Gene Wilder
Wilder at a book signing, May 2007
Born	Jerome Silberman (1933-06-11) June 11, 1933 (age 79) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Washington High School
Alma mater	University of Iowa
Occupation	Actor, Director, Writer, Author, Activist
Years active	1961–2003
Spouse	Mary Mercier (m. 1960–1965, divorced) Mary Joan Schutz (m. 1967–1974, divorced) Gilda Radner (m. 1984–1989, her death) Karen Boyer (m. 1991–present)
Children	Daughter
Signature

Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman; June 11, 1933) is an American stage and screen actor, director, screenwriter, author and activist.

Wilder began his career on stage, making his screen debut in the TV series Armstrong Circle Theatre in 1962. Although his first film role was portraying a hostage in the 1967 motion picture Bonnie and Clyde, Wilder's first major role was as Leopold Bloom in the 1968 film The Producers for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This was the first in a series of collaborations with writer/director Mel Brooks, including 1974's Young Frankenstein, a script which garnered the pair an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Wilder is known for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and for his four films with Richard Pryor: Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989), and Another You (1991). Wilder has directed and written several of his films, including The Woman in Red (1984).

He was married to actress Gilda Radner. Her death from ovarian cancer led to his active involvement in promoting cancer awareness and treatment, helping found the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Center in Los Angeles and co-founding Gilda's Club.^[1]

Since his most recent contribution to acting in 2003, Wilder has turned his attention to writing, producing a memoir in 2005, Kiss Me Like A Stranger: My Search for Love and Art, and the novels My French Whore (2007), The Woman Who Wouldn't (2008), and What Is This Thing Called Love (2010).

Early life and education[link]

Born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 11, 1933, Gene Wilder is the son of William J. and Jeanne (Baer) Silberman. He adopted "Gene Wilder" for his professional name at the age of 26, later explaining, "I had always liked Gene because of Thomas Wolfe's character Eugene Gant in Look Homeward, Angel and Of Time and the River. And I was always a great admirer of Thornton Wilder."^[2][3] Wilder first became interested in acting when at age 8, his mother was diagnosed with rheumatic fever and the doctor told him to "try and make her laugh."^[4] When Jeanne Silberman felt that her son's potential was not being fully realized in Wisconsin, she sent him to Black-Foxe, a military institute in Hollywood, where he wrote that he was bullied and sexually assaulted, primarily because he was the only Jewish boy in the school.^[5] After an unsuccessful short stay at Black-Foxe, Wilder returned home and became increasingly involved with the local theatre community. At age fifteen, he performed for the first time in front of a paying audience, as Balthasar (Romeo's manservant) in a production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.^[6] Gene Wilder graduated from Washington High School located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1951.

Acting career[link]

Early starts: Old Vic and Army[link]

Wilder studied Communication and Theatre Arts at the University of Iowa, where he was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity.^[7] Following his 1955 graduation from Iowa, he was accepted at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, England. After six months of studying fencing, Wilder became the first freshman to win the All-School Fencing Championship.^[8] Desiring to study Stanislavski's system, he returned to the U.S., living with his sister and her family in Queens. Wilder enrolled at the HB Studio.^[9]

Wilder was drafted into the Army on September 10, 1956. At the end of recruit training, he was assigned to the medical corps and sent to Fort Sam Houston for training. He was then given the opportunity to choose any post that was open, and wanting to stay near New York City to attend acting classes at the HB Studio, he chose to serve as paramedic in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology at Valley Forge Army Hospital, in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.^[10] In November 1957, his mother died from ovarian cancer. He was discharged from the army a year later and returned to New York. A scholarship to the HB Studio allowed him to become a full-time student. At first living on unemployment insurance and some savings, he later supported himself with odd jobs such as a limousine driver and fencing instructor.. Wilder's first professional acting job was in Cambridge, England, where he played the Second Officer in Herbert Berghof's production of Twelfth Night. He also served as a fencing choreographer.^[11]

After three years of study with Berghof and Uta Hagen at the HB Studio, Charles Grodin told Wilder about Lee Strasberg's method acting. Grodin persuaded him to leave the Studio and begin studying with Strasberg in his private class. Several months later, Wilder was accepted into the Actors Studio. Feeling that "Jerry Silberman in Macbeth" did not have the right ring to it, he adopted a stage name.^[12] He chose "Wilder" because it reminded him of Our Town author Thornton Wilder, while "Gene" came from Thomas Wolfe's first novel, Look Homeward, Angel. He also liked "Gene" because as a boy, he was impressed by a distant relative, a World War II bomber navigator who was "handsome and looked great in his leather flight jacket."^[12][13] He later said that he couldn't see Gene Wilder playing Macbeth, either. After joining the Actors Studio, he slowly began to be noticed in the Off Broadway scene, thanks to performances in Sir Arnold Wesker's Roots and in Graham Greene's The Complaisant Lover, for which Wilder received the Clarence Derwent Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Nonfeatured Role."

