Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him (30 page)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The seeds of this book first took root more than a decade ago when we imagined we could tell Richard Pryor’s story within the confines of a three-act screenplay for a feature film. An evening’s entertainment. The universe knew better. What we at first believed to be a triumphant arrival turned out to be a mere resting place. Once we’d caught our breath, the view from there was daunting. We could see that we had barely begun our ascent of Mount Richard. What we must write, we decided, was this book.

On that first leg of our journey, we were assisted and encouraged by T Bone Burnett, Bruce Heller, and Jennifer Lee Pryor, who gave us rare access to volumes of Richard’s unpublished writings.

We are indebted not only to a number of cultural historians but to the generosity of many eyewitnesses—these friends, family, and cohorts of Richard Pryor’s—whose unguarded reflections brought the past vividly forward
and called flesh and blood out of abstraction. We offer our sincere thanks to:

Franklyn Ajaye

Michael Ashburne

Harry Belafonte

Sandra Bernhard

Jimmy Binkley

Kathleen Brennan

David Brenner

Cynthia Dagnal-Myron

Cabral Franklin

Janis Gaye

Angie Gordon

Brian Hyland

Tom Jones

Richard Lewis

Phil Luciano

Stuart Margolin

Kathy McKee

Kres Mersky

Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor

Daryl Mooney

Penelope Spheeris

Lily Tomlin

Robert Townsend

Rocco Urbisci

Fred Weintraub

Charles Weldon

For their early encouragement and good advice, we offer special thanks to Sue McNally, Eve Bridburg, and Amy Cherry. We feel a deep and abiding appreciation for the staff of Wild and Woolly Video and the Louisville Free Public Library, particularly those associated with the Western branch.

We are forever beholden to Bob Miller, former group publisher at Workman Publishing, both for his initial interest and ongoing support. Our champions at Algonquin Books—Kelly Bowen, Emma Boyer, Jamie Chambliss, Brunson Hoole, Debra Linn, Lauren Moseley, Craig Popelars, and publisher Elisabeth Scharlatt—invigorated us with their infectious enthusiasm and cajoled us with their kind patience. We were most fortunate to have as our copy editor the ever-vigilant Jude Grant. Finally, our venerable editor, Chuck Adams, wholeheartedly embraced our project from the get-go, giving shape and discipline to our oftentimes rambling narrative. He deftly and with good humor guided us back onto the main road whenever we pulled over to browse some yard sale or flea market, convinced we could find the ideal spot to display every curio or shiny bauble that caught our eye. (We come by it honestly.) Our book’s defects and shortcomings are entirely our own and stand here despite his better judgment.

SOURCES

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.
N
ew 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.