Becoming Richard Pryor

“Becoming Richard Pryor is a book that breaks new ground. . . . Saul details the amazing way that Richard found his way out of the life for which he seemed destined and into the world of the performing arts.”  —New York Times

Richard Pryor may have been the most unlikely star in Hollywood history. Raised in his family’s brothels, in Peoria, Illinois, by a grandmother who often threatened to kick him upstairs with her size-twelve shoes, he always considered himself a bottom dog. He took to the stage originally to escape the tough realities of his childhood but later discovered he could alchemize his stand-up by delving fully, even painfully, into the “off-color” life he’d known. He brought that vitality to a movie career whose best moments—Blazing Saddles, Blue Collar, the buddy comedies with Gene Wilder—flowed directly out of his spirit of creative improvisation. The major studios considered him dangerous. Audiences felt plugged directly into the socket of life.

Built on groundbreaking research, Becoming Richard Pryor brings into sharp focus the man and his genius as never before. From his heartbreaking childhood, his trials in the army, and his improv days in Greenwich Village to his soul-searching interlude in Berkeley and his rise in the “New Hollywood” of the 1970s, Becoming Richard Pryor sheds light on an entertainer who, by uniting the spirits of the Black Power movement and the counterculture, forever altered the cultural DNA of America.

How did a boy raised in a Peoria brothel become one of the most revolutionary and influential comedians in American history?

• A Peoria Upbringing: An unflinching look at Pryor’s childhood in his family’s brothels, shaping the "bottom dog" worldview that would fuel his life and art.
• The Counterculture and Black Power: Discover how Pryor’s time in Berkeley and Greenwich Village allowed him to unite the spirits of two major movements, forever changing comedy.
• Creative Genius at Work: Go behind the scenes of his trailblazing stand-up, his buddy comedies with Gene Wilder, and his legendary work on films like Blazing Saddles.
• Groundbreaking Research: Built on new interviews and extensive archival work, this biography sheds new light on the rise of an American icon.