What I’m watching: a wonderful collection of cutting edge comedy

Date: 12/15/2021

On DVD: “The Ultimate Richard Pryor Collection”

I love comedy and it has been a pleasure and a privilege to have interviewed a number of comics. I’ve been able to speak with people who have entertained me and whose talent I highly regard.

One standard question has been about influences and a standard response has been “Richard Pryor.”
Pryor, who died in 2005, was one of the most significant comedians in American history. He won an Emmy award, five Grammy Awards, two American Academy of Humor Awards, the Writers Guild of America Award and the first Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

In 2017, Rolling Stone named him as the number one comic on a list of the 50 best comics of all time.
This 13-disc collection has everything you could want about Pryor with the exception of his non-stand-up movies. It does include his autobiographical film “Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling.”

It includes his four stand-up movies, such as “Live on the Sunset Strip,” his TV special and subsequent TV series “The Richard Pryor Show,” his TV show for children, many of his talk show appearances, footage of appearing at the famed club, The Comedy Store, and not one but two documentaries about his life and career.

It will take me a long time to view everything, but the 2019 documentary “I Am Richard Pryor” was a great way to start. The feature-length film recounts Pryor’s incredibly hard childhood and his start as a stand-up comic in the early 1960s. He patterned himself after Bill Cosby but had a revelation when performing in Las Vegas that he was indeed different.

His work became much edgier with the use of profanity, as well as presenting racially charged and sexual material. He started using the “n-word” in his act as well.

He developed into a bitingly honest comic voice and in 1972 started appearing in supporting roles in movies as well as a star in his own films.

I watched the episodes of his TV show that aired in 1977. They are amazing as they break all of the conventions of variety shows at the time. For instance, Pryor performs in skits. There were no hosting duties for him. There were no guest stars (although there is a supporting cast that included a young Robin Williams) and the skits were often long, mini-plays that may have as much drama as they do comedy.

And there is indeed an edge to many of them. Pryor certainly didn’t compromise himself or his comedy at all. Of course, the show only lasted four episodes.

Pryor was a funny original who remained true to himself. His comedy flowed out of his life, which was often still painful, even after achieving success. His work was both raw and sophisticated and one of a kind.

This is an amazing, essential collection.

What I’m listening to

I make a point of listening to a group of movie-related podcasts and if you’re a fan of older films you need to listen to the TCM podcast “The Plot Thickens.” The new series is about the life and career of Lucille Ball and its revelatory.

I’ve also started listening to the podcast produced by Mick Garris, the horror film director called “Post Mortem.” There was a great episode with Garris speaking with two of my favorite directors, Joe Dante and John Landis, about their careers. It was a lot of fun.

“Maltin on Movies” is the podcast produced by film historian Leonard Maltin and his daughter Jessie and it features with interesting actors, directors and fellow historians.

Of course, my favorite podcast is ‘Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast,” which hosted by the cutting-edge comic and writer Frank Santopadre. I love it as it affectionately presents interviews with performer and writers. Many tremendous insights are shared, as well as a helping of the inner workings of Gottfried’s mind.