Mel Brooks[link]

In 1963, Wilder was cast in a leading role in Mother Courage and Her Children, a production starring Anne Bancroft, who introduced Wilder to her boyfriend Mel Brooks.^[14] A few months later, Brooks mentioned that he was working on a screenplay called Springtime for Hitler, for which he thought Wilder would be perfect in the role of Leo Bloom. Brooks elicited a promise from Wilder that he would check with him before making any long-term commitments.^[14] Months went by, and Wilder toured the country with different theatre productions, participated in a televised CBS presentation of Death of a Salesman, and was cast for his first role in a film—a minor role in Arthur Penn's 1967 Bonnie and Clyde. After three years of not hearing from Brooks, Wilder was called for a reading with Zero Mostel, who was to be the star of Springtime for Hitler and had approval of his co-star. Mostel approved, and Wilder was cast for his first leading role in a feature film, 1968's The Producers.^[15]

The Producers eventually became a cult comedy classic,^[16][17] with Mel Brooks winning an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Wilder being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Nevertheless, Mel Brooks' first directorial effort did not do well at the box office and was not well-received by all critics; New York Times critic Renata Adler reviewed the film and described it as "black college humor."^[18][19]

In 1969, Wilder relocated to Paris, accepting a leading role in Bud Yorkin's Start the Revolution Without Me, a comedy that took place during the French Revolution. After shooting ended, Wilder returned to New York, where he read the script for Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx and immediately called Sidney Glazier, who produced The Producers. Both men began searching for the perfect director for the film. Jean Renoir was the first candidate, but he would not be able to do the film for at least a year, so British-Indian director Waris Hussein was hired.^[20]

[edit] Willy Wonka, Young Frankenstein, and Richard Pryor

In 1971, Mel Stuart offered Wilder the lead role in his film adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Wilder was initially hesitant, but finally accepted the role under one condition:

When Stuart asked why, Wilder replied, "because from that time on, no one will know if I'm lying or telling the truth."^[21]

All three films Wilder did after The Producers were box office failures: Start the Revolution and Quackser seemed to audiences poor copies of Mel Brooks films, while Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory seemed, to many parents, a moral story "too cruel" for children to understand, thus failing to attract family audiences.^[19] After hearing that Wonka had been a commercial failure, Woody Allen offered Wilder a role in one segment of Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask). Wilder accepted, hoping this would be the hit to put an end to his series of flops. Everything... was a hit, grossing over $18 million in the United States alone against a $2-million budget.^[22]

Wilder in 1984

After Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask), Wilder began working on a script he called Young Frankenstein. After he wrote a two-page scenario, he called Mel Brooks, who told him that it seemed like a "cute" idea but showed little interest.^[23] A couple of months later, Wilder received a call from his agent, Mike Medavoy, who asked if he had anything where he could include Peter Boyle and Marty Feldman, his two new clients. Having just seen Feldman on television, Wilder was inspired to write a scene that takes place at Transylvania Station, where Igor and Frederick meet for the first time. The scene was later included in the film almost verbatim. Medavoy liked the idea and called Brooks, asking him to direct. Brooks was not convinced, but having spent four years working on two box office failures, he decided to accept.^[14] While working on the Young Frankenstein script, Wilder was offered the part of the Fox in the musical film adaptation of Saint Exupéry's classic book, The Little Prince. When filming was about to begin in London, Wilder received an urgent call from Mel Brooks, who was filming Blazing Saddles, offering Wilder the role of the "Waco Kid" after Dan Dailey dropped out at the last minute, while Gig Young became too ill to continue. Wilder shot his scenes for Blazing Saddles and immediately afterwards filmed The Little Prince.^[14]

After Young Frankenstein was written, the rights were to be sold to Columbia Pictures, but after having trouble agreeing on the budget, Wilder, Brooks and producer Michael Gruskoff went with 20th Century Fox, where both Brooks and Wilder had to sign five-year contracts. Young Frankenstein was a commercial success, with Wilder and Brooks receiving Best Adapted Screenplay nominations at the 1975 Oscars,^[24] losing to Francis Coppola and Mario Puzo for their adaptation of The Godfather Part II.^[25] While filming Young Frankenstein, Wilder had an idea for a romantic musical comedy about a brother of Sherlock Holmes. Marty Feldman and Madeline Kahn agreed to participate in the project, and Wilder began writing what became his directorial début, 1975's The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother.^[26]

In 1975, Wilder's agent sent him a script for a film called Super Chief. Wilder accepted, but told the film's producers that he thought the only person who could keep the film from being offensive was Richard Pryor. Pryor accepted the role in the film, which had been renamed Silver Streak, the first film to team Wilder and Pryor. While filming Silver Streak, Wilder began working on a script for The World's Greatest Lover, inspired by Fellini's The White Sheik. Wilder wrote, produced, and directed The World's Greatest Lover, which premièred in 1977 but was a commercial and critical failure.^[27] The Frisco Kid (1979) would be Wilder's next project. The film was to star John Wayne, but he dropped out when the Warner Brothers executives tried to dissuade him from charging the studio his usual $1-million fee. Harrison Ford, then an up-and-coming actor, was hired for the role.

Sidney Poitier and Gilda Radner[link]

In 1980, Sidney Poitier and producer Hannah Weinstein persuaded Wilder and Richard Pryor to do another film together. Bruce Jay Friedman wrote the script for Stir Crazy, with Poitier directing, for Columbia Pictures. Pryor was struggling with a severe cocaine addiction, and filming became difficult; but once the film premiered, it became an international success. New York magazine listed "Skip Donahue" (Wilder) and "Harry Monroe" (Pryor) # 9 on their 2007 list of "The Fifteen Most Dynamic Duos in Pop Culture History," and the film has often appeared in "best comedy" lists and rankings.^[28][29]

Poitier and Wilder became friends, with the pair working together on a script called Traces—which became 1982's Hanky Panky, the film where Wilder met comedienne Gilda Radner. Through the remainder of the decade, Wilder and Radner worked in several projects together. After Hanky Panky, Wilder directed his third film, 1984's The Woman in Red, which starred Wilder, Radner, and Kelly LeBrock. The Woman in Red was not well-received by the critics, nor was their next project, 1986's Haunted Honeymoon, which failed to attract audiences.

