Notizie

Tj and Molly are headed for Splitsville on General Hospital. But while this iteration of Tj navigates the troubling emotions caused by the death of their surrogate baby, his original portrayer, Tequan Richmond, has been navigating an entirely different path. From 2012 to 2018, he played Tj Ashford, and he left because he got a starring role in Boomerang, a TV show sequel/reboot to Eddie Murphy’s 1992 comedy film of the same name. Now, he’s appearing in another sequel of sorts to a film by another famous comedian.

Millions Are at Stake

1985’s Brewster’s Millions starred iconic comedian Richard Pryor and the late comic John Candy. The film was based on the 1902 novel by George Barr McCutcheon and was a remake of the 1945 film starring Dennis O’Keefe. In it, Pryor plays Montgomery Brewster, a baseball player who stands to inherit $300 million if he can spend $30 million in a month, but...

Tequan Richmond stars as Big Ty in “Brewster’s Millions: Christmas.” The movie, set to be released on Thursday, Dec. 5, boasts an impressive cast including China Anne McClain, Romeo Miller, Richard Pryor Jr., Rain Pryor, Telma Hopkins, Richmond, and Sierra McClain. This reimagining of the 1985 comedic classic Brewster’s Millions, originally starring the late Richard […]

The post Tequan Richmond Stars In New Film appeared first on Soap Opera News.

Exclusive: The BET+ Original film Brewster’s Millions: Christmas is set to premiere on December 5, it has been revealed as production wraps.

The character of Montgomery Brewster was famously portrayed by Richard Pryor in the 1985 comedy Brewster’s Millions, based on the George Barr McCutcheon novel of the same name. Pryor’s son Richard Pryor Jr. will take on the role in the BET+ project with Rain Pryor starring as Opal.

Romeo Miller and China Anne McClain

Brewster’s Millions: Christmas follows Morgan Brewster (China Anne McClain) as she embarks on a unique and challenging journey to inherit her uncle Montgomery’s fortune before Christmas. As Morgan and her companions navigate the delightful chaos of the holiday season, they discover the true meaning of love, faith, and family through the act of giving rather than receiving.

The film also stars Romeo Miller as “Andrew,” Telma Hopkins as “Mrs. Brewster,” Tequan Richmond as “Big...

Will Smith became embroiled in a controversy after he slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars ceremony in 2022. After Rock joked about Jada Pinkett-Smith, the Bad Boys star went up the stage to give him a slap and then exclaimed profanities. The incident resulted in Smith resigning from the Academy and being banned from the ceremony.

The two have addressed the incident on multiple occasions and Smith reportedly even apologized to Rock publicly. While the two may now have a history of disagreement, they may agree on one opinion. Smith recently agreed with Martin Lawrence on Richard Pryor being one of the best stand-up comics of all time, which Rock too has expressed on multiple occasions.

Will Smith And Martin Lawrence Speak About Richard Pryor Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys: Ride or Die | Credits: Columbia Pictures/Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films/Westbrook Studios/2.0 Entertainment

Will Smith...

Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein, co-written with Gene Wilder (seen here with Marty Feldman and Teri Garr) inspired Tony McNamara’s screenplay adaptation of Alasdair Gray’s novel for Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things (Oscar wins for Emma Stone and costume designer Holly Waddington).

By using well-chosen excerpts from the audiobook of Gene Wilder’s autobiography, Kiss Me Like A Stranger, Ron Frank lets Wilder himself guide us through the documentary, by positioning him in dialogue with many friends and colleagues assembled here, most prominently Mel Brooks, who directed Wilder in a number of groundbreaking movies. We find out how the two met, because Anne Bancroft, starring at the time on stage in Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage (with Wilder as the Chaplain), was dating Brooks, who was looking for an actor to play Leo Bloom in what was to become The Producers. The two men clicked, as they both recall,...

On the surface, biting jokes can generate laughter. They can also cut deeper in meaning and impact as seen in Right to Offend: The Black Comedy Revolution. An upcoming two-part A&e documentary chronicles the evolution and social awakening of black comedians over decades. These fearless entertainers have used and continue to use their respective stages to take a stand and shine a light on atrocities of the time and racial stereotypes, possibly sparking change in the process. Executive produced by Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Productions and Time Studios, viewers are taken on a journey through history from the early days from the likes of comic turned civil rights activist Dick Gregory and character performer Moms Mabley right to those who carried the torch since. Rain Pryor, daughter of another pioneer Richard Pryor, was happy to participate alongside family and top industry names to further bring awareness of what her dad and others have done.

