Furious Cool

March 31, 2014
The Henry brothers cover the life of Richard Pryor from his childhood in a flophouse to his final days in a mansion. Focusing mostly on his comedic genius of the 1960s and 1970s, the authors trace his progress, his set-backs, his influences, and his more extreme mishaps. Cumulatively, they show both the greatness and limitations of Pryor and his lasting impact on comedy and culture. Narrator Graham provides an standout, moving performance. His deep and projective voice commands listener attention and guides them through the highs to the lows of Pryor’s life. Graham also nails the emotional tension of the book, and provides solid voices for the different people quoted throughout the book. However, most of Graham’s impressions of Prior are so perfect that listeners may wonder whether they are listening to Graham or Pryor. This blend of narration with impersonation makes the audiobook successful. An Algonquin hardcover.

August 15, 2013
Biography of the comedic genius, anticipating the authors' in-the-works film script on Pryor's work and hard times. Pryor was a careful autobiographer, as witness the revelations in his popular concert films from the early 1980s. He was also a brilliant improviser and actor who would single-handedly "populate his stages with upward of eight or ten characters who he permitted to flirt with, mock, con, love, hate, enchant, and begat each other." The Henry brothers, one a screenwriter, the other a music producer, do not add materially to what Pryor has told us about himself, except to note that his frequent protestations that he had quit drugs were lies. Indeed, on many matters, they rely too heavily on the memoirs of Pryor's ever-patient friend Paul Mooney. What adds value to this book is the authors' expert sociological constructions, some of which they do not follow as closely as they might have. For instance, it is a noteworthy observation (though not original to the Henrys) that Pryor, more than any other single source, may have brought the "N-word" into common usage in popular culture; they could have explored it more. Along the way, they venture useful notes on the influence of Dick Gregory, the frequent betrayals (including Pryor's assumption that Mel Brooks was going to cast him as the sheriff in Blazing Saddles, a good bit of which Pryor wrote), and of course, Pryor's incessant drinking, drug use and sad demise. The book is a touch slapdash at times--the spelling is Sandy Koufax, not "Kofax"; someone from Wales is Welsh, not "Welch"; Moms Mabley never worked a room clean if she could help it--but it's mostly insightful and often entertaining all the same. A mixed bag but worth reading. Those who do will be inspired to give Pryor's concert films fresh screenings.

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September 1, 2013

The latest biography of "the world's most brilliant stand-up comedian" is the culmination of a project that took more than a decade (originally intended as a three-act screenplay) by screenwriter Henry and his brother, musician Joe. Born in 1940 in Peoria, IL, Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III was raised by his grandmother, who ran a brothel in which his mother "also turned tricks." Raped at five by a teenage bully (who, decades later, appeared with his son seeking Pryor's autograph), Pryor found respite from his oppressive childhood by acting in local theater. Leaving the first of six wives and his first two (of seven) children, Pryor arrived in New York City in 1963, embarking on a career that spanned clubs, television, and film, finding unparalleled success as a black performer in a racially stratified industry. Universally lauded as a genius, Pryor never overcame his drug addictions, spectacularly exemplified by his 1980 freebasing-induced self-immolation. VERDICT More a compilation of assiduous research than a narrative--with irreverent profanity that echoes Pryor's performances--this book should succeed in introducing a legend to new generations. Readers raised on dystopia will find Pryor's life tragically epic.--Terry Hong, Smithsonian Inst., Washington, DC

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2013
With ferocious energy and a malleable face, Richard Pryor on stage made full use of his genius and his demons. Every moment of his lifebeing raised by a grandmother who ran a whorehouse in Peoria, Illinois; exposure to colorful street characters; drug addiction; many failed relationships; indiscriminate sexual liaisonswas fodder for his comedy. After honing his talent on the chitlin' circuit, he moved on to Greenwich Village, the site of seismic changes in the American cultural scene, where he saw Lenny Bruce and learned he could use his sharp observations and quick wit to develop biting and hilarious portraits of the gritty side of life. The Henrys detail Pryor's early struggle with double-consciousness: cleaning up his act to get ahead ( la Bill Cosby) while wanting a release from containment. When he found his own voice, Pryor got mixed reactions, both horror at his rawness and liberal use of the n-word and elation at his liberating frankness. Drawing on interviews with Pryor's friends, family, and colleagues as well as his personal writings, the Henrys portray a man of enormous talent, a one-man theater of raw emotions as he torqued through success and a spectacular crash through drugs, violence, forgettable movie roles, and self-immolation. A beautifully written account of the troubled life of a manic genius.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)