
Richard Pryor
Actor · 1940 – 2005 · Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, film director, social critic, satirist, writer, and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time: receiving praise from notable comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Newhart, and Bill Cosby. His body of work includes the concert movies and recordings starting in the 70s and spanning three decades. He also starred in numerous films as an actor, in both comedic and dramatic roles. He collaborated on many projects with actor Gene Wilder and actor/comedian/writer Paul Mooney. Pryor won an Emmy Award (1973), and five Grammy Awards (1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, and 1982). In 1974, he also won two American Academy of Humor awards and the Writers Guild of America Award. The first ever Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor was presented to him in 1998. Pryor is listed at Number 1 on Comedy Central's list of all-time greatest stand-up comedians.
Movies23
Movie7.6DramaThrillerA tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.
Lost Highway
1997 · 3.1K votes
Movie5.5ComedyScience FictionAiming to defeat the Man of Steel, wealthy executive Ross Webster hires bumbling but brilliant Gus Gorman to develop synthetic kryptonite, which yields some unexpected psychological effects. Between rekindling romance with his high school sweetheart and saving himself, Superman must contend with a powerful supercomputer.
Superman III
1983 · 1.9K votes
Movie7.2FamilyComedyThe Muppets gather to watch their newly-finished big-budget rich-and-famous feature film: a talent agent persuades Kermit the Frog to leave the swamp to pursue a career in Hollywood. On his way there, he meets a bear, a pig, a whatever (his future muppet crew), and some special celebrity guest stars, while being chased by the desperate owner of a frog-leg restaurant!
The Muppet Movie
1979 · 723 votes
Movie6.8ComedyCrimeA murder takes place in the shop of David Lyons, a deaf man who fails to hear the gunshot being fired. Outside, blind man Wally Karue hears the shot, but cannot see the perpetrator. Both are arrested, but escape to form an unlikely partnership. Being chased by both the law AND the original killers, can the pair work together to outwit them all?
See No Evil, Hear No Evil
1989 · 1.1K votes
Movie7.8DocumentaryThose who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
John Candy: I Like Me
2025 · 119 votes
Movie6.1ComedyCrime'Sugar' Ray is the owner of an illegal casino and must contend with the pressure of vicious gangsters and corrupt police who want to see him go out of business. In the world of organised crime and police corruption in the 1920s, any dastardly trick is fair.
Harlem Nights
1989 · 370 votes
Movie6.7ComedyCrimeA somewhat daffy book editor on a rail trip from Los Angeles to Chicago thinks that he sees a murdered man thrown from the train. When he can find no one who will believe him, he starts doing some investigating of his own. But all that accomplishes is to get the killer after him.
Silver Streak
1976 · 376 votes
Movie6.2FantasyFamilyDorothy Gale, a shy kindergarten teacher, is swept away to the magic land of Oz where she embarks on a quest to return home.
The Wiz
1978 · 329 votes
Movie6.6ComedyMonty Brewster, an aging minor-league baseball player, stands to inherit $300 million if he can successfully spend $30 million in 30 days without anything to show for it, and without telling anyone what he's up to... A task that's a lot harder than it sounds!
Brewster's Millions
1985 · 698 votes
Movie6.5ComedyCrimeNew Yorkers Skip Donahue and Harry Monroe have no jobs and no prospects, so they decide to flee the city and find work elsewhere, landing jobs wearing woodpecker costumes to promote the opening of a bank. When their feathery costumes are stolen and used in a bank robbery, they no longer have to worry about employment — they're sent to prison.
Stir Crazy
1980 · 497 votes
Movie5.5DocumentaryHe built dynasties, broke barriers, and became the silhouette that defines the game. But beneath Jerry West's legendary NBA legacy was a man haunted by perfection and pain. Through rare interviews with family and basketball icons, uncover the complex truth behind The Logo.
Jerry West: The Logo
2026 · 2 votes
Movie5.5ComedyEddie is a con artist. When he's framed and comes before a judge, he hopes to get off the hook by claiming insanity—but instead ends up in a hospital for a mental assessment. That night, a storm causes a power failure and, in the ensuing chaos, Eddie is mistaken for a doctor and suddenly finds himself in charge of the hospital.
Critical Condition
1987 · 81 votes
Movie6.9DocumentaryIn 1975, as America faced social and political upheaval, filmmakers turned chaos into art.
Breakdown: 1975
2025 · 32 votes
Movie6.5DocumentaryFrom his Saturday Night Live beginnings to a string of classic comedies, Chevy Chase has always had huge comedic range. He is also a complex and contradictory human being. Featuring revealing interviews with those closest to him, this documentary digs into the talent, flaws, and humanity that shaped an icon.
I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not
2025 · 24 votes
Movie4.6WesternActionTwo incompetent Western outlaws engineer several failed crimes, including a botched stagecoach holdup. Fred Williamson, a tough-guy perennial in blaxploitation movies, does a rare comedy turn as a blundering patsy to Richard Pryor's slick con man.
Adiós Amigo
1975 · 7 votes
Movie6.9ComedyTV MovieA TV special celebrating the 25th anniversary of Saturday Night Live. Before a celebrity audience, many of the former cast members and guest hosts return to perform their signature monologues and present a look back at some of the best comedy skits and musical numbers of the past two and a half decades.
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special
1999 · 19 votes
Movie5.5ComedyGeorge has been in a mental hospital for 3 years and is finally ready to go out into the real world again. Eddie Dash, a dedicated con-man, is supposed to keep him out of trouble, but when people begin to recognise George as a missing millionaire, Eddie wants to take advantage of the situation.
Another You
1991 · 112 votes
Movie7.3DramaCrimeFed up with mistreatment at the hands of both management and union brass, and coupled with financial hardships on each man's end, three auto assembly line workers hatch a plan to rob a safe at union headquarters.
Blue Collar
1978 · 214 votes
Movie5.9ComedyFamilyOn one of his bratty son Eric's annual visits, the plutocrat U.S. Bates takes him to his department store and offers him anything in it as a gift. Eric chooses a black janitor who has made him laugh with his antics. At first the man suffers many indignities as Eric's "toy", but gradually teaches the lonely boy what it is like to have and to be a friend.
The Toy
1982 · 236 votes
Movie6.2DocumentaryComedyThis rapturous documentary steps into the dynamic world of queer stand-up and examines the powerful cultural influence it has had on social change in America. The film combines rare archival materials, stand-up performances, and interviews with a show-stopping lineup to present a definitive history of queer comedy.
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution
2024 · 11 votes
Movie6.0ComedyDramaThis day-in-the-life cult comedy focuses on a group of friends working at Sully Boyar's Car Wash in the Los Angeles ghetto. The team meets dozens of eccentric customers -- including a smooth-talking preacher, a wacky cab driver and an ex-convict -- while cracking politically incorrect jokes to a constant soundtrack of disco and funk. Some of the workers find romance as the day moves along, but most are just happy to get through another shift.
Car Wash
1976 · 133 votes
Movie6.1ComedyA naive monk, named Brother Ambrose, is sent by the abbot on a mission to raise $5,000 in order to save their monastery from closing. He goes to Hollywood where he encounters a number of eccentric characters.
In God We Tru$t
1980 · 37 votes
Movie5.2ActionComedyWith his boss in the madhouse, a mobster is temporary boss of the criminal empire just as vicious rivals threaten the control of the empire.
Mad Dog Time
1996 · 52 votes
Series23
TV7.5Talk ShowThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962 · 96 votes
TV6.9ComedyNewsA late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The show's comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, and features performances by a musical guest.
Saturday Night Live
1975 · 527 votes
TV5.8ComedyTalk ShowThe Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · 11 votes
TV7.2SoapDramaChicago Hope is an American medical drama television series, created by David E. Kelley. It ran on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000. The series is set in a fictional private charity hospital in Chicago, Illinois.
Chicago Hope
1994 · 83 votes
TV6.8Talk ShowThe Merv Griffin Show
1962 · 12 votes
TV6.8ComedyFamilyThe Partridge Family is an American television sitcom series about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career.
The Partridge Family
1970 · 35 votes
TV7.5ComedyDramaSassy sitcom centering on radio and television personality Martin Payne. Series focuses on his romantic relationship with girlfriend Gina, her best friend Pam and escapades with best friends Tommy and Cole.
Martin
1992 · 140 votes
TV7.0Dinah's show premiered 9 September 1974 and continued through to 4 September 1981. She started out the 70's with Dinah's Place which usually featured one guest and was more of a home oriented show about cooking, crafts and occasionally music. This format lasted until May of 1974. When the show came back in October of 1974 the format had changed drastically to a variety talk show which was called Dinah. and went on until 1981. This show was also known as "Dinah and Friends" during the summer of 1976.
Dinah!
1974 · 4 votes
TV6.8ComedyTalk ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · 23 votes
TV5.4Kraft Music Hall is an umbrella title for several television series aired by NBC in the United States from the 1950s to the 1970s in the musical variety genre, sponsored by Kraft Foods, the producers of a well-known line of cheeses and related dairy products. Their commercials were usually announced by "The Voice of Kraft", Ed Herlihy.
