Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, Eddie Murphy Call Pryor The Real King Of Comedy
'Without Richard, there would be no me,' Bernie Mac says.
Richard Pryor's wife told the press that when her beloved husband passed away on Saturday morning, he had a smile on his face. It was a fitting end to a legend who kept millions laughing for decades.
If you ask today's funniest comedians who they consider their greatest influences to be, Pryor will undoubtedly be the first name on plenty of those lists (see "Comedian Richard Pryor Dies"). He's arguably one of the greatest comedians of all time, sitting at the round table with icons like Jackie Gleason, Lenny Bruce and Redd Foxx.
Mary J. Blige speaks for many when she says, "It's sad. He will be missed."
"Richard Pryor was the Rosa Parks of comedy," Chris Rock said in a statement Monday (December 12). "He took risks and chances that made it possible for a whole generation of comics to exist. No one ever rocked the mic like Richard Pryor, the true 'King of Comedy.' "
Michael Jackson seconded Rock's notion in as many words: "Richard Pryor was the true 'King of Comedy,' " Jackson said in a statement, "there will never be another like him. He was a trailblazer whose extraordinary talent and genius provided the blueprint for others to follow."
"Anytime you can look at a man and laugh before he opens his mouth, you're dealing with some top-shelf sh--," Bernie Mac said. "Richard Pryor was the best stand-up ever, hands down. The strength and fortitude that Richard had to deal with his condition for over 20 years tells you why he was as powerful a stand-up as he was. Without Richard, there would be no me."
Click Here for full story