Almost three months after the Oscars, Will Smith’s on-stage slap of Chris Rock continues to spark a discussion.

Asked what the Oscar smack means for the future safety of comedians during a panel Thursday at Tribeca Festival, Alonzo Bodden said he isn’t worried.

“I’m not going to get slapped on stage,” he said. “That (Will Smith slap) is the ultimate outlier situation. At the comedy clubs, we are still talking and still doing comedy, so nobody is going to a club and worried about that happening.”

Meanwhile, comedian-host-director W. Kamau Bell claimed a Black Carrot Top could never exist.

“You can be a white comedian and never talk about what’s going on in the world,” Bell told the audience. “But it’s pretty hard to be a Black comedian and never talk about what’s going on in the world without the crowd being like ‘Where’s this dude from?...

Tiffany Haddish has joined the National Comedy Center’s advisory board of the directors. She fills the seat formerly held by the late Carl Reiner.

The announcement coincides with Lucille Ball’s 110th birthday. The center is located in Ball’s hometown of Jamestown, New York.

“Comedy is a true art form — its artists deserve to be celebrated and its creative work needs to be preserved,” Haddish said on Friday morning. “I’m truly honored to be part of the National Comedy Center. Lucille Ball was an extraordinary influence on my career and my work, so to help bring her vision for this cultural institution to life is a dream come true for me.”

Lewis Black, founding chair of the advisory board, said, “On behalf of the entire advisory board, it’s a thrill to have Tiffany Haddish join us. With Tiffany’s participation, we become a more vital resource...

Five actors have been added to the cast of the Head of the Class reboot pilot. Isabella Gomez stars in the projects as an unorthodox teacher who tries to get her students to look beyond their grades and experience the world around them.

The original comedy series aired on ABC for five seasons and starred Howard Hesseman, Billy Connolly, William G. Schilling, Jeanetta Arnette, Dan Frischman, Robin Givens, Khrystyne Haje, Tony O'Dell, Brian Robbins, Kimberly Russell, Dan Schneider, Tannis Vallely, Leslie Bega, Joher Coleman, Rain Pryor, Michael DeLorenzo, Lara Piper, De'voreaux White, and Jonathan Ke Quan.

Jorge Diaz, Dior Goodjohn, Brandon Severs, Adrian Matthew Escalona, and Christa Miller have all been added to the cast of the new Head of the Class.

Deadline revealed more about their roles for the :

“Diaz plays Elliot Olsen, a goofy...

In today’s TV News Roundup, Apple TV Plus released a teaser for “Foundation,” and Starz released a trailer for “P-Valley.”

Dates

Netflix has announced that the first half of the fifth and final season of “Lucifer” will premiere on the streamer on Aug. 21. The series picks up with the former Lord of Hell continuing to help the LAPD under higher stakes than ever. Tom Kapinos, Ildy Modrovich, Len Wiseman, Jonathan Littman, Jerry Bruckheimer and Joe Henderson serve as executive producers.

Showtime has announced that Season 5 of “The Circus” will premiere on Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. Co-hosts John Heilemann, Alex Wagner and Mark McKinnon will take viewers into the Trump and Biden campaigns as the election season unfolds over the fall. The series is produced by Left/Right. Heilemann, McKinnon, Wagner, Banks Tarver, Ken Druckerman, Ted Bourne, Tom Johnson and Siobhan Walshe serve as executive producers. Watch a new trailer for the season below.

Rain Pryor's one-woman show is headed for the small screen.

TV legend Norman Lear, Will Gluck and his Olive Bridge Entertainment banner and Global Road Entertainment are teaming up with Pryor — the daughter of late comedian Richard Pryor — to develop <em>Fried Chicken and Latkes </em>as a single-camera comedy. A network is not yet attached.

The semi-autobiographical <em>Fried Chicken and Latkes</em> starts with Pryor as a preteen trying to find her place in the world while growing up in 1970s Beverly Hills. Being biracial, half-Jewish and the daughter of the famous and troubled comedian, Pryor's identity is as ...

Michael Jackson’s father disagrees with Quincy Jones’ claims that his son “stole a lot of songs.”

During a wide-ranging interview with Vulture earlier this month, 84-year-old Jones shared a variety of out-there claims, including one about the late king of pop.

“I hate to get into this publicly, but Michael stole a lot of stuff. He stole a lot of songs,” Jones said, before alleging Jackson lifted the riff for “Billie Jean” from Donna Summer’s “State of Independence.”

