comedy
Standup Comedy in America
Digital Archive Studies
Spring 2019
For this assignment, you are going to identify, define, and examine a specific category of comic in this greater depth. To do this, you will create a digital archive to tell the story of that category. 2 to 3 pages.
An opening page that defines the genre and places it in relationship to other traditions and categories, and that introduces the primary comics associated with the genre.
All archives must include a correctly formatted MLA Works Cited page and all images and videos must be cited within the archive itself.
Digital Archive Focus: Richard Pryor’s Tragic Accident and its effects to his career.
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor
- ‘A Naked and Burning Richard Pryor Running Down Parthenia Street’
- ‘Richard Pryor's Tragic Accident’
- ‘Richard Pryor sets self on fire’
On this date in 1980, a bizarre accident nearly killed a popular entertainer. 39-year-old Richard Pryor almost died from burns. A mixture of "free base" cocaine exploded in his home in San Fernando Valley, California. He was rushed to the hospital with mostly third-degree burns over half of his body. The comedian survived that, as well as several other ailments. He later passed away of a heart attack in 2005 at the age of 65.
“Richard Pryor should have died on June 9, 1980. Early in the evening, out of his mind on crack cocaine (freebasing), the comedian covered himself in rum (151-proof) and set it alight. Before his guests could rescue him, he jumped out of the window of his house in Northridge, California, and ran down Parthenia Street in a ball of flames. Ignoring pleas from passersby, he staggered around the San Fernando Valley suburb for several minutes while his clothes melted into his skin and the flesh on his upper body bubbled and blistered like meat in a wok. Eventually, two cops managed to stop him long enough for an ambulance to arrive. Pryor was then taken to Sherman Oaks Hospital, where, it was generally thought (at least by his family and business associates), he'd be spending his last few hours alive. Obituaries were prepared. Unsympathetic acquaintances and certain family members started eyeing up his possessions. Indeed, some things were taken from his house in those first critical hours.” [footnoteRef:1] [1: A Naked and Burning Richard Pryor Running Down Parthenia Street]
Thesis: Richard Pryor is one of the essential names in Standup Comedy, and unfortunately, his bad addictions gave him physical and mental hard times. He could be better in his career, but circumstances lead him to fall and have heart attack. It had negative effect on audience and his followers.
--Robin Williams
[Williams committed suicide in his Paradise Cay, California, home at the age of 63. His wife attributed his suicide to his struggle with Lewy body disease.]
“It was not depression that killed Robin,” Susan told People magazine in one of her first interviews since losing her husband. “Depression was one of let’s call it 50 symptoms, and it was a small one.”
Comedians Drug Addiction, Tragedy
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/03/robin-williams-disintegrating-before-suicide-widow-says
https://people.com/archive/richard-pryors-tragic-accident-spotlights-a-dangerous-drug-craze-freebasing-vol-13-no-26/
http://sanfernandovalleyblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-naked-and-burning-richard-pryor.html
http://sanfernandovalleyblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-naked-and-burning-richard-pryor.html