (DOCD-5661), 1999.
X, Malcolm. A Message to the Grass Roots. Recorded at King Solomon Baptist Church, Detroit, Michigan, November 10, 1963. Detroit: AFRO Records (AA-1264).
Referenced Films Starring or Featuring Richard Pryor
Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings. Directed by John Badham. Motown Productions, Universal Pictures, 1976. Universal Home Entertainment (21773), 2002.
Black Brigade (aka Carter’s Army). Directed by George McGowan. Thomas/Spelling Productions, 1970. Westlake Entertainment Group (WLV 3057 S), 2003.
Blue Collar. Directed by Paul Schrader. TAT Communications Company, Universal, 1978. Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2000, with audio commentary by Paul Schrader and Maitland McDonagh.
Bustin’ Loose. Directed by Oz Scott and Michael Schultz (uncredited). Richard Pryor Productions, Universal Pictures, 1981. Universal Studios (61024179), 2005.
The Busy Body. Directed by William Castle. William Castle Productions, Paramount Pictures, 1967. Legend Films, 2008.
Car Wash. Directed by Michael Schultz. Universal Pictures, 1976. Universal Studios, 2003.
Dynamite Chicken. Written, produced, and directed by Ernest Pintoff. Tango Entertainment, 1972. Colossal Entertainment (COL #114), 2001.
Greased Lightning. Directed by Michael Schultz. Third World Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures, 1977. Warner Home Video, 1992. Reissued as Comedy Double Feature: “Moving/Greased Lightning,” Warner Home Video, 2006.
Hit! Directed by Sidney J. Furie. Paramount Pictures, 1973. Olive Films (OF377), 2012.
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling. Produced and directed by Richard Pryor. Columbia Pictures, 1986. RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (60683), 1996. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (06673), 2002.
Lady Sings the Blues. Directed by Sidney J. Furie. Motown Productions, Sidney J. Furie Productions, Paramount Pictures, 1972. Paramount Home Video special edition, 2005.
Lost Highway. Directed by David Lynch. Lost Highway Productions, Asymmetrical Productions, CiBy 2000, October Films, 1997. Universal Studios Home Video, 2008.
The Mack. Directed by Michael Campus. Harbor Productions, Cinerama, 1973. New Line Home Video, 2002.
Mad Dog Time. Directed by Larry Bishop. Dreyfus/James Productions, Skylight Films, United Artists, 1996. MGM Home Entertainment, 2004.
The Phynx. Directed by Lee H. Katzin. Cinema Organization, Warner Bros. Pictures, 1970. Accessed at www.veoh.com/watch/v20443766nY2MZZwr
Richard Pryor Here and Now. Directed by Richard Pryor. Delphi Films, Columbia Pictures, 1983. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (06674), 2002.
Richard Pryor Live & Smokin’. Filmed at the New York Improvisation on April 29, 1971. Produced and directed by Michael Blum. MPI Home Video (MP7233), 1984.
Richard Pryor—Live in Concert. Filmed at the Terrace Theater, Long Beach, California, December 28, 1978. Directed by Jeff Margolis. Special Event Entertainment, Inc., 1979. MPI Home Video (DVD7084), 1998.
Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip. Filmed at the Hollywood Palladium, October 22-23, 1981. Directed by Joe Layton. Columbia Pictures, 1982. DVD released by Columbia TriStar Home Video (40909), 1999.
Silver Streak. Directed by Arthur Hiller. Frank Yablans Presentations, Miller-Milkis Productions, Twentieth Century Fox, 1976. 20th Century Fox (2221490), 2004.
Some Call It Loving. Written, produced, and directed by James B. Harris. James B. Harris Productions, Two World Film, 1973. Video Supply Depot, a division of the Monterey Movie Company (V763).
Some Kind of Hero. Directed by Michael Pressman. Paramount Pictures, 1982. Paramount Home Video (VHS 1118), 1998. Legend Films, 2008.
Stir Crazy. Directed by Sidney Poitier. Columbia Pictures, 1980. Image Entertainment, 2010.
The Toy. Directed by Richard Donner. Rastar Pictaures, Delphi Films, Columbia Pictures, 1982. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, 2001.
Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales (aka “Bon Appétit,” aka “The Trial”). Directed by Richard Pryor and Penelope Spheeris. 1969. Unreleased. Whereabouts unknown.