TriStar Pictures wanted to produce another film starring Wilder and Pryor, and Wilder agreed to do See No Evil, Hear No Evil only if he was allowed to rewrite the script. The studio agreed, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil premiered on May 1989 to mostly negative reviews. Many critics praised Wilder and Pryor, and even Kevin Spacey's performance, but they mostly all agreed that the script was terrible. Roger Ebert called it "a real dud";^[30] the Deseret Morning News described the film as "stupid," with an "idiotic script" that had a "contrived story" and too many "juvenile gags";^[31] while Vincent Canby called it "by far the most successful co-starring vehicle for Mr. Pryor and Mr. Wilder," also acknowledging that "this is not elegant movie making, and not all of the gags are equally clever."^[32]

1990s–2000s[link]

After starring as a political cartoon writer who falls in love in the 1990 flop Funny About Love, Wilder did one final film with Richard Pryor, the 1991 box office flop Another You, in which Pryor's physical deterioration from multiple sclerosis was clearly noticeable.^[33] The film marked both Pryor's last starring role in a film (he would appear in a few cameos until his death in 2005) and also marked Wilder's last appearance in a feature film. His remaining work consisted of television movies and guest appearances in TV shows.

In 1994, Wilder starred in the NBC sitcom Something Wilder.^[34] The show received poor reviews and lasted only one season. He went back to the small screen on 1999, appearing in three television movies, one of which was the NBC adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. The other two were mystery movies for A&E television in which Wilder played Larry "Cash" Carter, a theater director turned private eye (those two films were also co-written by Wilder). Three years later, Wilder guest-starred on two episodes of NBC's Will & Grace, winning a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor on a Comedy Series for his role as Mr. Stein, Will Truman's boss.^[35]

Personal life[link]

Relationships[link]

Wilder met his first wife, Mary Mercier, while studying at the HB Studio in New York. Although the couple had not been together long, they married on July 22, 1960. They spent long periods of time apart, eventually divorcing in 1965. A few months later, Wilder began dating Mary Joan Schutz, a friend of his sister. Schutz had a daughter, Katharine, from a previous marriage. When Katharine started calling Wilder "Dad," he decided to do what he felt was "the right thing to do,"^[36] marrying Schutz on October 27, 1967 and adopting Katharine that same year. Schutz and Wilder separated after seven years of marriage, with Schutz thinking that Wilder was having an affair with his Young Frankenstein co-star, Madeline Kahn. After the divorce, he briefly dated his other Frankenstein co-star, Teri Garr. Wilder would eventually become estranged from Katharine.^[14][37]

Wilder met Saturday Night Live actress Gilda Radner on August 13, 1981, while filming Sidney Poitier's Hanky Panky. Radner was married to G.E. Smith at the time, but she and Wilder became inseparable friends. When the filming of Hanky ended, Wilder found himself missing Radner, so he called her. The relationship grew, and Radner eventually divorced Smith in 1982. She moved in with Wilder, and the couple married on September 14, 1984, in the south of France. The couple wanted to have children, but Radner suffered miscarriages, and doctors could not determine the problem. After experiencing severe fatigue and suffering from pain in her upper legs on the set of Haunted Honeymoon, Radner sought medical treatment. Following a number of false diagnoses, it was determined that she had ovarian cancer in October 1986.^[38] Over the next year and a half, Radner battled the disease, receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments. The disease finally went into remission, giving the pair a respite, during which time Wilder filmed See No Evil, Hear No Evil.^[38] By May 1989, the cancer returned and had metastasized. Radner died on May 20, 1989.^[39] Wilder later stated, "I always thought she'd pull through."^[40]

Following Radner's death, Wilder became active in promoting cancer awareness and treatment, helping found the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Center in Los Angeles and co-founding Gilda's Club, a support group to raise awareness of cancer that began in New York City and now has branches throughout the country.^[7]

Semi-retirement and authorship[link]

Wilder at a book signing in May 2007

While preparing for his role as a deaf man in See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Wilder met Karen Webb (née Boyer), who was a clinical supervisor for the New York League for the Hard of Hearing. Webb coached him in lip reading. Following Gilda Radner's death, Wilder and Webb reconnected, and on September 8, 1991, they married.^[40] The two live in Stamford, Connecticut, in the 1734 Colonial home that he shared with Radner. The Wilders spend most of their time painting watercolors, writing, and participating in charitable efforts.^[14] In October 2001, he read from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as part of a special benefit performance held at the Westport Country Playhouse to aid families affected by the September 11 attacks.^[14][41] Also in 2001, Wilder donated a collection of scripts, correspondences, documents, photographs, and clipped images to the University of Iowa Libraries.^[2]

In 1998, Wilder collaborated on the book Gilda's Disease with oncologist Steven Piver, sharing personal experiences of Radner's struggle with ovarian cancer. Wilder himself was hospitalized with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1999, but confirmed in March 2005 that the cancer was in complete remission following chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant.^[14]

On March 1, 2005, Wilder released his highly personal memoir, Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art, an account of his life covering everything from his childhood up to Radner's death. Two years later, in March 2007, Wilder released his first novel, My French Whore, which is set during World War I.^[42] His second novel, The Woman Who Wouldn't, was released in March 2008.^[43] In 2010, he released a collection of stories called What is This Thing Called Love?.^[44]

In a 2008, Turner Classic Movies special Role Model: Gene Wilder, where Alec Baldwin interviewed Wilder about his career, Wilder said that he was basically retired from acting for good. "I don't like show business, I realized," he explained. "I like show, but I don't like the business."

An unauthorized biography of Wilder entitled Gene Wilder: Funny and Sad by Brian Scott Mednick was published in December 2010 by BearManor Media.

