R.I.P. Richard Pryor

We lost one of the greatest comedians today in Richard Pryor. Growing up in the eighties, I primarily knew Pryor as a movie star first as the only bright spot in the otherwise horrible Superman III. After that I caught some of his great comedies including The Toy (I remember begging my parents for a black man that Christmas) and Brewster's Millions. And then there was one of the first R rated movies I ever saw, See No Evil, Hear No Evil where a blind Pryor played opposite of a deaf Gene Wilder.

As I grew older and moved on to college, me and my buddies rediscovered his old comedy albums including Is It Something I Said? His stand-up inspired us enough that we even named our championship flag football team Sexual Chocolate. I also recently learned that Pryor had a hand in write one of my favorite movies of all time, and Scooter Hall of Fame inductee, Blazing Saddles. And he even passed on writing the lines for the Sheriff Bart, which would have been the obvious chose, he instead focused of the character of Mongo.

Pryor died this morning as a result of a heart attack and had been suffering from multiple sclerosis for twenty year. He won five Grammys, and Emmy, and was nominated for an Academy Award. Pryor was 65. For more on Richard Pryor and his life check out MSNBC.com.