The producer added, “He was as Machiavellian as they come. Greedy, man. Greedy.”

But Michael’s father Joe Jackson told...

Marlon Brando's son says his dad did not sleep with Richard Pryor ... even though Pryor's widow insists he did. Marlon's oldest living son, Miko Brando, tells TMZ ... "The Marlon Brando family has heard the recent comments by Quincy Jones and we are disappointed that anyone would make such a wrongful comment about either Marlon Brando or Richard Pryor." That's in sharp conflict with what Richard's widow, Jennifer Pryor, told us last week ... that the Brando/Pryor hookup Did go down,...

Richard Pryor’s daughter, Rain Pryor, has made a statement saying that her late father did not have a sexual relationship with Marlon Brando. “Why this sudden need to drag Daddy through the Hollywood mud? I find it tasteless and infuriating,” Pryor wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday. “At least get the details right, but of course we live in the age of faux news is real unless we disagree for our own agendas, and people need to stay relevant by dishing dirt.” The comedian’s daughter pushed back at a Vulture interview in which prolific music producer Quincy Jones first made...

Richard Pryor‘s widow may have confirmed Quincy Jones’ allegations that the late comedian had a sexual relationship with Oscar-winning actor Marlon Brando, but one of Pryor’s daughters has different things to say.

Rain Pryor, who is one of Pryor’s seven children from six different relationships, posted an impassioned post about her father on Facebook Thursday night, disputing the Brando sexual affair story and slamming both Jones and Pryor’s widow as a “bottom feeders.”

Jones was first to allege that the legendary duo had a sexual relationship, telling Vulture in a wide-ranging interview published Wednesday that Brando would “f— anything.

Richard Pryor and Marlon Brandon may not have been as close as some first thought. Earlier this week, Richard's widow Jennifer Lee claimed the legendary comedian and actor slept together in the 1970s. Jennifer told TMZ that her late husband never hid his bisexuality from their inner circle. In fact, she claims he detailed his relationships with men in his diaries. But according to Rain Pryor, it's just not the case. "Daddy did Not have relations with Brando. There were no trips to his South Pacific Oasis, no flowers or love notes between. Not even a film role," she wrote in a Facebook post Thursday afternoon. "Why this sudden need to drag Daddy through the Hollywood mud? I...

Veteran theatre producer, Edmund Gaynes the critically-acclaimed Zero Hour Drama Desk Award, Danny and Sylvia, Cougar The Musical, Rain Pryor's Fried Chicken and Latkes and the long running Black Angels Over Tuskegee, has announced a new production division of his company, West End Artists, aimed at creating new projects for Broadway, Off-Broadway and key theatre markets across the country.

Richard Pryor always stood in awe of Gene Wilder, his daughter, actress Rain Pryor, told The Hollywood Reporter on Monday.  Perhaps the most iconic buddy comedy duos of all time, the pair appeared in multiple films, which became instant classics. On Monday, Wilder's family announced he died on Sunday night. He was 83. Richard died in 2005 at age 65.  Rain Pryor said it was hard to imagine one without the other when it came to the two comic legends she grew up watching on movie sets.  "I think they both helped each other grow as artists in

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Fans and celebs alike are mourning the death of prolific performer Gene Wilder. Wilder, who is best known for his work in films such as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles, also earned a best supporting actor nomination for his role in 1967's The Producers. The star, beloved by many for decades of work in film, died Sunday at his home in Stamford, Conn., due to complications from Alzheimer's disease, his family announced Monday. Rain Pryor, daughter to Richard Pryor, recalled to The Hollywood Reporter how hard it was to imagine one without the other when it

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It's time for a big class reunion. Twenty five years ago today, Head of the Class aired its final episode on ABC.

Created by Michael Elias and Rich Eustis, the sitcom centers on history teacher Charlie Moore (Howard Hesseman) and his group of gifted students at a Manhattan high school. William G. Schilling played the principal and Charlie's students were played by Jeannetta Arnette, Leslie Bega, Dan Frischman, , Robin Givens, Khrystyne Haje, Jory Husain, Tony O'Dell, Brian Robbins, Kimberly Russell, Dan Schneider, Tannis Vallely, Michael DeLorenzo, Lara Piper, Rain Pryor, Jonathan Ke Quan, and De'voreaux White. Billy Connolly joined the cast in season five after Hesseman left the series.

Read More…...

