2020. 3. 3. 16:01ㆍ카테고리 없음
If Richard Pryor were accused of being the funniest man in America, this film of his incredible stage act would be Exhibit A. It is proof beyond the shadow of a doubt! Shot live at the Hollywood Palladium, the film captures all the excitement, lunacy and electric force of a Pryor performance. And though he's the only star of this hilarious show, he's never alone on stage. With him is his amazing array of characterizations as he talks about his trip to Africa in search of his roots, his early days playing one-night gigs in Mafia-owned clubs and strip joints, and numerous other outrageous topics.
Finally, he talks about Pryor on Fire - a recounting of the accident which nearly took his life -an episode he relates with wit and a touch of poignancy. You'll laugh like you've never laughed before!
The opening paragraph of the article, by Julian Upton published in the best describes what happened to Richard Pryor on that quiet yet chaotic night on Parthenia street 33 years ago today (I added some details in parentheses): Richard Pryor should have died on June 9, 1980. Early in the evening, out of his mind on crack cocaine (freebasing), the comedian covered himself in rum (151-proof) and set it alight. Before his guests could rescue him, he jumped out of the window of his house in Northridge, California, and ran down Parthenia Street in a ball of flames. Ignoring pleas from passersby, he staggered around the San Fernando Valley suburb for several minutes while his clothes melted into his skin and the flesh on his upper body bubbled and blistered like meat in a wok.
Eventually, two cops managed to stop him long enough for an ambulance to arrive. Pryor was then taken to Sherman Oaks Hospital, where, it was generally thought (at least by his family and business associates), he'd be spending his last few hours alive. Obituaries were prepared. Unsympathetic acquaintances and certain family members started eyeing up his possessions. Indeed, some things were taken from his house in those first critical hours. You have probably heard this story before of comedian Richard Pryor's close fate with death which leaves me in awe every time I hear or read about it. I am amazed for two reasons; that a person could do this to themselves and survive and the fact that Richard Pryor chose to live in a quiet ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles far from the extravagance and excesses of Hollywood which he would ultimately bring to Northridge of all places.
However, for Richard Pryor the comedian, who appeared to never take anything seriously and joke would eventually turn this incident into one of his stand up comedy shows and movies stating 'One thing I learned,' said Pryor, 'was that you can run really fast when you're on fire!' Wikipedia has more below. It is this incident that Northridge and Parthenia St were placed on the map which was 14 years before the Northridge earthquake which was that other event that also put Northridge on the map. This area was always informally called Sherwood Forest (bounded by Nordhoff St, Balboa Blvd, Lindley Ave, and the Southern Pacific railroad) which was officially last August 2012 and recently received its own zip code,. This area was also famous for the replica home of Elvis' Graceland in Memphis dubbed Melody Land which no longer exists aside for the structure which was. Everything else in this area is more or less cookie cutter, ordinary, bland, boring, quiet, and safe which is ultimately what every reasonable parent wants except for Pryor who brought his own style to this innocent area. This area was mostly inhabited by white folks who enjoyed living on their large ranch lots which represented the old valley as one of the last areas to remain un-subdivided.
It still continues till this day although there have been attempts by some to subdivide. In any case, you still can get a feel of this area from the early 80's when Pryor almost killed himself.
Every time I drive down Parthenia St, I try to imagine what it would be like to hang out with Pryor in Northridge during those crazy party days. His daughter Rain Pryor (an actress that you may recognize from the ABC series Head of the Class and the Showtime series Rude Awakening) captured some of those memories in her 2009 book, (excerpt is from ) which I grabbed a quote below (the rest can be read at the bottom of this post). When Daddy got home, and I complained, he told me to stop whining. 'My house is a much more stable environment than your mother's house,' he said. We were interrupted by the arrival of a hooker. 'Hey, baby, come on in,' he told her, salivating a little. 'You look hot!'
Then he turned back to me: 'Your mother's always going through crazy shit, so this is the right place for you.' Pryor's home on Parthenia street was a sprawling ranch that had everything; an Olympic sized swimming pool, guest house, boxing ring, North-South tennis court, an orange grove (I believe), and a playhouse for the kids. Pryor was also a big animal lover and supporter who had a land tortoise named Myrtle, a miniature pony named Ginger (a gift given by producer Burt Sugarman when Richard was doing the The Richard Pryor Comedy Show shown below), monkeys for a brief period of time, and of course resuce dogs. On top of that, the home was full of people that were Pryor's entourage, help, lovers, family, and close friends. I doubt there was ever a dull moment at the house as the quote from Rain Pryor above demonstrates. His home was like a frat house with constant people surrounding him and entertainment. I wonder how he ever got any work accomplished when at home.Pryor's pet pony, Ginger.
