Richard Pryor, One America's Funniest People

As most of you know the world has lost on of it’s funniest people over the weekend with the death of Richard Pryor.

Without Richard Pryor we would not have Jerry Seinfeld or Chris Rock. He took what other comics were doing in the 60’s and added his own stamp to it. A lot of his comedy was about the racial issues happening in America and his upfront style caused people to listen to what he had to say.

The great thing about Pryor was that he was funny to everyone, to black and white people.

He was successful even through some of the problems he had during his life. He grew up in a brothel that his grandmother owned. As an adult he battled a heavy drug problem, in the 80’s he nearly burned himself to death while lighting cocaine.

At the end of the day Pryor used his troubled background and experiences for his comedy. A visit to Africa made him look at the racial issues in America and made him stop using certain words in his routine.

The comedy world should be thankful that it had someone like Richard Pryor.