The British Urban Film Festival has announced that its 2015 opening night film (also making its UK premiere) will be Paradox Smoke Productions' new documentary on Rain Pryor - daughter of the late, great Richard Pryor, and an acclaimed director, producer, actor, stand-up comedian, educator, activist, speaker, and mother. Titled "That Daughter’s Crazy," likely named after the father's Grammy award-winning 1974 comedy album "That Nigger's Crazy," the documentary is directed by Elzbieta Szoka, and produced by Sam Adelman and Daryl Sledge. "That Daughter’s Crazy" is described as...

Mitchell Altieri, one half of The Butcher Brothers (The Violent Kind and The Hamiltons) and director of Holy Ghost People, has started on his next film, a horror comedy called The Night Watchmen. The story and screenplay were written by Ken Arnold and Dan DeLuca, who both have parts in the film, and Jamie Nash. The cast is being led by James Remar (Dexter), which also includes the aforementioned Ken Arnold (House of Cards) and Dan DeLuca (Veep). They are joined by Kevin Jiggetts (Castle), Max Gray Wilbur (How to Get Away With Murder), Kara Luiz (MTV's Jerks With Cameras), Diona Reasonover (the upcoming Buzzy's), Tiffany Shepis (Sharknado 2), Rain Pryor (Head of the Class) and Matt Servitto (Banshee).In the film, written by DeLuca and Jamie...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Richard Pryor Jr. is threatening to sue his stepmother Jennifer Lee Pryor to stop the Lee Daniels-directed biopic about his father, Richard Pryor, which is currently in development.

Nick Cannon To Play Richard Pryor

According to reports, Pryor’s children, specifically Richard Pryor Jr. and Rain Pryor, have been vocal opponents to Jennifer’s involvement in the film, objecting to the idea of Nick Cannon being cast to play their father. Pryor Jr. eventually changed his mind after speaking with Cannon, and publicly approved of Cannon potentially playing his father onscreen.

Furthermore, they reportedly suspect their stepmother, who will act as executive producer of the film, of twisting the truth to make her look good in the film.

Richard Pryor Jr. Threatens To Sue To Stop Production

Now, accoding to TMZ, Pryor Jr. is attempting to stop the proposed film from being made and sent a cease and desist letter to Jennifer,...

Nick Cannon seems to think he has the role of Richard Pryor locked up for a new biopic ... but Pryor's kids tell us they don't think he cuts it ... but they say they know who can.Richard Pryor Jr. and Rain Pryor say the man for the role is Marlon Wayans. They believe Wayans understands their dad's psyche and can connect with the character in a compelling way.As for Nick ... they just don't think...

Currently traveling the film festival circuit is Paradox Smoke Productions' new documentary on Rain Pryor (daughter of the late, great Richard Pryor, and an acclaimed director, producer, actor, stand-up comedian, educator, activist, speaker, and mother), titled That Daughter’s Crazy, likely named after the father's Grammy award-winning 1974 comedy album That Nigger's Crazy. Directed by Elzbieta Szoka, and produced by Sam Adelman and Daryl Sledge, That Daughter’s Crazy is described as follows: Carrying on a career as an actor/singer/comedian, beyond the shadow of her legendary father, Rain Pryor is an original, bold, and energetic voice, who...

Kelly Carlin and Rain Pryor, the daughters of comedy legends George Carlin and Richard Pryor, have both followed in their fathers' footsteps in pursuit of comedy. Talk about having big shoes to fill.

But just because their fathers defined stand-up comedy for generations, it doesn't mean the laughs they receive are residual. In an interview with NY Times comedy reporter Jason Zinoman, the women came together to discuss how they met, how their fathers impacted their careers and the starkly different parenting methods to which they were each subject.

"I’m not trying to be him. I’m not great at stand-up. I’m good. It’s going to take a while if I decide I want to be great. For me it’s a job, so I don’t have to teach," Rain said. "Some people come because they miss him."

Rain currently has a one-woman show, "Fried Chicken & Latkes,...

Game Change Teaser Trailer. Jay Roach‘s Game Change (2011) TV Movie Teaser Trailer stars Ed Harris, Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Sarah Paulson, and Ron Livingston. Game Change‘s plot synopsis: “based on John Heilemann and Mark Halperin‘s bestselling chronicle of the 2008 presidential elections. Though the book covers both the Republican and Democrat sides of the race, Roach’s film narrows its focus to John McCain (Ed Harris), Sarah Palin (Julianne Moore), and their bid for office.”

