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Hollywood Swinging
Leave our comedy alone, America
“…whatever the f — make the people laugh, say that sh-t…” — Richard Pryor to Eddie Murphy
Comedians miss a lot. More than bad baseball hitters. They got to go out there though. On the plank. All alone. It is painful out there. Lonely as hell. The very best go further and further out on the plank and fall in a lake of fire. Richard Pryor what would he say? Here goes. When Bill Cosby told Eddie Murphy his act was dirty, he asked Rich for advice. Richard asked Eddie did the people laugh and was he getting paid? Eddie said yes. Pryor told Eddie “to tell Bill to have a Coke and a smile and shut the F — up.” In other words, F — Bill Cosby and his moral code. Cosby never liked Richard Pryor either, for the record.
Comedians are here to change the conversation and the mood, to make us feel better for a few and though they are not prophets; they offer us cruel truths that bring us joy and pain. Richard Pryor knew that. He grew up in a family bordello in the tough city of Peoria, Illinois. He had a painful life. He set himself on fire once. He was addicted to cocaine. One of Richard Pryor’s most famous joke routines (Check LINK) is when he villified Linda Blair for her role in The Exorcist. The joke is all about Pryor telling Blair (playing the role) that she…
