There’s a certain irony to the fact that Richard Pryor was replaced as a Muppet Show host with the one person whose episode has been pulled because of the guest himself. It’s true that Pryor was seldom exactly child-friendly, but it’s equally true that The Muppet Show wasn’t exclusively for kids. No Muppet product is. And so, forty-five years ago today, Richard Pryor was able to hand balloons to Gonzo on the big screen for the first time to the delight of the adults and the unfamiliarity of children. Generally, guests were people Jim admired, which tells you a fair amount about Pryor’s appearance here.

Pryor’s early life was horrific; that’s no secret. He was expelled from a Catholic grammar school because his grandmother ran a brothel where his mother, in turn, worked. He was abused both physically and sexually as a child. He was expelled from high school. He enlisted in the Army and spent most of it in the stockade; apparently he and a group of other black soldiers had beaten and stabbed a white soldier who laughed at Imitation of Life in, shall we say, inappropriate moments. At his point, it was entirely possible he would live a short, brutal life.

In 1963, he moved to Greenwich Village and started performing. He was racked by stage fright; Nina Simone described holding him before every performance as he shook and sweated like a malaria patient. In 1967, he stopped performing for others and shaped his act to please himself. His act grew harsher, rougher, and more racially charged. In 1969, he moved to Berkeley. He developed further, meeting Huey Newton and Ishmael Reed, which presumably helped his outlook continue to evolve.

Starting in 1970, his career took off. This leads to Pryor’s superstar era, which is covered any number of other places. He was one of the biggest names in stand-up, and movie deals soon followed. However, at the risk of sounding maudlin, it’s clear he wasn’t happy. It seems that his “accident” was in fact a suicide attempt, one he himself later made light of but an obvious cry for help with that detail put in place. He was married seven times to five different women and had seven children, the first when he was sixteen. And, you know, there was the drug addiction.

Rain, probably the most famous of his children, denies claims from Pryor’s biographer, his fourth/seventh wife, and from Quincy Jones that Pryor was openly bisexual and had a relationship with Marlon Brando. Jennifer Lee, Pryor’s widow, says that Rain is in denial about it. Certainly it’s true that Pryor referenced having performed oral sex on men in his first special and at Pride rallies, so yeah. Lee says it’s because it was the ‘70s and everyone was sleeping with everyone. Or else Pryor was simply bisexual. After all, people are.

I’m not as poor as Pryor, but I sure could use it if you supported my Patreon or Ko-fi!