Way back in 1977 NBC aired a Richard Pryor-led variety show called, The Richard Pryor Show. The show was probably years ahead of its time, thus it didn’t do that well in the ratings and Pryor reportedly fought constantly with NBC execs, so the show only lasted four episodes. (Too bad Comedy Central wasn’t around back then.) The final episode, a roast of Pryor hosted by Paul Mooney, featured the show’s cast — which included Robin Williams, Tim Reid, John Witherspoon, Sandra Bernhart, and Marsha Warfield — giving Pryor some ribbing. And then The Man stepped up to the mic and just flamed the ever-living hell out of everybody — he simply annihilates everyone on the stage with him. I’m not sure if that was by design or if it’s just another example of Pryor’s greatness, but it’s a wonderful thing to watch.
The unedited roast never aired because it was filthy and wildly inappropriate by 1970s network TV standards — probably intentionally sabotaged by Pryor as a big f*ck you to NBC — but it surfaced on YouTube a while back. Enjoy…
(via Kottke)
