The Richard Pryor Show

NBC (ended 1977)

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Show Summary

Premiered: Sep 13, 1977
Status: Ended

The star of controversial young comic Richard Pryor was very much on the rise, when he was approached by NBC, in 1977, to do a 1-hour special for the network. He had already experienced phenomenal success as a nightclub performer, and had his popularity was soaring, after his performances in the movies 'Silver Streak', and 'Greased Lightning'.''''The special - Entitled, simply: 'The Richard Pryor Special?' - Was aired in May of 1977. It was a smashing success, both critically, and commercially, and led to NBC's offer of a regular, weekly variety series, which Pryor soon accepted.''''Over his years as a nightclub comic, Pryor had developed a method of performing that led him to use material that was considered very risqu for TV, and, despite his misgivings, from the very start, he signed a contract to do 10 shows. But battles with network censors, over his material soon caused the angry Pryor to back out. NBC managed to sweet-talk him back, and he reluctantly agreed to only 4 shows, though - Being scheduled opposite ABC's super hits: 'Happy Days', and 'Laverne And Shirley' - He knew the series was doomed before it began.''''Pryor was determined to do it his way, however, despite network pressure, but the censors were relentless. In fact, the opening sequence of his very first show was cut, shortly before air time. In that sequence, Pryor appeared apparently naked (He was actually wearing a body stocking), as he commented on how he'd not given anything up in his battle with the network censors, as the shot slowly widened, to show that his genitalia were missing.''''Produced by Rocco Urbisci, for Burt Sugarman Productions, and directed by John Moffitt, the show was much different from other variety shows, with an interesting mixture of satire, slapstick, improvisation, music, dance, and even a bit of heavy drama thrown in, with a talented supporting cast (Which included future mega-star Robin Williams), and Pryor's unique brand of comedy keeping it all together.moreless

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Episode Guide

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S 1 : Ep 4	Episode 4	Aired 10/20/77
S 1 : Ep 3	Episode 3	Aired 9/27/77
S 1 : Ep 2	Episode 2	Aired 9/20/77
S 1 : Ep 1	Episode 1	Aired 9/13/77
S 1 :	The Richard Pryor Special?	Aired 5/5/77

The Richard Pryor Show News

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83

TV's Greatest Presidents

By Ilana Diamond, Feb 15, 2010

In honor of President's Day, we've rounded up five of TV's greatest, bravest, and boldest fictional presidents. 5. President Henry Hayes (William Devane), Stargate SG1 Given the real U.S. President at the time this show aired, Hayes' wide-eyed dopiness hit… more
6

Richard Pryor sues record label over sales

By Reuters, Oct 14, 2005

Comedian Richard Pryor has sued Universal Music Group for allegedly marketing and selling 11 of his recordings without a license. Pryor's suit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks unspecified damages for unfair competition, conversion, unjust enrichment, and other… more

Cast & Crew

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Robin Williams

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Marsha Warfield

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Charles Fleischer

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Fan Reviews (1)

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This website says this show was cancelled due to controversy and censorship. I can\'t speak for those, but I can really understand an uncited reason why it may have been cancelled--the show is phenomenally bad.moreless

1.0

"Abysmal"

By sam_el, Jan 04, 2007 Report Abuse

This may be the most fantastically unfunny variety show I have ever seen. Even during the portions where I do find myself chuckle, I find that the jokes don\'t hold up under scrutiny. I pause and think, \"wait, that wasn\'t funny; why did I laugh?\" Also, bits that actually are humorous are overly long for the eventual punch line. Take, for example, the Clint Eastwood parody. After several minutes of admittedly dead-on Eastwood caricature, we get a joke about his gun getting stuck in the holster?! I mean, come on! And don\'t think this is some Richard Pryor bashing. I like Richard Pryor as much as the next person and I hate to speak ill of the deceased, but this show is just plain bad.moreless

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Sam El just doesn't get it....
Like most of in the Black community we enjoyed this show and were saddened by its quick demise. The show never got a chance to evo...

By JonJax, Apr 02, 2008

04/02/08

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