The Richard Pryor Show
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| The Richard Pryor Show | |
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 The Richard Pryor Show title card |
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| Genre | Sketch show, Comedy, Variety |
| Running time | 0:60 (per episode) |
| Creator(s) | Richard Pryor |
| Starring | Richard Pryor |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | September 13, 1977–October 4, 1977 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| IMDb profile | |
The Richard Pryor Show was a short-lived controversial comedy, variety series starring Richard Pryor. It premiered on NBC on Tuesday, September 13, 1977 at 8:00 p.m. in between the popular television shows Laverne & Shirley and Happy Days. The show was produced by Rocco Urbisci for Burt Sugarman Productions. It was conceived out of a special that Pryor did for NBC in May 1977 since the special was a major hit, both critical and commercial.
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[edit] Series Run
The Richard Pryor Show lasted only 4 episodes during the 1977 season. From the start, the show faced controversy about its time slot and subject matter. It was said that in Pryor's contract that the show was to air at 9:00 p.m. but it was aired at 8:00 p.m. Many people wondered why NBC would put one of America's most controversial and profanity-laced artist's show in the middle of "family hour" on Tuesdays. Pryor was ready to quit because of the disagreements but was eventually wooed back and began production. He agreed to do four episodes of the show instead of the ten he promised in his contract. He did the four episodes and they aired in consecutive weeks. The show did not do well in the ratings while the shows that were in front of it and behind it ended up #1 and #2 in the ratings and The Richard Pryor Show was dropped after those four episodes.
[edit] Cast
The main cast consisted of Pryor as various different characters. Some of his more popular ones were him as a money-seeking priest, a wino, and a white-hating rock star. Pryor was assisted by some comedic talents that would go on to be very big in Hollywood. These people included Robin Williams, Sandra Bernhard, John Witherspoon, and Tim Reid.
[edit] Episodes and Controversy
Pryor only filmed four episodes of the show but they were not without their controversies. During the first show, Pryor was shown for a title card and as the camera panned out it was revealed that he was wearing a sort of body stocking to appear nude but his penis was missing. (The implication being that Pryor had been "emasculated" by the network's restrictions and censorship.) NBC quickly said the clip must be edited out of the show and it was. A skit in which Pryor appeared as a machine gun toting rocker who kills all of his white fans also caused a stir. The second episode also featured a very controversial skit. The skit showed a woman in a park and while in this park she describes what her first lesbian experience was like. Probably one of the most shocking and revealing moments of the show came during the last episode of the show. A skit that was set up like a roast given by the Friars Club or hosted by Dean Martin was seen on the show. The only thing was no guest star was on the show, all the other actors from the show roasted Pryor. Pryor sat with his head down for the most part laughing mildly while regulars on the show either had kind remarks or very scornful ones. It looks obvious in appearance that the cast of the show was an unhappy one. After the fourth episode the show was history.
[edit] DVD Release
Because Pryor's status as a comedic and Hollywood icon only grew and still exists to the day, a two volume DVD set was released on March 23, 2004. The DVDs include the special that Pryor did that was the inspiration for the series.