Image courtesy. Pryor would later develop MS in 1986 (similar to and passed away on April 8, 2013) and suffered his second and more severe heart attack (his first was a mild heart attack in 1977) and underwent triple heart bypass surgery in 1990. By the early 1990s, he was confined to a wheelchair as MS began to take a toll on his body. On December 10, 2005 Pryor, suffered another heart attack at his Encino home and was pronounced dead at Encino hospital at the age of 65.Pryor was a huge influence to the top comedians of today including Dave Chappelle, Martin Lawrence, George Lopez, George Carlin, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Chris Tucker, and Robin Williams to name a few. In 2004, he was voted #1 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of a All Time. He was awarded posthumously the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006 and the animal rights organization PETA gives out an award in Pryor's name to those who have done outstanding work to alleviate animal suffering. On a personal note, the first time I remember seeing Richard Pryor was in the film Superman III and later Brewster's Millions in which the baseball scenes were filmed at the Bluebird fields in Sun Valley (now demolished) on the site of the DWP power plant which was.
I never knew Richard Pryor's past and standup comedy until much later which was an eye opener cosidering he played much milder characters in those movies. The home video below I believe explains the personality of Richard Pryor perfectly assuming it wasnt exaggerated (note this video contains profanity and is about 14 minutes long). We will now look at the homes where Pryor lived in the SFV.
Does a good job of archiving the addresses of Pryor's homes which started in West Hollywood when he rose to fame.Entrance to Parthenia home on Parthenia St. Image courtesyNorth View of Parthenia home. Image courtesy Google MapsWest View of Parthenia home. Image courtesy Google MapsParthenia home in 1959.
Image courtesyParthenia home in 1980, the year of the infamous burning incident. Image courtesyThe Parthenia home (shown above) was located at 17267 Parthenia Street next to Louise Avenue.
It measures 4 Beds/4 Baths on 5,759 sqft on a total lot size of 2.18 acres which is one of the bigger if not the biggest home in the Sherwood Forest area. I am not sure when this home was purchased but I believe it was around 1974 which I am guessing he paid somewhere in the $250,000 to $500,000 range. The home was later sold on April 6, 1989 for $940,000 to Stuart and Irene Boyd which was right around the time that the MS started to kick in more. The one odd thing about this house is that the property description states it was built in 1996 which means that the Boyd's completely destroyed this home and built new or something was added or modified which somehow translated into a new build date.Image courtesy Google MapsI am not sure where Pryor moved to after selling the Parthenia home in 1989 but Movieland Directory lists an Encino home at 4525 Hayvenhurst Ave (shown above, the is down the street) as his 1990s location. I am not able to verify this location but it would make some sense as the transaction dates show a sale for $675,000 on April 14, 1989 as well as December 27, 1989 for $730,000 which corresponds with the sale of the Parthenia home.
Furthermore, this home was last sold on March 28, 1996 for $750,000 which corresponds with the sale of another Encino home discussed below. The Hayvenhurst home measures 6 Beds/6 Baths on 3,576 sqft on a total lot size of 0.45 acres built in 1948. On a separate note, The Movieland Directory also list 17425 Marilla St in Northridge as his 1980s location but I am not able to verify this location and really not sure if he owned or rented this home. Its possible this was a home used to get away from the madness at Parthenia St.Image courtesy Google MapsHowever, I am able to verify an Encino home (shown above) that is still owned by Pryor's last wife, Jennifer Lee Pryor, which is where he would battle MS until his final days. This home is located at 16847 Bosque Drive (incorrect address at Movieland Directory) which measures 3 Beds/3 Baths on 2,017 sqft on a total lot size of 0.28 acres built in 1960 and was purchased on May 12, 1995 for $187,254.You can read more SFV history.Sources:by Nellie Killian. Published on February 13, 2013 at Bam Blog.by Julian Upton. Published on May 2007, Issue 56 at Bright Lights Film.by Kinky Friedman.
Download Richard Pryor Live At The Sunset Strip Rar Download
Published in 2011 by Simon and Schuster (book).by Elise Thompson. Published on August 28, 2007 at Laist.com.by Nelson George. Published on January 17, 1999 at The New York Times.by Rain Pryor.
Published in 2009 by Harper Collins.by the Grio. Published on May 26, 2010 at thegrio.com.by Teresa Wiltz.
Published on December 6, 2006 at The Washington Post.by Nora Fraser. Published September 2001 at The Pet Press.Below are excerpts from Rain Pryor's 2009 book, , describing life at the Parthenia St home for your reading pleasure. About a year after the first fateful meeting, Daddy bought a big house on Parthenia street, in Northridge, about thirty minutes from the old place, and took his entourage with him. I loved that house even more than the one in the hills above Sunset, and for the next eight years, till I was thirteen, it was home to me.When you arrived at Parthenia Street, you had to wait for the automatic gates to swing open, then you made your way down a long driveway, through a sprawling citrus orchard, till the big, ranch-style house came into view.
The bedrooms were in one wing of the house. Dad's room was all dark browns and deep maroons, and it had an enormous bed with black sheets on it. He had a big-screen TV in his room-though not a flat-panel, since those hadnt been invented yet-and sometimes we'd pile onto his bed to watch movies. He had tons of movies-VHS tapes were piled all over the place-and he'd let us hang out till all hours. But sometimes, in the middle of a movie, Dad would stumble into the room, drop onto the bed without worrying about landing on us, and pass out. On those nights that I slept over, which were becoming increasingly frequent, I always stayed in the main house, in the green-tiled guest room, just up the hall from where Mercedes slept. If Elizabeth was around, we shared the room, but when she wasn't there I stayed there by myself.
