RichardPryor.com Forums

i was ashamed of admittng i was an addict, i felt i was alone, hopeless and it seemed no one understood me, like i was trapped within with no voice and after watching the movie live on sunset strip, i found there was a voice and although it was a struggle to battle addiction there was darkness and bad times, mr pryor said what i couldnt say i and that takes alot of courage, i related to alot of what he said about his addiction richard pryor brought to it the light the humor.

stircrazy559,
Richard talked about issues that most anybody else would be scared to talk about.....he is the greatest of all time !!!

Welcome to the site!!

stircrazy559,

Sadly, a number of comedians have endured similar experiences. But Richard Pryor was the only one ballsy enough to talk about it onstage. In doing so, he has helped multitudes of people trapped in the cycle of addiction. This is one more reason why the man is considered the greatest of all time. It wasn't just about jokes with Pryor, he tried to tell the truth and set us all free. Thats why I laugh when I hear people comparing other comedians to Pryor. Pryor is the gold standard....there can not be another....

mojones,
Word!!They give Tony's out for the type of things Richard did on stage!!

stircrazy559,
I'm with you. I've been doing the sobriety dance for three years now. I can't say that RP has helped keep me sober - I think that's something you have to do on your own. I CAN say, though, speaking as both a comedian and a recovering juicehead, that RP helped me realize that even I might be able to try drying out. I think Hear and Now sums it up best - when RP said he had been sober for seven months and the guy in the audience shouted "I don't belive you!". RP replied "I know you don't... but I don't give a fuck". I know a lot of other comics who are drying out and point to RP as one of the reasons they felt able to even try. Just another reason Rich is cool...