Uptown Saturday Night. Directed by Sidney Poitier. Verdon Productions, Ltd., First Artists, Warner Bros. Pictures, 1974. Warner Home Video, 2004.
Wattstax. Directed by Mel Stuart. Stax Records and Wolper Productions, 1973. Warner Home Video, 30th Anniversary Special Edition (34997), 2004. Audio commentaries by Chuck D and Rob Bowman; Mel Stuart, Al Bell, Isaac Hayes, and Larry Clark.
Wild in the Streets. Directed by Barry Shear. American International Pictures (AIP), 1968. Reissued as MGM Presents Midnite Movies Double Feature: “Wild in the Streets/Gas-s-s-s” (1004881), 2005.
The Wiz. Directed by Sidney Lumet. Motown Productions, Universal Pictures, 1978. Universal Studios Home Entertainment, 2010.
You’ve Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You’ll Lose That Beat. Written, produced, and directed by Peter Locke. J. E. R. Pictures, 1971.
Notable TV Appearances
Away We Go. Summer replacement for The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Buddy Rich, Buddy Greco, and George Carlin. Richard Pryor appeared as a guest on the third of the show’s seven episodes. CBS. Aired June 24, 1967.
The Barbara Walters Special. Richard Pryor interview. ABC. Aired May 29, 1979, December 2, 1986, http://youtu.be/3MTAQwBL0Gw.
Chicago Hope. “Stand.” Richard Pryor received an Emmy nomination for his role as a patient suffering from multiple sclerosis. CBS. Aired November 20, 1995.
The Ed Sullivan Show. Richard Pryor stand-up performance as “militant black poet.” Included on The Very Best of The Ed Sullivan Show, Volume One: Unforgettable Performances. Buena Vista Home Video (1345). CBS. Aired February 8, 1970.
The Kraft Summer Music Hall. Summer replacement for The Andy Williams Show. Richard appeared as a guest in 1966 and 1968 when it was known simply as The Kraft Music Hall. NBC. Aired August 8, 1966, and July 3, 1968.
Lily. CBS. Aired November 2, 1973. Reissued as The Lily Tomlin Special—Vol. 1, Karl Home Video (VHS 054).
The Mike Douglas Show. Richard Pryor (guest host), Juliette Whittaker, Milton Berle, George C. Scott, Trish Van DeVere, and Tuffy Truesdale with Victor the Wrestling Bear. Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. Aired November 25, 1974. Accessed at the Paley Center for Media, New York, June, 9, 2011.
Mod Squad. “The Connection.” ABC. Aired September 14, 1972.
NBC’s Saturday Night. NBC. Aired December 13, 1975. Reissued as Saturday Night Live: Richard Pryor, Guest Host. Warner Home Video (29003), 1989.
On Broadway Tonight. Richard Pryor’s national TV debut. CBS. Aired August 31, 1964.
The Partridge Family. “Soul Club.” Guest stars Richard Pryor and Louis Gossett Jr. as brothers whose Detroit nightclub is in peril of being taken over by the mob. ABC. Aired January 29, 1971. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2005.
Pryor’s Place. Richard’s unlikely foray into Saturday morning children’s TV featured guest appearances by his friends Lily Tomlin, Scatman Crothers, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Willie Nelson, Robin Williams, and Sammy Davis Jr. The show ran for ten weeks and won two Daytime Emmys—for art direction and costume design. CBS. Aired September 15–December 8, 1984. Rhino Home Video, 1998.
The Richard Pryor Show. Indigo Productions, Burt Sugarman, Inc. NBC. Four episodes aired September 13, 20, 27, and Oct. 20, 1977. Image Entertainment (IDO165BMDVD), 2004.
The Richard Pryor Special? Indigo Productions, Burt Sugarman, Inc. NBC. Aired May 5, 1977. Image Entertainment (IDO165BMDVD), 2004.
A Time for Laughter: A Look at Negro Humor in America (ABC Stage 67). Produced by Harry Belafonte. ABC. Aired April 6, 1967. Accessed at the Paley Center for Media, New York, June, 9, 2011.
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Guests Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase promote their NBC specials. NBC. Aired May 4, 1977.
The Wild Wild West. “The Night of the Eccentrics.” CBS. Aired September 16, 1966.
The Young Lawyers. Pilot episode. ABC. Aired October 28, 1969.