Joy Keys chats with Author David Henry about Richard Pryor

Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him

Richard Pryor attracted admiration and anger in equal parts. He was a comedian who many consider the greatest ever, yet his triumphant stand-up work has been largely eclipsed by his mediocre movie output. His personal life was likewise something of a contradiction, because Pryor was a man of deep intelligence and sensitivity yet was also someone who could never seem to make the pieces of his life come together to create a whole. His was a fascinating, larger-than-life personality; he was as pivotal and essential a figure. Pryor the solo artist brought to a pop-obsessed generation the news that they had a past with deep roots that spoke to our shared humanity.

David Henry is a screenwriter and his brother, Joe Henry is a singer/songwriter as well as a music producer. This is their first book, and they are working on a screenplay based on Pryor's life and career.