Richard Pryor/YMMV

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  • Crowning Moment of Awesome: In Live on the Sunset Strip Pryor describes his drug addictions and follows it up with his near-death experience. Proof that God exists: God kept Richard Pryor alive because Pryor was the only comedian to do his Man On Fire routine any justice.
  • Crowning Moment of Funny: Well, obviously.
  • Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: In Live on the Sunset Strip he has a routine in which he describes an incident in which a little voice inside asked him, as he looked on at the mixed group of people he saw in a hotel in Africa, what he saw, and he mentally replied joyfully that he saw all sorts of people of all sorts of colors interacting peacefully with each other. The voice then asked him if he saw any "niggers". He thought, "No," and realized that the word, ordinarily a more regular part of his lexicon, had not even occurred to him in several weeks. "Do you know why?" the voice replied. "Because there aren't any." This caused him to break down into tears. After relating this tale he launches into a moving, persuasive, mostly serious Author Tract about how the word "nigger" and how black people and white people alike should stop using it. It may sound downright cheesy in print, but in context, after all the goofy shit preceding it, the routine hits quite hard.
    • He stood up for Eddie Murphy, when Murphy was lambasted with criticism about his work being overly profane and racist. Pryor told Murphy, "Look, next time someone talks shit on you like that, you tell 'em to suck my dick."
  • Crazy Awesome: Much of his stand-up routine exemplifies this, but it also extended to Real Life. While working at a Mafia-owned strip club, he held up the owners with a cap gun when he thought they weren't paying one of the strippers enough money. The owners assumed he was joking and were so amused they didn't have him killed.
  • Funny Aneurysm Moment: Considering that it was a cardiac arrest that finally did for him, his bit on his first cocaine related heart attack has gained a certain piquancy. Still pretty damn funny though.
    • Also: Comedy Central aired a tribute show called I Ain't Dead Yet, $*@#!" He died soon after the special aired.
  • Seinfeld Is Unfunny: To anyone who's grown up watching Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle or the legions of black comedians that graduated from Def Jam, Pryor's act might criticize the now-well-established White Dude, Black Dude humour, while missing the brutally self-deprecating aspect of his bits.
  • Tear Jerker: His famous "Wino & Junkie" bit veers dangerously close to this towards the end.