R.I.P. Richard Pryor

"One of the funniest motherf*ckers in the world has died", posted by Shelley "The Machine" Levine. Read on.

Many of us know of only the standup comedian Richard Pryor. But, he was also a great human being.

Steve Jones writes in USA TODAY: "Some imitators misunderstood his genius, seeming to think they could reach his heights by simply being foul-mouthed. But Pryor's liberal use of the F-word and the N-word (which he would renounce after an eye-opening 1979 trip to Zimbabwe) was just a residue of his self-expression. The real humor was in the meaning of what he said. "What I'm saying may be profane, but it is also profound," Pryor was quoted as saying in Richard Pryor: Black and Blue.

Pryor bared himself to the world using his own wild trainwreck of a life as fodder for his routines. His real-life exploits with alcohol, drugs and women were an open book. He would share his hurt and have you splitting your sides even as he horrified you". Read the full piece.