Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was born on 1st December 1940, in Peoria, Illinois USA and died on 10th December, 2005 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, comedian, satirist, writer as well as a film director. Richard Pryor was the winner of five Grammy Awards, two American Academy of Humour Awards, Emmy Award, Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humour and the Writers Guild of America Award. More, he topped the list of Comedy Central as the all-time greatest stand-up comedian. Undoubtedly, all those awards increased Richard Pryor’s net worth. He was active in the entertainment industry from 1963 to 1997.
So how rich was Pryor? The main sources of Richard Pryor’s net worth were acting and writing. According to estimations, his net worth was equal to $40 million.
Richard Pryor Net Worth $40 Million
The childhood of this charismatic actor was far from usual or happy: Richard was raised in a brothel owned by his grandma. Worse, his mother worked as a prostitute there. Later, she left the boy with grandma, who used to abuse the child physically and mentally. From 1958 to 1960, he served in the Army of USA, although almost all the time was spent in prison because of a racial discrimination incident in Germany.
Concerning his career, Pryor was influenced by such personalities as Lewis Black, Bill Hicks, Dave Chappelle, Eddie Izzard, George Lopez, George Carlin and other famous artists. As an actor he created outstanding roles in a number of films including the blaxploitation film “The Mack” (1973) directed by Michael Campus, the sports comedy “The Bingo Long Travelling All-Stars & Motor Kings” (1976) directed by John Badham, comedy films “Which Way is Up?” (1977) directed by Michael Schultz, “The Toy” (1982) directed by Richard Donner, “Brewster’s Millions” (1985) directed by Walter Hill, “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” (1989) directed by Arthur Hiller and other films which all added considerable sums to the net worth of Richard Pryor.
As a comedian he released about 20 albums and eight compilations. He debuted with the album “Richard Pryor” (1968) which was recorded live. Other popular albums were “That Nigger’s Crazy” (1974), “Bicentennial Nigger” (1976), “Wanted: Live in Concert” (1978), “Here and Now” (1983) and others. The albums received certifications for sales which meant that the net worth of the Richard Pryor rose significantly.
Pryor was particularly recognised for his constant racial epithets, insulting vocabulary, profanity and vulgarities, usually when discussing contemporary issues and racism cases. This was Richard Pryor’s own way of attract audiences, which consequently increased his net worth considerably as he was consistently adored by millions. He is considered to be one of the most influential and important comedians of all time.
As a result of the multiple sclerosis that Richard Pryor suffered from, he had to use power operated vehicles to move, but still he appeared in the film “Lost Highway” (1997) directed by David Lynch. In 2005, he died following a heart attack, and was cremated.
The private life of Pryor was not usual, either. He managed to marry five women seven times, and fathered six children. Richard Pryor’s wives were Patricia Price (1960–1961), Shelley Bonis (1967–1969), Deborah McGuire (1977–1978), Jennifer Lee (1981–1982, 2001– until his death) and Flynn Belaine (1986–1987, 1990–1991).
five Grammy Awards, two American Academy of Humour Awards, Emmy Award, Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humour, Writers Guild of America Award,
Nominations
Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance - Variety Or Music Program, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing Achievem...
Movies
See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Stir Crazy, Richard Pryor: Live in Concert, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, Silver Streak, Brewster's Millions, Blazing Saddles, Superman III, Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip, The Toy, Which Way Is Up?, Harlem Nights, Another You, Bustin' Loose, The Wiz, Grease...
TV Shows
Pryor's Place, The Richard Pryor Show, The Young Lawyers
[observation, 1967] I never thought about not making it. But the 'it' had nothing to do with show business. The 'it' I'm trying to make is me.
2
[During his tour of Kenya in 1979, Pryor sat in a in a hotel lobby] The only people you saw were black. At the hotel, on television, in stores, on the street, in the newspapers, at restaurants, running the government, on advertisements. Everywhere...You know what? There are no niggers here. ... The people here, they still have their self-respect, their pride. [Describing legacy of trip that made him regret "ever having uttered the word 'nigger' on a stage or off it."]
