There's a new documentary about Richard Pryor coming to TV next month. Deadline reports that Showtime will be debuting Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic on Friday, May 31st, a month after the movie premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival. From director Marina Zenovich and writer P.G. Morgan, who made Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired together, the Pryor doc follows the iconic comedian's life from his rough childhood in Illinois to his ascendance to one of the country's most revered stand-ups and comedic actors in the 1970s. The comedian's widow, Jennifer Pryor, executive produced Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic, which features interviews with Mel Brooks, Lily Tomlin, Robin Williams, [...]
Welcome to the latest installment of Tragedy Plus Time. Each segment will focus on a particular ‘life crisis’ — sometimes globally tragic, sometimes more of a personal affair — and we’ll explore how many of the comedians we know and love have dealt with it.
Though no one has proved it scientifically, there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence to support the connection between creative types and recreational drug use. Whether it’s an openness to new experiences, a desire to numb the pain, or just the absence of a reason to get up early the next morning, many artists find themselves indulging at some point in their life. What starts as [...]
Stand-up and actor Mike Epps, best known for roles in the Friday sequels and The Hangover, has just been cast as Richard Pryor in a new biopic about legendary jazz singer and civil rights pioneer Nina Simone, who will be played by Zoe Saldana. Epps was originally going to play Pryor in a biopic about his own life back in 2005, but was let go after widow Jennifer Pryor disagreed with the casting. Eddie Murphy and Marlon Wayans were the next to be attached to the Pryor movie, being produced by Adam Sandler and Chris Rock, but the project is currently on hiatus. Mike Epps says [...]
The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)
On June 9th, 1980, in the midst of filming the movie Bustin’ Loose, Richard Pryor set himself on fire while freebasing cocaine as the [...]
