Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Pryor Convictions: And Other Life Sentences
Pryor Convictions: And Other Life Sentences
Pryor Convictions: And Other Life Sentences
Audiobook7 hours

Pryor Convictions: And Other Life Sentences

Written by Richard Pryor

Narrated by JD Jackson

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

About this audiobook

Richard Pryor journeys from his childhood in a family that worked in whore-houses and bars, through to his years in Hollywood-the money, the women, the drugs-and the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateFeb 13, 2018
ISBN9781684411030
Pryor Convictions: And Other Life Sentences
Author

Richard Pryor

Richard J. Pryor is a published writer with a life-long interest in science fiction and space adventures. He recently wrote Project Earth: Vice or Virtue, an exciting adventure about aliens testing man’s morality. He also wrote The High Council of Orthia, a mesmerizing entreaty from aliens to join their mission and vision for the Universe. His interests began early in life with the old black and white broadcasts of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone series, blossomed with the Technicolor adventures in Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek series and continues with inspired stories from George Lucas’ Star Wars series. After service to his country in Vietnam (Army), he pledged to serve his community. For years, he keenly supported good government, affordable housing, diabetes research and hurricane victims. Today, he enjoys a fulfilled life in retirement with both family and friends on Table Rock Lake in Missouri with his wife, Mary Beth, and their Australian Labradoodle, Penny. 

Related authors

Related to Pryor Convictions

Related audiobooks

Performing Arts For You

View More

Related articles

Related categories

Reviews for Pryor Convictions

Rating: 4.473076923076923 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

130 ratings11 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A complicated life story, beautifully and authentically read. Well worth the listen
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great book that left me in awe. Excellent narrator who brought the book to life.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Always remember to keep a little sunshine on my face
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Prior had a very interesting life that he made it comical to talk bout
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I really miss his presence to the world, we lost a great
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Great listen, but would have been better if Richard talked about other famous personalities he may have came to know. Perhaps get his take on working with Gene Wilder. Wilder talked about Pryor in his own bio (Kiss Me Like A Stranger) how they had great chemistry and comedic timing, despite being very opposites. They got along well on set but never socialized off set. MS is a mutha ya hope you never get!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of the best and most insightful memoirs I’ve read. A blend of raw honesty and hilarity. It provides a Birdseye view on a remarkable yet troubled life. So many lessons to take away and so many laughs along the way. Highly recommend
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What an amazing life Mr. Pryor lived. This book gives a great peek into his highs, lows, struggles, and accomplishments. I love it!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I wanted to like this but it needed better editing. TMI in more than one way.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Interesting that only 140 LT members have read this book (as a the time of writing this review) of which only 4 felt moved to have submitted a review about a story of the life of a man that was a legend and ground breaker in comedy. Prior to Pryor (see what I did there) comedy was of the tell a joke with a punch line followed by a rim shot variety. He was the man that took it to the next level by talking about life, growing up, racism, sex and all the other difficult subjects that that is fodder for hilarious stand up comedy. All the greats of the modern day era of comedy recognize Richard as their role model for their work however his style and pizazz is yet to be eclipsed. Now far be it for me to paint a rosy picture of a man that had many faults that he talks about openly in this book about his drug addiction, alcoholism, womanizing, DUI and being a woman beater but we all have our faults and this also has to be taken in context of the 1970's and 80's which had very different norms and standards from today. He did not make excuses for this behavior but did explain the kind of upbringing he had that contributed to the man he became. For me it was a epic read, disturbing as well but epic none the less. I will never forget Stir Crazy directed by Sidney Poitier (who sadly passed away earlier this year) and starring Gene Wilder as Richard's partner in crime so to speak, the hilarious antics and outrageous behaviors had me in stitches. Having said all of this here was a man who faced a rough upbringing, faced terrible racism and rose above it all to become argably the greatest comedian of his time and only 140 people on LT read about it all. Tells me a great deal about how as much as things have changed over the years, there is still a whole lot that needs to be done to bring parity to society. Happy reading.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Pryor Convictions, published in 1995, is a surprisingly candid autobiography written by the very successful and talented comedian and actor, Richard Pryor. In fact, some readers might describe it as shockingly candid. Richard Pryor covers the good and bad of his life. However, the good parts of his life seem to have been far overshadowed by an extremely lurid childhood environment and an extremely self-destructive lifestyle, which continued (really increased) even after he became famous and wealthy. He grew up in a rough area of Peoria, IL where racism was plentiful and he certainly experienced the consequences of racism from an early age. However, he states that he never knew he was black and didn’t see color when he looked at people when he was a child. In addition, his father and other family members were associated with brothels (whorehouses as Pryor would say) and he lived and worked in those brothels throughout his childhood. Many people would suggest that that experience provided a very destructive viewpoint on sexuality and relationships with women. His environment also taught him much about violence, drugs, and other criminal behaviors. Pryor openly describes a very destructive lifestyle in this book. He admits to crimes and violent behavior, including abusive behavior toward women. He also admits that he was an addict. His many addictions included cocaine and freebase cocaine, which almost killed him during a fire while he was freebasing. However, sex was probably one of his most destructive additions. The book devotes much space to discussions of sexual behaviors. The book is not for the demure reader, but then the same is true about his comedy and many of his movie roles. While reading the book there were times when I found him to be a despicable person, but overall the book engendered my sympathy toward him. Although he was never able to achieve a monogamous relationship with women, he maintained ongoing affectionate relationships with all five of his ex-wives and his children. In addition, his grandmother really was his primary caregiver when he was a child and he remained close to her during most of his life. I have always enjoyed Richard Pryor’s comedy acts and many of his movies, and this book explains much about his revolutionary approach to comedy and how he developed that approach and eventually achieved his success. The book also reveals a very confused, conflicted, imperfect, sad and self-destructive human being who recognized his many faults and regretted them. I’m glad I read this “tell-all” book, and recommend it strongly to anyone who admires Richard Pryor’s work.