June 9, 1980: Richard Pryor Sets Himself On Fire

June 9, 1980: Richard Pryor, perhaps the funniest man in the world, does something that isn't funny at all. Oh, sure, there would be jokes about it, including his own. But it wasn't funny.

He gets high on cocaine, and sets himself on fire.

Somehow, he survives.

Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was born on December 1, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois. His father was a boxer and a pimp. His mother was a prostitute. Her mother ran the brothel where she worked. His mother abandoned the family when he was 10. His grandmother raised him, and she was violently abusive. He was expelled from school at age 14, and, by his own admission, did not know how to read. These are not insults or generalizations: He joked about them in his act.

In 1958, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. While serving in West Germany -- as was Elvis Presley at the time, but there's no evidence that the two men ever met, then or ever -- he and some other black soldiers were angry that a white soldier was overly amused at the racially charged scenes of the film Imitation of Life. He and the other black soldiers beat and stabbed him, although he survived. As a result, Pryor spent most of his time in the Army in the stockade, and received a dishonorable discharge.

By 1963, he was appearing in New York comedy clubs, with material far less controversial than he would later produce. This would also be the case with his contemporaries, Bill Cosby (black) and George Carlin (white). By 1966, he was appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

In 1967, knowing he still couldn't do so on TV, but could in his nightclub act, he began using profanity, and using "the N-word." He even put it in the title of 3 comedy albums: That (N-word)'s Crazy in 1974 (winner of the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album the next year), Bicentennial (N-word) in 1976, and Super(N-word) in 1982. His best album title was the 1975 follow-up to That (N-word)'s Crazy: Is It Something I Said?

He also went into acting, and worked with Mel Brooks on the screenplay for the Western parody Blazing Saddles. Pryor was supposed to play the lead, Sheriff Bart. But his cocaine habit was out of control at the time, and he became unreliable: The insurance company for the film wouldn't insure him. So it became a starmaking role for Cleavon Little.

Among the actors in Blazing Saddles was Gene Wilder. He and Pryor would make 4 films together: Silver Streak in 1976, Stir Crazy in 1980, See No Evil, Hear No Evil in 1989, and Another You in 1991. For Stir Crazy, directed by (but not starring) Sidney Poitier, he became the 1st black actor to be paid $1 million for a single film.

But he couldn't stop the coke. He already had a heart attack in 1977, only 36 years old. The drug use was one cause. Somehow, he was a functioning performer -- until the night that he wasn't. Late in the evening of June 9, 1980, on a freebasing binge at his home in Los Angeles, he poured 151-proof rum (that's 75.5 percent alcohol) all over himself, and lit himself on fire.

While ablaze, he ran down Parthenia Street, until being subdued by police. He was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for second- and third-degree burns covering more than half of his body. He spent 6 weeks in recovery at the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital in Los Angeles.

In his 1982 concert film Richard Pryor: Live On the Sunset Strip, he said, "I'll tell you one thing: When that fire hits your ass, that will sober your ass up quick! I was standing there, on fire, and something said, 'Why, that's a pretty blue. You know what? That looks like fire!'"

He continued: "Fire is inspirational. They should use it in the Olympics, 'cause I did the 100-yard dash in 4.3. You know something I found out? When you're on fire and running down the street, people will get out of your way. Except for one old drunk, he’s going, 'Can I get a light? How about it? Just a little off the sleeve. Okay?'"

Gives a whole new meaning to the term "black humor."

He was married 6 times, to 5 different women. This does not include his affairs with actresses Pam Grier, who helped him to beat his drug addiction and taught him to read, and Margot Kidder. He had 7 children, each with a different woman. One of them, Rain Pryor, became an actress. In 2004, a poll chose him as the greatest standup comedian of all time. Finishing 2nd was George Carlin.

Despite a 2019 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History that depicted them opposing each other, they were friends and mutual admirers (who probably used cocaine together before they beat their respective addictions, and both made a lot of jokes about drugs), and even appeared together on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1982. The episode turned into a "battle royale," with "Nice" Peter Shukoff playing Carlin; rapper Valin Zamarron, a.k.a. ZEALE, playing Pryor; comedian Gary Anthony Williams playing Bill Cosby; comedian Jackie Tohn playing Joan Rivers; and "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist playing Robin Williams.

In 1986, Richard was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. In 1990, he had a 2nd heart attack while on tour in in Australia. The combination of MS and heart trouble left him in a wheelchair for the last few years of his life. He had another heart attack in Los Angeles on December 10, 2005, and died, at the age of 65. A forensic pathologist determined that his heart disease was caused by drugs -- not cocaine, but tobacco. His widow, Jennifer, said, "At the end, there was a smile on his face."

*

June 9, 1980 was a Monday. Basketball player Udonis Haslem, who helped the Miami Heat win 3 NBA Championships, was born on that day.

These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 8-7 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). This was a wild one. The Angels led 4-0 after 6 innings, but the Yankees scored 4 in the 7th and 2 in the 8th to take a 6-4 lead. But the Angels took a 7-6 lead in the bottom of the 8th. Reggie Jackson hit a home run to tie it in the 9th, and Bob Watson singled home the winning run in the 10th, to make a winning pitcher of Goose Gossage.

Mike Griffin had started for the Yankees. Joe Lefebvre had also homered for them. Carney Lansford homered for the Angels, and Rod Carew went 3-for-5 with an RBI.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-5. Pete Rose went 1-for-4 with a walk.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves, 8-5 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. George Hendrick won it with a home run in the top of the 10th inning.

* The San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds were tied 6-6, after 11 innings at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, when the umpires called the game due to rain. The Reds scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th, to no avail.

* The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-2 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. Eddie Murray went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Rookie Rickey Henderson went 2-for-3 with a walk, and, not yet the great base thief, was picked off 1st base.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-7 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Juan Beníquez won it with a home run in the bottom of the 13th. Carl Yastrzemski went 2-for-6 with an RBI.

* The Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals were rained out at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on June 11. The Royals won the opener, 5-0. Dennis Leonard pitched a 2-hit shutout. The Indians won the nightcap, 8-5. George Brett did not play in either game, but would bat .390 to help the Royals win their 1st Pennant.

* The New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers were rained out at Shea Stadium. The game was made up on the off-day of June 12. The Mets won, 6-5, after they trailed 5-0 after 3 innings. The Dodgers got 3 hits each from Steve Garvey and Dusty Baker, and Baker hit a home run. Elliott Maddox singled home the winning run.

* And the Chicago White Sox, the Detroit Tigers, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Minnesota Twins, the Texas Rangers, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Montreal Expos and the Pittsburgh Pirates were not scheduled.