Work[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

• Voice for The Electric Company's segment The Adventures of Letterman (60 episodes, 1972–77)
• Something Wilder (1994–95)
• Will & Grace (2002) Episode "Boardroom and a Parked Place" (Guest Star – Mr. Stein)
• Will & Grace (2003) Episode "Sex, Losers & Videotape" (Guest Star – Mr. Stein)

Stage[link]

• The Complaisant Lover (Broadway, 1962)
• Mother Courage and Her Children (Broadway, 1963)
• Death Of A Salesman
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Broadway, 1963)
• The White House (Broadway, 1964)
• Luv (Broadway, 1966)
• The Scarecrow (Broadway, 1972)
• Rhinoceros (1974)
• Laughter on the 23rd Floor (London, 1996)

Publications[link]

• Piver, M. Steven and Gene Wilder. Gilda's Disease: Sharing Personal Experiences and a Medical Perspective on Ovarian Cancer. Broadway Books, 1998. ISBN 0-7679-0138-X.
• Wilder, Gene. Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art. St. Martin's Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-33706-X.
• Wilder, Gene. My French Whore. St. Martin's Press, 2007. ISBN 0-312-36057-6.
• Wilder, Gene. The Woman Who Wouldn't. St. Martin's Press, 2008. ISBN 0-312-37578-6.
• Wilder, Gene. What is this Thing Called Love?. St. Martin's Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-312-59890-7

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Piver, M. Steven and Gene Wilder. Gilda's Disease: Sharing Personal Experiences and a Medical Perspective On Ovarian Cancer. Broadway Books, 1998. ISBN 0-7679-0138-X.
• Radner, Gilda. It's Always Something. Simon and Shuster, 1989. ISBN 0-671-63868-8.
• Wilder, Gene. Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art. St. Martin's Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-33706-X.

External links[link]

• "The Films of Gene Wilder", video compilation of movie clips, 4 minutes
• Gene Wilder at the Internet Movie Database
• Gene Wilder at the Internet Broadway Database
• Gene Wilder at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Gene Wilder at the TCM Movie Database
• Gene Wilder at AllRovi

Ernie Manouse (born September 1, 1969 in Binghamton, New York) is an American television host, radio personality, writer and producer. He currently hosts the interview show InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse, produced by HoustonPBS. His work with HoustonPBS has met critical acclaim in the southern United States, earning him numerous KATIE awards and regional Emmy Awards ^[1][2]

Early life[link]

Manouse was born Ernest David Manouse in Binghamton, New York. He is of Greek descent. He attended Loyola University Chicago and studied to be a music video director. While in college, he guest-hosted Outlook, a Chicago-based radio show, with a classmate. Their radio presentation received such a positive reaction that Outlook hired them permanently.^[1]

Career[link]

Manouse began his career in television with NBC Network News, then moved into radio withWLS and WLUW in Chicago, and then back to TV at HoustonPBS. Ernie has since worked his way through many aspects of talk shows – from producing sex therapy call-in radio shows Sex Talk and The Phyllis Levy Show to hosting his own brand of chat and magazine programs.^[1] He can also be seen on PBS Stations across the country hosting numerous pledge and entertainment specials, including three of public television’s most successful pledge events with financial guru Suze Orman.

In 1996, Ernie moved to Houston, Texas and spent six years hosting and producing the daily magazine program WeekNight Edition which evolved into WeekDAY and became Houston’s most celebrated local television program, earning multiple Emmy and Houston Press Club awards. Manouse shared with Matthew Brawley the 2006 Katie Award for "Outstanding Interview/Talk Show" for the Southern region.^[3] In October 2002, Manouse helped to create and produce the local prime time magazine show The Connection, which he hosted for two years.^[4] In 2004, Manouse launched the syndicated series InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse.^[5] This award winning series is distributed nationally to PBS stations across the country, and airs in more than 100 cities in the U.S. and the Virgin Islands.^[4] The show features Manouse in unedited, one-on-one interviews with noted personalities such as Patti LuPone and Jamie Foxx. Manouse thoroughly researches his guests before interviewing them, and arranges an informal setting to encourage spontaneous discussion.^[1] Another area of broadcasting that Manouse has explored is late night talk, and on February 9, 2005, Manouse launched The After Party, combining arts coverage and light-hearted interviews reminiscent of Johnny Carson and Jack Parr.^[6] The show received positive reviews from both critics and audiences alike, garnering the coveted Emmy nomination for "Best Entertainment/Variety program" in its first season. The program ended its run on November 15, 2006 after over 50 episodes.

In 2006, Manouse produced and anchored A Conversation on RACE for HoustonPBS. He also produced the political Red, White & Blue and moderated the 2002 Houston Mayoral Debates, the 2008 Texas Supreme Court Judicial Debate, and the 2008 Texas US Senate Debate. In 2009, Manouse became the anchor and producer of Houston 8, a weekly current events discussion series. He also hosted the 2009 HoustonPBS Spelling Bee, the largest regional qualifying spelling bee for the national Scripps Spelling Bee.^[1]

After seven nominations for the Lone Star (Texas) regional chapter of the Emmy Awards, Manouse won three Emmys in 2009. He won for Best Information Series and Best On-Air Talent. He also won an Emmy for his work on the Houston Spelling Bee in the category of Best Event Coverage.^[7] Manouse is also a voice actor. He has done the English voiceovers for over a dozen Japanese anime videos produced by ADV Films including Gilgamesh, Le Chevalier D'Eon and Cromartie High School.^[2]

Community involvement[link]