On those nights, I often sneaked down the hall to visit Mercedes and watch Spanish soap operas in her room, on her small TV. I would pretend I understood Spanish, because I wanted Mercedes to like me, and looking back on it I realize that this was simply another way in which I was insecure. I dont think Dad liked being alone. There were always people around, and usually lots of them. They would sit there drinking and smoking reefer, and passing the pipe, and whenever Daddy told a joke everyone would laugh-a little too hard, it seemed to me.
But he liked it, I guess. He liked sitting there with his friends and with the hangers-on, sipping his Courvoisier from his tall, thin glass, and telling stories. That's what he was all about: stories. The man liked having an audience. He was most alive when he was on.
For us kids, however, one of our favorite places was the Olympic-size pool in the back of the property, where we'd play until our finger looked like prunes. Our favorite game was inspired by an episode of Twilight Zone we'd seen, in which a husband and wife told their kids that they were getting a divorce, and the kids didin't want to hear it, so they dove to the bottom of the backyard pool and emerged in a beautiful, peaceful world that was far, far away. In that world, families stayed together, and everyone was happy. I guess it doesn't take a psychiatrist to figure out why we were intrigued by that particular game. Life on Parthenia Street was very pleasant for those first few years, but before long Daddy began to exhibit some of the erratic behavior that plagued him for most of the rest of his life. I think it must have been the drugs. He would explode for no reason, and he would beat us until his arms were too tired to go on.
An hour later-probably once he had his fix-he'd come looking for us again, all sweetness and light. Needless to say, we were forever in a state of imbalance. Dad was many things, and most of all he was completely unpredictable. By this time I really liked hanging out at the Parthenia house. Dad wasn't much good at fatherhood, and he knew it, but he made up for it by entertaining us in other ways. He was always buying us pets, for example. I had a land tortoise, Myrtle, that lived on the property for years and years, and for a while we had miniature pony, named Ginger-until the dogs tore her apart (literally).
We even had a couple of monkey's, briefly, but they tried to fuck anything that moved, including visitors, and one day they were simply gone. The only time I was unhappy at his house was when he wasn't there and I was left alone with the staff. It's not that I didn't like them but it didn't make any sense. He would go off for a week or two, and I'd have no one to play with, so it was a real drag. I could talk to Mercedes, of course, and in the morning I could chat with the chauffeur who drove me to school, but it wasn't the same. I never did understand why my mother just left me there.
I imagine she was dating at the time, and hoping for a fresh start, but I was big girl by then, and if she had asked nicely I would known how to make myself scarce. When Daddy got home, and I complained, he told me to stop whining. 'My house is a much more stable environment than your mother's house,' he said. We were interrupted by the arrival of a hooker. 'Hey, baby, come on in,' he told her, salivating a little.
'You look hot!' Then he turned back to me: 'Your mother's always going through crazy shit, so this is the right place for you.'
Then he looked at the hooker again and his eyes got wide and happy. It was time for pussy, and pussy was Dad's favorite thing in the whole wide world.There were so many hookers coming in and out of the house that I accepted it as a fact of life, as my father had done in his own youth, and their comings and goings resulted in an incident some years earlier that became part of the Pryor family lore. It was Thanksgiving. Dad had a lot of friends and family there, including Mamma.
He also had a couple of girls stashed in the bedroom, who were still recuperating, and it seemed like they were taking their sweet-ass time about going home.Finally, Mamma called everyone to the table. I remember walking past Dad's bedroom, and hearing the girls saying they were waiting on their money, so when I go to the table I sat down and immediately turned to look at him. 'Daddy,' I said. 'The whores need to be paid.' For a moment, everyone looked at me in stunned silence, then they all burst out laughing.
I didn't know what they were laughing about. And, truth be told, I didn't know what a whore was. But I knew whores had something to do with fucking, and fucking was fun, as my Daddy had assured me, so whores were a good thing. And they had to be paid! Just like the chauffeur and the groundskeeper and the man who took care of the pool. Hell, I'd seen Daddy pay them, and he always pad with wads of cash.When the laughter died down, Daddy went off to pay the whores, and then we had ourselves a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.Whores were part of our lives, I guess, and they'd always been part of Richard and Mamma's lives, going back to the old days in Peoria.
Richard Pryor Live In Concert
Daddy had lived in a whorehouse then, and in some ways he was still living in a whorehouse. Or, to look at it another way, he'd been carrying that whorehouse on his back his whole life-brought it with him all the way from Peoria.Years later, I would think back on all of the shit I endured at my father's hands-the abuse, the endless sream of whores, the hostile ex-wives and even more hostile girlfriends, the loneliness, the exposure to drugs-and I wondered why I wasn't angrier with him. But I never felt anger. The motherfucker had a hold on me, and I couldn't help but love him.Also, when you put it into perspective, I learned a lot about parenting from him. If I'm ever lucky enough to have kids, I'll do exactly the opposite of what my dad did to me, and I know they'll turn out fine.