Richard Pryor

BirthDate BirthPlace	11/30/1940 Peoria, IL

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Contributed to the screenplay for the 1974 Mel Brooks comedy classic Blazing Saddles.
Suffered a heart attack in 1978. Two years later, he accidentally set himself on fire while freebasing. The incident left over 50 percent of his body with third degree burns.
Wrote for TV series such as The Flip Wilson Show and Sanford and Son.
Was the first person to receive the Mark Twain Humor Prize for American Humor in 1998.
Raised by his grandmother who ran a brothel.
Launched entertainment career as a singer and piano player.
Worked with fellow comedic actor Gene Wilder on four buddy films: 1976's Silver Streak, 1980's Stir Crazy, 1989's See No Evil, Hear No Evil and 1991's Another You.
In 1986 he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Honored in 1996 by the NAACP with a Lifetime Achievement Image Award and a Hall of Fame Award.