Manouse is an active member of the Houston LGBT community. Manouse has hosted community events such as the U.S. Military Ball, and The Cattle Baron’s Ball. He serves on the advisory board of both Stages Repertory Theatre and Dominic Walsh Dance Theater. He served as Vice President of Public Affairs for the Greater Houston United Services Organization (USO).^[1] He was also vice president of the Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Ernie Manouse". Houston ARCH. http://houstonarch.pbworks.com/Ernie-Manouse. Retrieved 2010-05-11. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "IMDB". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1966471/. Retrieved 2010-05-11. 
3. ^ 2006 Katie Award: Press Club of Dallas (2006-11-19). "Winners of the 2006 Katie Awards" (PDF). Press release. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
4. ^ ^{a b} "HoustonPBS". http://www.houstonpbs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=con_innerviews_ernie. Retrieved 2010-02-25. 
5. ^ HoustonPBS (January 2004). "InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse" (MS-Word). Press release. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
6. ^ HoustonPBS (January 2005). "The After Party" (PDF). Press release. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
7. ^ http://www.lonestaremmy.org/_archives/2009_winners.php

External links[link]

• [1] USO Houston
• [2] InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse
• [3] Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
• [4] Ernie Manouse's website

Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor, February 1986
Birth name	Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor
Born	(1940-12-01)December 1, 1940 Peoria, Illinois, United States
Died	December 10, 2005(2005-12-10) (aged 65) Encino, California, United States
Medium	Stand-up, Film, Television
Nationality	American
Years active	1958–1999
Genres	Satire, Observational comedy, Black comedy, Improvisational comedy, Character comedy
Subject(s)	Racism, Race relations, American politics, African-American culture, Human sexuality, Self-deprecation, Everyday life, Recreational drug use
Influences	Lenny Bruce,[1] Jack Benny, Jonathan Winters, Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, Redd Foxx, Paul Mooney
Influenced	George Carlin,[2] Martin Lawrence,[3] George Lopez,[4] Denis Leary, Margaret Cho,[5] Eddie Izzard, Dave Chappelle,[6] Chris Rock,[7] Eddie Murphy,[7] Whoopi Goldberg,[8] Bill Hicks,[9] Robin Williams,[8] Lewis Black[10] Colin Quinn,[11] Bernie Mac,[7] Joe Rogan, Chris Tucker[12], Louis C.K.,[13] Patton Oswalt[14] Artie Lange,[15] Jon Stewart,[16]Richard Lewis,[17] and Jim Norton[18]
Spouse	Patricia Price (1960–1961; divorced) 1 child Shelley R. Bonis (1968–1969; divorced) 1 child Deborah McGuire (1977–1978; divorced) Jennifer Lee (1979–1982; divorced) Flynn Belaine (1986–1987; divorced) 2 children Flynn Belaine (1990–1991; divorced) Jennifer Lee (2001–2005; widow)
Notable works and roles	Himself in Richard Pryor: Live in Concert and Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip Daddy Rich in Car Wash Wally Karue in See No Evil, Hear No Evil Harry Monroe in Stir Crazy Gus Gorman in Superman III
Website	RichardPryor.com
Emmy Awards
Writing in Variety or Music 1974 Lily
Grammy Awards
Best Comedy Album 1975 That Nigger's Crazy 1976 ...Is It Something I Said? 1977 Bicentennial Nigger 1982 Rev. Du Rite 1983 Live on the Sunset Strip
American Comedy Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award in Comedy 1993

Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer, and MC.^[19] Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of his era: Jerry Seinfeld called Pryor "The Picasso of our profession";^[20] Bob Newhart has called Pryor "the seminal comedian of the last 50 years.".^[21] This legacy can be attributed, in part, to the unusual degree of intimacy Pryor brought to bear on his comedy. As Bill Cosby reportedly once said, "Richard Pryor drew the line between comedy and tragedy as thin as one could possibly paint it."

His body of work includes the concert movies and recordings Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin' (1971), That Nigger's Crazy (1974), ...Is It Something I Said? (1975), Bicentennial Nigger (1976), Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979), Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982), and Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983). He also starred in numerous films as an actor, such as Superman III (1983) but was usually in comedies such as Silver Streak (1976), and occasionally in dramatic roles, such as Paul Schrader's film Blue Collar (1978). He collaborated on many projects with actor Gene Wilder. Another frequent collaborator was actor/comedian/writer Paul Mooney.

Pryor won an Emmy Award (1973), and five Grammy Awards (1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, and 1982). In 1974, he also won two American Academy of Humor awards and the Writers Guild of America Award. The first ever Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor was presented to him in 1998. Pryor is listed at Number 1 on Comedy Central's list of all-time greatest stand-up comedians.

Early life[link]

Born in Peoria, Illinois, Pryor grew up in his grandmother's brothel, where his mother, Gertrude L. (Thomas), practiced prostitution. His father, LeRoy "Buck Carter" Pryor was a former bartender and boxer.^[22]

After his mother abandoned him when he was 10, he was raised primarily by his grandmother Marie Carter,^[23] a violent woman who would beat him for any of his eccentricities.^[24] Pryor was one of four children raised in his grandmother's brothel and was molested as a child.^[22][25]

He was expelled from school at the age of 14. His first professional performance was playing drums at a night club. Pryor served in the U.S. Army from 1958 to 1960, but spent virtually the entire stint in an army prison. According to a 1999 profile about Pryor in The New Yorker, Pryor was incarcerated for an incident that occurred while stationed in Germany. Angered that a white soldier was a bit too amused at the racially charged sections of Douglas Sirk's movie Imitation of Life, Pryor and some other black soldiers beat and stabbed him, though not fatally.^[26] According to Live on the Sunset Strip, when he was 19, he worked at a Mafia-owned nightclub in Youngstown, Ohio, as the MC. On hearing that they would not pay a stripper friend of his, he attempted to hold up the owners with a cap pistol. The owners were greatly amused.