I always thought Pailn’s nomination was a publicity, strategic decision. It seems I was correct.

Game Change also stars Peter MacNicol, Jamey Sheridan, Tiffany Thornton, Alex Hyde-White, Spencer Garrett, Bruce Altman, Larry Sullivan, Brian Howe, John Rothman, and Rain Pryor.

Watch the Game Change TV movie teaser trailer below and leave your thoughts on it in the comments section. For more Game Change photos, videos, and information, visit our Game Change Page.

Chicago – “I don’t even know what to do on this show. We just talk?” asks comic Bobby Slayton in episode four of the new Showtime series “The Green Room with Paul Provenza.” Yes. And therein lies the problem.

Television Rating: 3.0/5.0

Certainly, the premise of “The Green Room” is not new. Jon Favreau’s IFC series “Dinner for Five” was also an unscripted, round robin, celebrities-just-talking-for-30-minutes style of show. But while the success of “Dinner” hinged somewhat on the selection of guests on each episode, host Favreau was charismatic, a little cocky and, ultimately, interesting enough to make the show work most of the time, regardless of the cast.

Paul Provenza on The Green Room.

Photo credit: Cliff Lipson/Showtime

“The Green Room” is different. Paul Provenza, comedian and director of “The Aristocrats” hosts an ever-changing cast of celebrity comedians that come on to tell jokes or talk about their lives and careers,...

By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith

HollywoodNews.com: Expect to see plenty of sparks fly on ‘The Green Room With Paul Provenza’ when the Showtime show hits the tube June 10. Among the verbal dustups filmed for the series are a heated political argument between Tommy Smothers and Penn Jillette, and a no-holds-barred conversational melee involving race with Rain Pryor, Bobby Slayton (Richard Pryor’s one-time writing partner), Paul Mooney and Australian comic Jim Jeffries.

‘Nobody is selling a DVD. It really, truly is like comedy jazz’with these greats riffing off each other,’ Provenza wants us to know. The idea for the show grew out of onstage gatherings of comics held by Provenza at the Edinburgh and Montreal comedy festivals. Putting such groups together for the cameras seemed like a natural — but not easy — idea.

‘I was very fortunate. I called a lot of people I knew personally and they came in.

Summer is turning to autumn but for some celebrity babies, spring is forever in the air. “There’s nothing sweeter or more feminine than an old-fashioned flower name for a girl, and celebrities — along with other baby namers — are looking at lists of botanical choices for inspiration,” according to nameberry.com co-founder Linda Rosenkrantz. “Lately, an interesting variety of flower names has been sprouting across the celebrity landscape, both old favorites and some that have rarely been used before.”

Clearly, the front-runners in this category remain Lily and Rose, with Lily more commonly used as a first name and Rose as a middle name. Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis were so enamored they used this exactly combination with daughter Lily-Rose, 10. Gilbert Gottfried also opted to double the flower power with daughter Lily Aster, 2. Other celebrity parents who fell in love with Lily include Lisa Hartman Black and Clint Black (parents to Lily Pearl,...

Richard Pryor, one of the most groundbreaking comedians of the late 20th century, died Saturday morning of a heart attack at his home in the San Fernando Valley; he was 65. Pryor had been suffering from multiple sclerosis for years, and according to his wife Jennifer Pryor, passed away very quickly with little suffering. Born in Peoria, Illinios, Pryor reportedly grew up in a brothel run by his grandmother, and was performing at as young an age as 7, when he played drums for a nightclub. After graduating high school and serving two years in the army, Pryor began his comedy career in the 60s, working in nightclubs and earning a reputation for himself. Soon talk show and variety show appearances led to small parts in movies throughout the late 60s and early 70s, with a noteworthy supporting role opposite Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues (1972). He also wrote for a number of television shows, including Sanford and Son, and worked on the script for Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles. Pryor skyrocketed to fame, however, on the strength, appeal, and hilarity of his stand-up performances, which challenged the establishment at a time when censorship laws still held sway, and his explicit, profane routines, centering on racial and sexual topics and everything in between, won him both controversy and fame. He also became a highly popular (and highly paid) actor in the 70s, with hit films such as Silver Streak to his credit and a controversial TV show on NBC. His biggest film success, though, was with a concert film of his stand-up routines, and Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979) remains one of his best and one of the most influential comedy films of all time. Just as his fame reached its zenith in 1980 (the year the hit film Stir Crazy was released), Pryor almost lost his life in a notorious drug-related accident, as he suffered burns on over 50% of his body while freebasing cocaine at home. The incident began Pryor's long road to recovery, and he talked and joked freely about it in his next concert film, Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip. Free to make whatever films he liked, Pryor signed a $40 million, five-year contract with Columbia Pictures in 1983, which took him from cult hero to mainstream star, though the movies, including Superman III, The Toy and Brewster's Millions, diluted his considerable talent. He had more critical, if not commercial, success with two autobiographical-influenced films, Some Kind of Hero and Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, a thinly fictionalized biopic. By the late 80s, though, Pryor's films were becoming bigger and bigger failures, and he all but retired from performing in the 90s, after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; in 1990 he suffered a massive heart attack and underwent triple bypass surgery. He made a brief appearance in the film Lost Highway, and did a guest stint on Chicago Hope, which earned him an Emmy nomination, but rarely worked; in 1998, he received the first Mark Twain Prize for humor from the JFK Center for the Performing Arts. He married six times, and had two sons and three daughters, including actress Rain Pryor. Pryor is survived by his wife Jennifer, who was his fourth wife and whom he remarried in 2001. --Prepared by IMDb staff...

