Richard Pryor

[gambit]

Rest in peace, Mr. Pryor. Rest in peace.

[Deckard]

Very sad to hear this. People often forget how popular, successful and influential he actually was.

[Jason Roth]

Surprised? Come on. He was in bad shape for a long time. He even did a show called "I ain't dead yet."

That being said, he was a brilliant comic. Paved the way for Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, and tons of others. If you haven't seen one of his standups, check out Live at the Sunset Strip. Hilarious stuff. His comedy will live on as long as people still want to laugh.

[stimpee]

Hey, jus because he had MS doesnt mean you expected him to pop his clogs. this is a heavy blow for me as he was one of my comedic heroes. he broke so many boundaries and inspired so many black comedians. one of the true greats. i'm gutted.

[the mongoose]

No way! Sad........but not unexpected. At least he is no longer in suffering.

[BeautifulBurnout]

Nice tribute here from Lenny Henry.

He will be missed.

[paul de aragon]

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[votingfloater]

Originally Posted by stimpee

Hey, jus because he had MS doesnt mean you expected him to pop his clogs. this is a heavy blow for me as he was one of my comedic heroes. he broke so many boundaries and inspired so many black comedians. one of the true greats. i'm gutted.

More than that - he inspired all comedians. The Live in Concert (1971) footage is repeatedly referred to by many comedians as a huge influence.

More than that though - he was funny to millions of punters. I liked him because he was honest and funny.

I hope he's somewhere suitable laughing his arse off just now.

[Future Proof]

Apparently I've been under a rock this weekend but shit, horrible news. Yeah, I suppose that it's no surprise but he was such a champion in both comedy and life that it's still very sad news. For as good of a comedian as he was, he was also a huge inspiration, battling back from a horrible drug addiction. It's a shame that drugs take so much off of your life span it seems -- you should really be allowed to live another lifetime after getting free from addiction's clenches, because of how much you learn about yourself and life in general.

[Professor]

end of an era. possibly the funniest, most honest man ever--he let us all see how funny pain can be, when it's not you.