During this time, Pryor's girlfriend gave birth to a girl named Renee. Years later, however, he found out that she was not his child. In 1960, he married Patricia Price and they had one child together, Richard Jr. (his first child and first son). They divorced in 1961.

Career[link]

Early career[link]

In 1963, Pryor moved to New York City and began performing regularly in clubs alongside performers such as Bob Dylan and Woody Allen. On one of his first nights, he opened for singer and pianist Nina Simone at New York's Village Gate. Simone recalls Pryor's bout of performance anxiety:

Publicity photo of Richard Pryor for one of his Mister Kelly's appearances, 1968 - 1969.

Inspired by Bill Cosby, Pryor began as a middlebrow comic, with material far less controversial than what was to come. Soon, he began appearing regularly on television variety shows, such as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show. His popularity led to success as a comic in Las Vegas. The first five tracks on the 2005 compilation CD Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974), recorded in 1966 and 1967, capture Pryor in this era.

In September 1967, Pryor had what he called in his autobiography Pryor Convictions an "epiphany" when he walked onto the stage at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas (with Dean Martin in the audience), looked at the sold-out crowd, exclaimed over the microphone "What the f@#k am I doing here!?", and walked off the stage. Afterward, Pryor began working profanity into his act, including "nigger". His first comedy recording, the eponymous 1968 debut release on the Dove/Reprise label, captures this particular period, tracking the evolution of Pryor's routine. Around this time, his parents died — his mother in 1967 and his father in 1968.

In 1967, his second child and first daughter, Elizabeth Ann, was born to his girlfriend Maxine Anderson. Later that year, he married Shelley Bonis. In 1969, his third child and second daughter, Rain Pryor, was born. Pryor and Bonis divorced later that year.

Mainstream success[link]

In 1969, Pryor moved to Berkeley, California, where he immersed himself in the counterculture and rubbed elbows with the likes of Huey P. Newton and Ishmael Reed. He signed with the comedy-oriented independent record label Laff Records in 1970, and in 1971 recorded his second album, Craps (After Hours). In 1973, the relatively unknown comedian appeared in the documentary Wattstax, where he riffed on the tragic-comic absurdities of race relations in Watts and the nation. Not long afterward, Pryor sought a deal with a larger label, and after some time, signed with Stax Records. His third, breakthrough album, That Nigger's Crazy, was released in 1974 and, Laff, who claimed ownership of Pryor's recording rights, almost succeeded in getting an injunction to prevent the album from being sold. Negotiations led to Pryor's release from his Laff contract. In return for this concession, Laff was enabled to release previously unissued material, recorded between 1968 and 1973, at will.

During the legal battle, Stax briefly closed its doors. At this time, Pryor returned to Reprise/Warner Bros. Records, which re-released That Nigger's Crazy, immediately after ...Is It Something I Said?, his first album with his new label. With every successful album Pryor recorded for Warner (or later, his concert films and his 1980 freebasing accident), Laff would quickly publish an album of older material to capitalize on Pryor's growing fame—a practice they continued until 1983. The covers of Laff albums tied in thematically with Pryor movies, such as The Wizard of Comedy for his appearance in The Wiz, Are You Serious? for Silver Streak, and Insane for Stir Crazy.

Pryor also performed in the Lilly Tomlin specials. He is seen here with Tomlin and Alan Alda in Tomlin's 1973 special.

In the 1970s, Pryor wrote for such television shows as Sanford and Son, The Flip Wilson Show and a Lily Tomlin special, for which he shared an Emmy Award^[28]. During this period, Pryor tried to break into mainstream television. He was a guest host on the first season of Saturday Night Live. Richard took long time girlfriend, actress-talk show host Kathrine McKee (sister of Lonette McKee) with him to New York, and she made a brief guest appearance with Pryor on SNL. He participated in a "racist word association" skit^[29] with Chevy Chase.

The Richard Pryor Show premiered on NBC in 1977, but was canceled after only four episodes. Television audiences did not respond to the show's controversial subject matter, and Pryor was unwilling to alter his material for network censors. During the short-lived series, he portrayed the first African-American President of the United States, spoofed the Star Wars cantina, took on gun violence, and in another skit, used costumes and visual distortion to appear nude.^[30]

In 1974, Pryor was arrested for income tax evasion and served 10 days in jail. He married actress Deborah McGuire in 1977, but they divorced in 1978. He soon began dating Jennifer Lee and they married in 1981. They divorced the following year.

In 1979, at the height of his success, Pryor visited Africa. Upon returning to the United States, Pryor swore he would never use the word "nigger" in his stand-up comedy routine again.^[31] (However, his favorite epithet, "motherf@#ker", remains a term of endearment on his official website.)

In the 1970s and 1980s, Pryor appeared in several popular films, including Lady Sings the Blues; The Mack; Uptown Saturday Night; Silver Streak; Which Way Is Up?; Car Wash; Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings; Greased Lightning; Blue Collar & Bustin' Loose. In 1982, Pryor co-starred with Jackie Gleason in The Toy.

Pryor in February 1986.

In 1983, Pryor signed a five-year contract with Columbia Pictures for $40,000,000.^[32] This resulted in the gentrification of Pryor's onscreen persona and softer, more formulaic films like Superman III, (which earned Pryor $4,000,000), Brewster's Millions, Stir Crazy, Moving, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil. The only film project from this period that recalled his rough roots was Pryor's semi-autobiographic debut as a writer-director, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, which was not a major success. Though he made four films with Gene Wilder, the two comic actors were never as close as many thought, according to Wilder's autobiography. 