Richard Pryor, one of the most groundbreaking comedians of the late 20th century, died Saturday morning of a heart attack at his home in the San Fernando Valley; he was 65. Pryor had been suffering from multiple sclerosis for years, and according to his wife Jennifer Pryor, passed away very quickly with little suffering. Born in Peoria, Illinios, Pryor reportedly grew up in a brothel run by his grandmother, and was performing at as young an age as 7, when he played drums for a nightclub. After graduating high school and serving two years in the army, Pryor began his comedy career in the 60s, working in nightclubs and earning a reputation for himself. Soon talk show and variety show appearances led to small parts in movies throughout the late 60s and early 70s, with a noteworthy supporting role opposite Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues (1972). He also wrote for a number of television shows, including Sanford and Son, and worked on the script for Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles. Pryor skyrocketed to fame, however, on the strength, appeal, and hilarity of his stand-up performances, which challenged the establishment at a time when censorship laws still held sway, and his explicit, profane routines, centering on racial and sexual topics and everything in between, won him both controversy and fame. He also became a highly popular (and highly paid) actor in the 70s, with hit films such as Silver Streak to his credit and a controversial TV show on NBC. His biggest film success, though, was with a concert film of his stand-up routines, and Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979) remains one of his best and one of the most influential comedy films of all time. Just as his fame reached its zenith in 1980 (the year the hit film Stir Crazy was released), Pryor almost lost his life in a notorious drug-related accident, as he suffered burns on over 50% of his body while freebasing cocaine at home. The incident began Pryor's long road to recovery, and he talked and joked freely about it in his next concert film, Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip. Free to make whatever films he liked, Pryor signed a $40 million, five-year contract with Columbia Pictures in 1983, which took him from cult hero to mainstream star, though the movies, including Superman III, The Toy and Brewster's Millions, diluted his considerable talent. He had more critical, if not commercial, success with two autobiographical-influenced films, Some Kind of Hero and Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, a thinly fictionalized biopic. By the late 80s, though, Pryor's films were becoming bigger and bigger failures, and he all but retired from performing in the 90s, after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; in 1990 he suffered a massive heart attack and underwent triple bypass surgery. He made a brief appearance in the film Lost Highway, and did a guest stint on Chicago Hope, which earned him an Emmy nomination, but rarely worked; in 1998, he received the first Mark Twain Prize for humor from the JFK Center for the Performing Arts. He married six times, and had two sons and three daughters, including actress Rain Pryor. Pryor is survived by his wife Jennifer, who was his fourth wife and whom he remarried in 2001. --Prepared by IMDb staff...

Richard Pryor's daughter Rain Pryor is blaming her father's wife Jennifer Lee Pryor for the lawsuit against her and moviemaker Penelope Spheeris. The ailing comedian, who has been crippled by multiple sclerosis, reportedly claims that Lee Pryor and Spheeris took the master copy of his first film appearance in Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales and never returned it. But the situation is shrouded in suspicion, as Rain has a good relationship with her father, and she insists his wife, who has power of attorney, is behind the legal action. Rain fumes, "My father's wife is using my father's name to action a lawsuit against me." A source tells British newspaper Daily Express, "The lawsuit was filed in LA last week. People were taken aback to see Rain's name on there as she and her father are known to get along. It's a strange state of affairs."...