Erdos Had The Number First

Richard Pryor died this weekend. He was not the funniest man who ever lived. He made a series of poor career moves and bad life choices that left him and his 8 marriages and 7 children the worse for wear.

An Authentic Life: Richard Pryor’s Official Biography

But he accomplished things that few could even dream of. As a pioneer in the entertainment industry, he was not a caricature player nor a minstrel. He inspired many people of color to pursue acting and comedy and proved to the world that funny transcends skin color.

He said painful things and made people laugh about it. He was a man of conviction and talented writer. He reclaimed the N-word and then ,after a trip to Africa, vowed to never use it again. These are things few people know about him.

He had suffered from MS for many years, and the disease had taken him out of the limelight. Now it has taken him out of the light completely. Like many pioneers, the road he blazed has become a highway. This highway, often traveled but seldom considered, is merely one aspect of his legacy. Even though he said that “We are all born the same”, his life showed that, clearly, some of us are not.