Pryor co-wrote Blazing Saddles, directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder. Pryor was to play the lead role of Bart, but the film's production studio would not insure him, and Mel Brooks chose Cleavon Little instead. Before his infamous 1980 freebasing accident, Pryor was about to start filming Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I, but was replaced at the last minute by Gregory Hines. Pryor was also originally considered for the role of Billy Ray Valentine on Trading Places, before Eddie Murphy won the part.

Despite a reputation for constantly using profanity on and off camera, Pryor briefly hosted a children's show on CBS in 1984 called Pryor's Place. Like Sesame Street, Pryor's Place featured a cast of puppets, hanging out and having fun in a surprisingly friendly inner-city environment along with several children and characters portrayed by Pryor himself. However, Pryor's Place frequently dealt with more sobering issues than Sesame Street. It was canceled shortly after its debut, despite the efforts of famed puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft and a theme song by Ray Parker, Jr. of Ghostbusters fame.

Pryor co-hosted the Academy Awards twice, and was nominated for an Emmy for a guest role on the television series, Chicago Hope.

Pryor developed a reputation for being demanding and disrespectful on film sets, and for making selfish and difficult demands. In his autobiography Kiss Me Like a Stranger, co-star Gene Wilder says that Pryor was frequently late to the set during filming of Stir Crazy, and that he demanded, among other things, a helicopter to fly him to and from set because he was the star. Pryor was also accused of using allegations of on-set racism to force the hand of film producers into giving him more money. Also from Wilder's book:

In 1989, he appeared in Harlem Nights, a comedy-drama crime film starring Eddie Murphy. It was a financial success, grossing three times the amount it cost to make it (worldwide) and is well known for starring three generations of black comedians (Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Redd Foxx).

Personal life[link]

Health problems[link]

Pryor suffered a mild heart attack in November 1977. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1986.^[33] In 1990, Pryor suffered a second and more severe heart attack and underwent triple heart bypass surgery. By the early 1990s, he was confined to using a wheelchair as well as a motor powered scooter for the remainder of his life to get around when his multiple sclerosis began to take its toll on his body.

The freebasing incident[link]

On June 9, 1980, during the making of the film Bustin' Loose, Pryor set himself on fire after freebasing cocaine while drinking 151-proof rum. He ran down Parthenia Street from his Northridge, California, home, on fire, until subdued by police. He was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for burns covering more than half of his body. Pryor spent six weeks in recovery at the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital. His daughter, Rain Pryor, stated that Pryor poured high-proof rum over his body and set himself on fire in a bout of drug-induced psychosis.^[34]

Pryor incorporated a description of the incident into his comedy show Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip in 1982. He joked that the event was caused by dunking a cookie into a glass of low-fat and pasteurized milk, causing an explosion. At the end of the bit, he poked fun at people who told jokes about it by waving a lit match and saying, "What's that? Richard Pryor running down the street."

After his "final performance", Pryor did not stay away from stand-up comedy long. In 1983, he filmed and released a new concert film and accompanying album, Richard Pryor: Here and Now, which he directed himself. In 1986, he wrote and directed a fictionalized account of his life, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling which revolved around the 1980 freebasing incident.

In 1984, his fourth child and second son, Steven, was born to his girlfriend Flynn Belaine. Pryor married Belaine in October 1986. They divorced in July 1987. Before their divorce was final, Belaine conceived Kelsey Pryor. Meanwhile, another of Pryor's girlfriends, Geraldine Mason, gave birth to Franklin Mason, his fifth child and third son, in April 1987. Six months later in October 1987, Belaine gave birth to Kelsey Pryor, Richard's sixth child and third daughter.

Marriages and relationships[link]

Pryor was married seven times to five different women:

1. Patricia Price (1960–1961, divorced) with one child named Richard Pryor Jr.
2. Shelly Bonis (1967–1969, divorced) with one child named Rain Pryor
3. Deborah McGuire (September 22, 1977 – 1979, divorced)
4. Jennifer Lee (August 1981 – October 1982, divorced)
5. Flynn Belaine (October 1986 – July 1987, divorced) with son Steven (born before the marriage) and daughter Kelsey (before divorce finalized)
6. Flynn Belaine (1 April 1990 – July 1991, divorced)
7. Jennifer Lee (June 29, 2001 – December 10, 2005, his death)

His marriages were characterized by accusations of domestic violence, except for his relationship with Belaine. Most of these allegations were connected to Pryor's drug use. The exception was Patricia Price, who was married to Pryor before his rise to stardom. During his relationship with Pam Grier, Pryor proposed to Deborah McGuire (1977).

He had six children: Richard Jr., Elizabeth, Rain, Steven, Franklin and Kelsey.

Pryor had a relationship with actress Margot Kidder.^[35]

Later life[link]

In his later years starting in the early 1990s, Richard Pryor used a power operated vehicle/scooter due to multiple sclerosis (M.S., which he said stood for "More S#!t"). He appears on the scooter in his last film appearance, a small role in David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997) playing an auto repair garage manager named Arnie.

In 1998, Pryor won the first Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. According to former Kennedy Center President Lawrence J. Wilker,

In 2000, Rhino Records remastered all of Pryor's Reprise and WB albums for inclusion in the box set ...And It's Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968–1992).

In early 2000, he appeared in the cold open of The Norm Show in the episode entitled "Norm vs. The Boxer". He played an elderly man in a wheelchair who lost the rights to in-home nursing when he kept attacking the nurses, before attacking Norm himself (using a body double).^[36]

In 2001, he remarried Jennifer Lee, who had also become his manager.

