Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Pryor's flawed legacy. Comedian's vulgarity made him no role model.
New York Daily News ^ | December 12, 2005 | Stanley Crouch

Posted on 12/12/2005 8:49:58 AM PST by .cnI redruM

click here to read article


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-94 next last
Pryor was funny, but then again, barbarians often are, until you drop your guard and they are ready to kill you.
1 posted on 12/12/2005 8:50:00 AM PST by .cnI redruM
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: .cnI redruM
Pat Grey had a great parody eulogy on the foul mouth crack head this morning.
2 posted on 12/12/2005 8:53:26 AM PST by TexasCajun
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: .cnI redruM

So a real role model would be tookie williams?


3 posted on 12/12/2005 8:53:45 AM PST by al baby (Father of the beeber)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: .cnI redruM
Comedian's vulgarity made him no role model.

No one ever said Pryor was a role model, nor did he claim to be.

But he sure was funny.

4 posted on 12/12/2005 8:54:31 AM PST by Mr. Mojo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mr. Mojo

Stir Crazy still comes to mind...


5 posted on 12/12/2005 8:55:18 AM PST by Zavien Doombringer (Have you gotten your Viking Kittie Patch today? http://www.visualops.com/patch.html)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: .cnI redruM
I thought I heard on ABC that his grandmother was a Madame and mother a prostitute?
6 posted on 12/12/2005 8:55:21 AM PST by TexasCajun
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: .cnI redruM
Comedian's vulgarity made him no role model.

Nope, but he was a great comedian.

7 posted on 12/12/2005 8:55:37 AM PST by Paradox (Time to sharpen ole Occam's Razor.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: .cnI redruM

Geez, imagine what a depraved weasel George Carlin is.


8 posted on 12/12/2005 8:56:14 AM PST by atomicpossum (Replies should be as pedantic as possible. I love that so much.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: .cnI redruM

Since when was he supposed to be a role model? Stupid article.


9 posted on 12/12/2005 8:56:33 AM PST by rattrap
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: .cnI redruM
Of course, Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam is the ultimate coon show

huh?

10 posted on 12/12/2005 8:57:03 AM PST by wallcrawlr (Pray for the troops [all the troops here and abroad]: Success....and nothing less!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: al baby
Bill Cosby comes close. Tookie Williams fits in a similar category to 50 Cent and Pryor.
11 posted on 12/12/2005 8:57:10 AM PST by .cnI redruM (If you're gonna think, you might as well think big." - Donald Trump)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: rattrap

nah a couple of ny papers were alluding to that


12 posted on 12/12/2005 8:57:32 AM PST by italianquaker (Democrats and media can't win elections at least they can win their phony polls.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: .cnI redruM

...the new minstrelsy in which millions of dollars are made by "normalizing" demeaning imagery and misogyny.

&&
Well put.


13 posted on 12/12/2005 8:58:09 AM PST by Bigg Red (Do not trust Democrats with national security!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Zavien Doombringer
Stir Crazy still comes to mind...

Good movie.

For me, Richard Pryor Live in Concert (1979) was his peak performance.

14 posted on 12/12/2005 8:58:28 AM PST by Mr. Mojo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: .cnI redruM
Comedian's vulgarity made him no role model. But it did make him funny as hell. He was a bit over the top at times, but much of Pryor's funniest bits would not have had the same effect without the use of certain words. Especially when is sketch was actually skewering the people who use that language everyday as a standard part of thier speech. When making fun of them, the parody is lost without the same verbage they used.

Pryor's comedy was not for everyone, that is for sure, but he was a genious and should be remembered as one of the best comedians ever.

15 posted on 12/12/2005 8:58:41 AM PST by commish (Freedom Tastes Sweetest to Those Who Have Fought to Preserve It)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rattrap

Since when was he supposed to be a role model?

**
I don't think that the writer is saying that Pryor called himself a role model. He alludes to the comments made by pundits that set Pryor up as one. I heard tv commentators make a few such comments myself.


16 posted on 12/12/2005 9:00:43 AM PST by Bigg Red (Do not trust Democrats with national security!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: commish

Yeah, no one denies his talents. The question comes when you stop and wonder how much, if any of it, sinks in. I guess it depends on how much an entertainer actual influences how we behave when it's time to take things seriously.


17 posted on 12/12/2005 9:01:21 AM PST by .cnI redruM (If you're gonna think, you might as well think big." - Donald Trump)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Mr. Mojo

Pryor was HYSTERICAL.

Why would ANYONE use a Comedian as a role-model?


18 posted on 12/12/2005 9:01:58 AM PST by nuffsenuff (Don't get stuck on Stupid - General Russ Honore Sept 21, 2005)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: wallcrawlr
I think Crouch was saying Simmons was encouraging young blacks to live down to inferior racial stereotypes.
19 posted on 12/12/2005 9:02:35 AM PST by .cnI redruM (If you're gonna think, you might as well think big." - Donald Trump)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: .cnI redruM

I'm sorry, but I disagree.

I do abhor society's descent in vulgarity. But Pryor showed us the darkness that exists, that was his whole life, and made it human and compelling with his brilliance.

He was the Charlie Parker of comedy, a man whose dazzling brilliance and virtuosity made me and others laugh more than almost any other comedian.

I am sorry he is gone, I am sorry that the last years of his life were filled with such debility. And I am grateful to have seen his work.

RIP, Richard.


20 posted on 12/12/2005 9:03:32 AM PST by Maceman (Fake but accurate -- and now double-sourced)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-94 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson