Richard Pryor (1940–2005) was a groundbreaking American comedian, actor, and social critic known for his raw and unflinching humor that addressed issues of race, politics, and social justice. Born in Peoria, Illinois, Pryor began performing stand-up comedy in the 1960s, quickly gaining recognition for his incisive wit and fearless approach to tackling taboo subjects. His comedy routines often drew from his personal experiences, offering candid insights into the complexities of race relations and the human condition. Pryor’s immense talent and influence extended beyond the comedy stage; he starred in numerous films, including “Silver Streak” and “Stir Crazy,” earning acclaim for his performances and paving the way for black comedians in Hollywood. Despite personal struggles with addiction and health issues, Pryor’s legacy as a comedic trailblazer and cultural icon continues to resonate, inspiring generations of comedians and entertainers to push boundaries and challenge societal norms.

Richard Pryor Quotes

1. “Marriage is really tough because you have to deal with feelings… and lawyers.”
— Richard Pryor

2. “I’m not addicted to cocaine. I just like the way it smells.”
— Richard Pryor

3. “Who you gonna believe-me or your lying eyes?”
— Richard Pryor

4. “I believe the ability to think is blessed. If you can think about a situation, you can deal with it. The big struggle is to keep your head clear enough to think.”
— Richard Pryor

5. “When you’re running down the street on fire, people get out of your way!”
— Richard Pryor

6. “All humor is rooted in pain.”
— Richard Pryor

7. “There’s nothing worse than being an aging young person.”
— Richard Pryor

8. “I just don’t want to die alone, that’s all. That’s not too much to ask for, is it It would be nice to have someone care about me, for who I am, not about my wallet.”
— Richard Pryor

9. “A lie is profanity. A lie is the worst thing in the world. Art is the ability to tell the truth.”
— Richard Pryor

10. “Have you ever noticed how quiet you get when you go in the woods? It’s almost like you know that God’s there.”
— Richard Pryor

11. “Two things people throughout history have had in common are hatred and humour. I am proud that I have been able to use humour to lessen people’s hatred.”
— Richard Pryor

12. “When you ain’t got no money, you gotta get an attitude.”
— Richard Pryor

13. “Yes, I’m religious. God has shown me things, made certain ways clear to me.”
— Richard Pryor

14. “Everyone carries around his own monsters.”
— Richard Pryor

15. “Now they’re calling taking drugs an epidemic – that’s cos white folks are doing it.”
— Richard Pryor

16. “Hawaii is the best form of comfort for me. When I die, I want to be cremated, and I want half my ashes spread in the Pacific around the island, the rest on the property.”
— Richard Pryor

17. “If I ain’t horny, I check to see if my heart’s beatin’.”
— Richard Pryor

18. “I see people as the nucleus of a great idea that hasn’t come to be yet.”
— Richard Pryor

19. “You work your butt off and somebody says you can’t have your record played because it offends them. Tyrants are made of such stuff.”
— Richard Pryor

20. “That’s insanity. We must be good all the time.”
— Richard Pryor

21. “It’s been a struggle for me because I had a chance to be white and refused.”
— Richard Pryor

22. “I had to stop drinkin, cuz I got tired of waking up in my car driving ninety.”
— Richard Pryor

23. “I went through every phone book in Africa, and I didn’t find one god damned Pryor!”
— Richard Pryor

24. “What I am for is justice for everyone, just like it says in the Constitution.”
— Richard Pryor

25. “I don’t want to go through life as a Wonder Wheel murderer!”
— Richard Pryor

26. “I ain’t no movie star, man. I’m a booty star.”
— Richard Pryor

27. “I live in racist America and I’m uneducated, yet a lot of people love me and like what I do, and I can make a living from it. You can’t do much better than that.”
— Richard Pryor

28. “He’s just always positive. He’s always smiling and he’s always trying.”
— Richard Pryor

29. “But for the use of physical punishment by, and fear of their oppressors, animals would never be a part of a circus.”
— Richard Pryor

30. “I realized this is what God has dealt me, and I should be thankful considering all that’s happened to me in my life, but MS caused the movies to stop – stop dead – and I miss it.”
— Richard Pryor

31. “Friends take up time, and I didn’t have time.”
— Richard Pryor

32. “The MS really started going downhill in 1990.”
— Richard Pryor

33. “What I’m saying might be profane, but it’s also profound.”
— Richard Pryor

34. “If I thought about it, I could be bitter, but I don’t feel like being bitter. Being bitter makes you immobile, and there’s too much that I still want to do.”
— Richard Pryor

35. “My grandmother used to discipline me, I mean, beat my ass, and I deserved them, too.”
— Richard Pryor

36. “If you want a friend, you don’t buy a friend, Eric, you earn a friend through love and trust and respect.”
— Richard Pryor

37. “I went to Zimbabwe. I know how white people feel in America now; relaxed! Cause when I heard the police car I knew they weren’t coming after me!”
— Richard Pryor

38. “There’s a thin line between to laugh with and to laugh at.”
— Richard Pryor

39. “I believe in the institution of marriage, and I intend to keep trying till I get it right.”
— Richard Pryor

40. “There was a time in my life when I thought I had everything – millions of dollars, mansions, cars, nice clothes, beautiful women, and every other materialistic thing you can imagine. Now I struggle for peace.”
— Richard Pryor

41. “Most people that you talk to, they’s intelligent. Like I said, “Most people.””
— Richard Pryor

42. “I’m slower and some days are better than others, but I’m a fighter.”
— Richard Pryor

43. “You can have a film and have 200 white people working on it, and nobody finds anything wrong with that. But if you insist on having a black crew, all of a sudden there’s something wrong.”
— Richard Pryor

44. “I was kicked out of school because of my attitude. I was not assimilating. So I went to work, taking any jobs I could get.”
— Richard Pryor

45. “Booty is just a ghetto expression, and I’m just a booty star.”
— Richard Pryor

46. “It’s so much easier for me to talk about my life in front of two thousand people than it is one-to-one. I’m a real defensive person, because if you were sensitive in my neighborhood you were something to eat.”
— Richard Pryor

47. “Movies are movies, and I don’t think any of them are going to hurt the moral fiber of America and all that nonsense.”
— Richard Pryor

48. “I bought my parents a home before they died, and they got to see that I was going to be all right. They always thought I would go someplace.”
— Richard Pryor

49. “I became a performer because it was what I enjoyed doing.”
— Richard Pryor

50. “The way I see it, the earth is going to be here after we’re dead and gone. Even if it’s a polluted planet, and they messed it up. Where do they go from here – to another planet so they can mess that up too?”
— Richard Pryor

51. “I urge you to ask yourself just how honorable it is to preside over the abuse and suffering of animals.”
— Richard Pryor

52. “I know that if I wasn’t scared, something’s wrong, because the thrill is what’s scary.”
— Richard Pryor

53. “I think about dying. I’ve come to realize we all die alone in one way or another.”
— Richard Pryor

54. “I think about being married again, having a home and a wife. No one can ever be married too many times, and maybe if I keep trying I’ll get it right one day.”
— Richard Pryor

55. “I’m not for integration and I’m not against it.”
— Richard Pryor

56. “I won’t talk about what it was like in prison, except to say I’m glad I’m out and that I plan never to go back and to pay my taxes every day.”
— Richard Pryor

57. “I don’t see myself getting married again, but if I do, it will be forever.”
— Richard Pryor

58. “There’s a lot more hypocrisy than before. Racism has gone back underground.”
— Richard Pryor

59. “I can’t just say the words, do a lot of one-liners. I love each person I play; I have to be that person. I have to do him true.”
— Richard Pryor

60. “If you ask me about women’s lib, I say I don’t even know what that is.”
— Richard Pryor

61. “Freebase? What’s free about it?”
— Richard Pryor

62. “I love show business. I wake up every morning and kiss it.”
— Richard Pryor

63. “So after Another You I ran off to my very own piece of paradise, my home in Hana.”
— Richard Pryor

64. “I was a loner and never hung out with anyone. I never had any friends.”
— Richard Pryor

65. “A sold-out house my first night back. Do you have any idea what kinda pressure that is? I could have been at home in my warm bed, playing Nintendo.”
— Richard Pryor

66. “The black groups that boycott certain films would do better to get the money together to make the films they want to see, or stay in church and leave us to our work.”
— Richard Pryor

67. “Even when I was a little kid, I always said I would be in the movies one day, and damned if I didn’t make it.”
— Richard Pryor

68. “Unfortunately, the show’s success comes at the expense of its biggest asset – the comedians themselves.”
— Richard Pryor

69. “You have to have lived some life. You’ve got to have paid some dues.”
— Richard Pryor

70. “In March I had a minor heart attack while I was vacationing in Australia. it scared me, but it was nothing compared to what someone had in store for me down the road.”
— Richard Pryor

71. “Someone called all the newspapers in New York and told them I’d died. I’ve been told by almost everyone it was an ex-wife – I’ve had a few so it’s hard to pinpoint which one – but who knows for sure?”
— Richard Pryor

72. “I wanna grow up and be a critic.”
— Richard Pryor

73. “I believe in divine forces and energies.”
— Richard Pryor

74. “I’d like to make you laugh for about ten minutes though I’m gonna be on for an hour.”
— Richard Pryor

75. “Imagine people calling you to find out if you’re dead. I’ve led a real crazy life at times, and I’ve had many strange things happen to me, but that was one of the strangest.”
— Richard Pryor

76. “I never met anybody who said when they were a kid, I wanna grow up and be a critic.”
— Richard Pryor