Richard Pryor was on my mind yesterday. I was happy to see him get full article treatment in a Waxpoetics magazine. I didn't finish reading it, but I did enjoy what I had read so far. I want to finish reading the article.
Richard is one of many names for a king. Prior means happening or taking place beforehand. The name Richard Pryor to me means that he was the king of comedy doing and saying things long before his successors.
I am not saying anything that hasn't been said already. He laid the groundwork for Black comedians that came after him. After one viewing of Richard Pryor: Live In Concert, I knew I was looking at the architect of Black comedy at work.
The interesting thing for me was learning that there was someone breaking ground in comedy before Richard Pryor. His name is Redd Foxx. I grew up hearing about a foul-mouthed, elderly comedian and that I was to stay away from him. I decided to allow myself to watch a rerun of Sanford & Son and learned how funny he was.
I will never forget the episode where Fred Sanford walks into his living room to see a goat. His reaction to the goat was priceless comedy. When they said a show was filmed in front of a live studio audience, they meant it. The audience reaction to Fred’s upcoming reaction made the moment that much more memorable. Redd Foxx also did impressions which were also uncanny. There was an episode where he imitated Bogart and it was hilarious. Do yourself a favor and watch any and every Sanford & Son you can.
Bill Cosby was a mentor for me as a boy. I looked up to him as a father figure and was thrilled he was involved with Fat Albert. Of all the Black entertainers I saw as a child, I hung on to him and practically modelled myself after him. I would say my sense of humor is derivative of him in more ways than one.
Eddie Murphy’s Delirious is the comedy routine my generation knows from beginning to end. He couldn’t even top himself with Raw. I remember being in elementary school, riding a train with my class on a field trip, listening to Comedian (do your homework) on a Walkman, laughing hysterically at the impressions.
My other memories of Eddie Murphy were from Saturday Night Live. If my parents went out, they would leave my brother and I at his godparents` house and their oldest daughter would like after us. We would fight as much as we could to stay awake long enough to get passed the WPTZ News to watch Saturday Night Live. If memory serves me correctly, I watched the Buckwheat Shot sketch the night it aired. Those were good times!
Bernie Mac stole the show under the other Kings of Comedy and gave us some great episodes of his show. I’ll never forget the episode where he was in the shower and he told the child to not flush the toilet. The look on his face as he howls when the water hits him is again priceless. R.I.P. Bernie Mac.
Dave Chappelle came very close to walking in Richard Pryor’s footsteps. Like Pryor, he had a short lived and controversial show. Chappelle’s ran longer than Pryor’s and I don’t think it was a coincidence that Richard Pryor Show DVDs surfaced shortly after the success of Chappelle Show DVD sales. With Chappelle gone, the comedy throne is vacant. I’m very sure that the heir to the throne will have elements of the other kings and make a name for themselves on their own terms.
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