3
Black people got to look at themselves honestly, the same as white people did. And the stuff I talked about helped them do that. They loved it. Probably some sort of relief to both races that they could finally be honest about their shit.
4
The great comics all have a hole in their chest where their heart should be. Somebody yanked their heart out when they were just kids, and they've been spending their whole lives trying to fill that hole. Or kill the pain. I know that I did.
5
[on experiencing racism] I was just on the Today (1952) show and they were telling me how wonderful I was and I walk out into the reality of America and I can't get a cab.
6
[At the 1977 Academy Awards] I'm here to explain why black people will never be nominated for anything. This show is going out to seventy-five million people - none of them black. We don't even know how to vote. There's 3,349 people in the voting thing and only two black people - Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte. We're quitting. You'll have to listen to Lawrence Welk.
7
I met the President. We in trouble.
8
[on the free-basing incident which set him on fire] When you are running down the street.... and you are on fire, people will get out of your way.
9
Everyone carries around his own monsters.
10
It's been a struggle for me because I had a chance to be white and refused.
11
I had some great things and I had some bad things. The best and the worst. In other words, I had a life.
12
I live in racist America and I'm uneducated, yet a lot of people love me and like what I do, and I can make a living from it. You can't do much better than that.
13
Comedy rules! Don't let anybody tell you otherwise, and there are no rules in stand-up comedy, which I really like. You can do anything you want and you can say anything that comes to mind, just so long as it's funny. If you ain't funny then get the fuck off the stage, it's that simple.
14
[on his job as a boxing gym sparring partner]: I always had to fight the guys who looked like they just killed their parents.
15
You can have a film and have 200 white people working on it, and nobody finds anything wrong with that. But if you insist on having a black crew, all of a sudden there's something wrong.
#
Fact
1
He is a second cousin, once removed, of rapper and actor Ludacris. Richard's maternal great-grandparents, William A. Craig and Nancy, were also Ludacris's maternal great-great-grandparents.
2
He was invited to a private screening of Animal House (1978) by director 'John Landis (I)', who wanted Pryor's opinion about the scene at the black roadhouse. Landis and the film's backers were concerned that it would be offensive to black audiences. Pryor laughed out loud, and told them that it should definitely be kept in the movie.
3
He was expelled from a Catholic grammar school in Peoria, Illinois, when the nuns found out his grandmother owned a string of brothels.
4
At 16, he was expelled from Central High School for punching his science teacher.
5
Suffered a mild heart attack in November 1977.
6
He passed away only 9 days after his 65th birthday.
7
Admitted that he did Superman III (1983) and The Toy (1982) purely for the money.
Appeared in Superman III (1983), the only film in the series in which Lex Luthor does not appear. However, he did eventually get to work with an on-screen Lex Luthor, by appearing in See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) with Kevin Spacey.
10
One of his limo drivers was Freddy Soto, who later went became a stand-up comedian. He also died in 2005.
11
In 1990, he suffered a massive heart attack and underwent triple bypass surgery.
12
Eddie Murphy pointed to Pryor as his role model and inspiration to become a comedian himself.
13
Though he made four films with Gene Wilder, the two comic actors were never as close as many thought, according to the Gene Wilder's autobiography.
Suffered from multiple sclerosis from 1986 until his death in 2005.
17
Chosen as #1 in Comedy Central's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time. (April 2004).
18
Was originally considered for the role of Billy Ray Valentine on Trading Places (1983), before Eddie Murphy ultimately won the part.
19
Pryor was originally slated to play Bart in Blazing Saddles (1974). Due to Pryor's background and controversial stand-up routines, Mel Brooks couldn't secure financing for the project. Brooks made Pryor a co-writer, and Cleavon Little played Bart.
20
In 2002, Sheridan Road, on the south side of Peoria, was renamed Richard Pryor Place.
Awarded The First Annual Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize. [1999]
29
Has admitted the fire that nearly killed him while free-basing cocaine in the early 1980s was in fact a suicide attempt. His management created the "accident" lie for the press in hopes of protecting him.
$40 Million
