Richard Pryor

by McCluskey, Audrey Thomas

• ISBN13: 9780253352026
• ISBN10: 0253352029
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-10-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

Richard Pryor is an American icon whose name evokes irreverent humour, social critique, and a perplexing degree of self-agonized genius. This anthology captures in one volume the spirit, zest, and cultural impact of Pryor's complex artistry. Audrey Thomas McCluskey has assembled insightful essays from a broad range of scholars, social critics, writers, filmmakers, and other established and emerging commentators on American culture. Although a celebration of Pryor's genius, the book approaches the subject with a critical sensibility that provides insight into Richard Pryor's work to reveal how he simultaneously highlighted and embodied prominent narratives of race, gender, and social conditions in America in ways that continue to enlighten and entertain.

Author Biography

Audrey Thomas McCluskey is a professor of African American and African diaspora studies and former director of the Black Film Center/Archive at Indiana University, Bloomington. She lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

Table of Contents

Richard Pryor: Comic Genius, Tortured Soul	p. 1
New Essays
"That Nigger's Crazy": Richard Pryor, Racial Performativity, Cultural Critique	p. 23
The Crisis of Black Masculinity in Jo Jo Dancer: Your Life Is Calling	p. 39
Was It Something He Said? Censorship and the Richard Pryor Television Show, 1977	p. 52
Richard Pryor and the Poetics of Cursing	p. 65
Br'er Richard: Fascinatin' Storyteller	p. 79
"... And It's Deep Too": The Philosophical Comedy of Richard Pryor	p. 89
When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong: Pryor, Chappelle, and the Comedic Politics of the Post-Soul	p. 106
Biography
Jump Street! From Richard Pryor: The Man behind the Laughter (1981)	p. 141
The Politics of Being Black: From If I Stop I'll Die: The Comedy and Tragedy of Richard Pryor (1991)	p. 154
"He Wasn't Afraid to Get Naked in Front of People": Michael Schultz Remembers Richard Pryor	p. 171
Reviews
Time Warp Movies: A Review of Superman III (1985)	p. 187
Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip (1994)	p. 193
Richard Pryor: The Real Slim Shady (2001)	p. 197
Social and Cultural Criticism
The New Comic Style of Richard Pryor (1975)	p. 201
Jive Times: Richard Pryor, Lily Tomlin, and the Theatre of the Routine (1974)	p. 214
Richard and Me (1994)	p. 223
Hill Street Bullshit, Richard Pryor Routines, and the Real Deal (1997)	p. 230
Now's the Time: The Richard Pryor Phenomenon and the Triumph of Black Culture (1998)	p. 235
A Pryor Love: The Life and Times of America's Comic Prophet of Race (1999)	p. 245
Conclusion: We Owe a Debt to Richard Pryor	p. 268
Selected Chronology: The Life and Times of Richard Pryor	p. 271
Additional Sources	p. 273
Permissions and Credits	p. 281
List of Contributors	p. 283
Index	p. 285
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.