Kraft Music Hall
1958 · 7 votes
TV4.8ComedyThe Flip Wilson Show is an hour long variety show that aired in the U.S. on NBC from September 17, 1970 to June 27, 1974. The show starred American comedian Flip Wilson; the program was one of the first American television programs starring a black person in the title role to become highly successful with a white audience. Specifically, it was the first successful network variety series starring an African American. During its first two seasons, its Nielsen ratings made it the nation's second most watched show. The show consisted of many skits over an hour. It also broke new ground in American television by using a 'Theatre-in-the-Round' stage format, with the audience seated on all sides of a circular performance area. Wilson was most famous for creating the role of Geraldine Jones, a sassy, modern woman who had a boyfriend named Killer. Flip also created the role of Reverend Leroy, who was the minister of the Church of What's Happening Now!. New parishioners were wary of coming to the church as it was hinted that Reverend Leroy was a con artist. Wilson popularized such catchphrases as "What you see is what you get", and "The devil made me do it!".
The Flip Wilson Show
1970 · 20 votes
TV8.1The Midnight Special is an American late-night musical variety series that aired on NBC during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Burt Sugarman. It premiered as a special on August 19, 1972, then began its run as a regular series on February 2, 1973; its last episode was on May 1, 1981. The ninety-minute program followed the Friday night edition of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The show typically featured guest hosts, except for a period from July 1975 through March 1976 when singer Helen Reddy served as the regular host. Wolfman Jack served as the announcer and frequent guest host. The series also occasionally aired vintage footage of older acts. As the program neared the end of its run in the early 1980s, it began to frequently use lip-synched performances rather than live. The program also featured occasional comedic performances such as Richard Pryor and Andy Kaufman.
The Midnight Special
1972 · 7 votes
TV5.0DocumentaryThe story of the big names that have shaped the musical genres, plus an occasional stopgap for the new rock 'n' roll - comedy.
Legends
2006 · 1 votes
TV7.2ComedyNorm Henderson was once a fairly well-known -- but not particularly good -- professional hockey player. Norm's penchant for gambling and not paying taxes resulted in his permanent expulsion from the game. Instead of jail, he was sentenced to community service as a social worker, where his fresh perspective in the field and lack of patience for office red tape don't always jibe well with his co-workers.
The Norm Show
1999 · 29 votes
TV8.2DocumentaryThroughout the history of comedy, many comedians have lost themselves to the art’s darker side, through addiction, suicide, depression and self-destruction. Dark Side of Comedy explores these stories, shining a new light on comedy’s darkest corners.
Dark Side of Comedy
2022 · 15 votes
TV3.0DocumentaryThe epic story of the actors, writers, directors, and producers who fought for their place on the page, behind the camera and on the screen. From blackface to Black Panther, this series is a definitive chronicle of more than a century of the black experience in Hollywood and a powerful reexamination of a quintessentially American story – in brilliant color.
Hollywood Black
2024 · 4 votes
TV6.4ComedyThe Richard Pryor Show is an American comedy variety series starring Richard Pryor. It premiered on NBC on Tuesday, September 13, 1977 at 8 p.m. opposite ABC's popular television shows Laverne & Shirley and Happy Days. The show was produced by Rocco Urbisci for Burt Sugarman Productions. It was conceived out of a special that Pryor did for NBC in May 1977. Because the special was a major hit, both critically and commercially, Pryor was given a chance to host and star in his own television show. TV Guide included the series in their 2013 list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".
The Richard Pryor Show
1977 · 15 votes
TVDocumentaryBorn over a century ago in the United States, stand-up comedy has conquered the world, spreading via the internet to screens everywhere. By channeling its satirical rage into new territories, it has captured the pulse of society, reflecting contemporary debates. Stand-up, as told by the professionals of the punchline: Blanche Gardin, Haroun, Hannah Gadsby, and many others.
TV5.7DocumentaryThe mavericks who shaped American culture.
Superstar
2021 · 3 votes
TV7.6DocumentaryComedyThis documentary series brings to life the legends, heartbreak and history created at iconic L.A. club The Comedy Store, which over the past 47 years has launched the careers of a breathtaking array of stars.
The Comedy Store
2020 · 10 votes
TV7.0DramaThe Young Lawyers is an American legal drama that was aired on the ABC network as part of its 1970-71 lineup.
The Young Lawyers
1970 · 2 votes
- TVDocumentary
An inside look at the lives of extraordinary individuals as told by their inner-circles.
I Am
2012
TV7.0KidsPryor's Place is an American children's television series that aired on CBS. The live-action series starred comedian Richard Pryor as himself.
Pryor's Place
1984 · 2 votes