Richard Pryor Dies
Published
Comedian Richard Pryor has passed away. He was 65.
He died sometime late Friday or early Saturday of a heart attack at his home in the San Fernando Valley, according to the Associated Press. Pryor had suffered from multiple sclerosis.
His pioneering stand-up comedy act paved the way for present day comedians like Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock.
Pryor made a string of movies in the 1970s and 1980s that were incredibly successful, including 'The Toy,' 'Brewster's Millions,' 'Stir Crazy,' and 'Car Wash.' Pryor also produced the TV show in which he starred, 'The Richard Pryor Show,' in 1977.
Pryor nearly lost his life in 1980 when, while freebasing cocaine, he doused himself with cognac and lit himself on fire in what he later called a suicide attempt. He spent more than six weeks in the hospital recovering from third-degree burns that covered over 50 percent of his body.
Pryor's last starring role came in the 1991 comedy, 'Another You,' with his longtime comedy partner, Gene Wilder. Pryor had difficulty completing the film because of his failing health from multiple sclerosis. He went public with his illness later that year.