In 2002 a television documentary depicted Pryor's life and career. Broadcast in the UK as part of the Channel 4 series Kings of Black Comedy, it was produced, directed and narrated by David Upshal. It featured rare clips from Pryor's 1960s stand-up appearances and movies such as Silver Streak, Blue Collar, Stir Crazy, and Richard Pryor Live In Concert. Contributors included Whoopi Goldberg, Dave Chappelle, Lily Tomlin, George Carlin, Joan Rivers, Ice-T, and Paul Mooney. The show tracked down the two cops who rescued Pryor from his "freebasing incident", former managers and even school friends from Pryor's home town of Peoria, Illinois. In the US the show went out as part of the Heroes of Black Comedy series on Comedy Central, narrated by Don Cheadle.

In 2002, Pryor and his wife and manager, Jennifer Lee Pryor, won legal rights to all the Laff material, which amounted to almost 40 hours of reel-to-reel analog tape. After going through the tapes and getting Richard's blessing, Jennifer Lee Pryor gave access to the tapes to Rhino Records in 2004. These tapes, including the entire Craps album, form the basis of the double-CD release Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974).

A 2003 television documentary, Richard Pryor: I Ain't Dead Yet, #*%$#@!! consisted of archival footage of Pryor's performances and testimonials from fellow comedians, including Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Wanda Sykes, and Denis Leary, on Pryor's influence on comedy.

In 2004, Pryor was voted #1 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time. In a 2005 British poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, Pryor was voted the 10th greatest comedy act ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

In late 2004, his sister said he had lost his voice as result of his multiple sclerosis. However, on January 9, 2005, Pryor's wife, Jennifer Lee, rebutted this statement in a post on Pryor's official website,^[37] citing Richard as saying: "I'm sick of hearing this s#!t about me not talking... not true... I have good days, bad days... but I still am a talkin' motherf@#ker!"

Pryor was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.^[38] The animal rights organization PETA gives out an award in Pryor's name to people who have done outstanding work to alleviate animal suffering. Pryor was active in animal rights and was deeply concerned about the plight of elephants in circuses and zoos.

Death[link]

Richard Pryor's star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame covered with flowers, beer bottles, fan letters etc.

On December 10, 2005, nine days after his birthday, Pryor suffered a heart attack in Encino, California. He was taken to a local hospital after his wife's attempts to resuscitate him failed. He was pronounced dead at 7:58 am PST. He was 65 years old. His widow Jennifer was quoted as saying, "At the end, there was a smile on his face."^[32] He was cremated and his ashes were given to his family.

Remembrance and legacy[link]

A planned biopic entitled "Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said?" is being produced by Chris Rock and Adam Sandler.^[39] The film will star Marlon Wayans as the young Pryor.^[40] Other actors previously attached include Mike Epps and Eddie Murphy. The film will be directed by Bill Condon and is still in development who no release start set as of 11th April 2012.^[41]

On December 19, 2005, BET aired a Pryor special. It included commentary from fellow comedians, and insight into his upbringing.

An image of Pryor can be seen on the Rage Against the Machine music video for their Soulsonic Force cover of "Renegades of Funk".

There is a street just west of the downtown Peoria area named in his honor.

On March 1, 2008, fellow comedian George Carlin performed his final HBO special. An image of Pryor can be seen in the background throughout his set. Carlin would mention Pryor's death in his memoir, Last Words, noting their friendly rivalry that lasted until Carlin finally beat him "in the Heart Attack 5000."

In Jackson Browne's tribute to the roadies and fans, The Load-Out, released on the 1977 album Running on Empty, the lyrics state that "we got Richard Pryor on the video" on the tour bus.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Official canon

• 1968 - Richard Pryor (Dove/Reprise)
• 1971 - Craps (After Hours) (Laff Records, reissued 1993 by Loose Cannon/Island)
• 1974 - That Nigger's Crazy, (Partee/Stax, reissued 1975 by Reprise)
• 1975 - ...Is It Something I Said?, (Reprise, reissued 1991 on CD by Warner Archives)
• 1976 - Holy Smoke!, (Laff)
• 1976 - Bicentennial Nigger, (Reprise)
• 1976 - L.A. Jail, (Tiger Lily)
• 1977 - Are You Serious ???, (Laff)
• 1977 - Who Me? I'm Not Him, (Laff)
• 1978 - Black Ben The Blacksmith, (Laff)
• 1978 - The Wizard of Comedy, (Laff)
• 1978 - Wanted: Live in Concert (2-LP set), (Warner Bros. Records);Others
• 1979 - Outrageous, (Laff)
• 1980 - Insane, (Laff)
• 1981 - Rev. Du Rite, (Laff)
• 1982 - Richard Pryor Live! (picture disc), (Phoenix/Audiofidelity)
• 1982 - Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (Warner Bros. Records)
• 1983 - Here and Now, (Warner Bros. Records)
• 1983 - Supernigger, (Laff)

Compilations[link]

• 1973 - Pryor Goes Foxx Hunting, (Laff.)
  • Split LP with Redd Foxx, containing previously released tracks from Craps (After Hours)
• 1975 - Down And Dirty, (Laff.)
  • Split LP with Redd Foxx, containing previously released tracks from Craps (After Hours)
• 1976 - Richard Pryor Meets... Richard & Willie And... The SLA!!, (Laff)
  • Split LP with black ventriloquist act Richard And Willie, containing previously released tracks from Craps (After Hours)
• 1977 - Richard Pryor's Greatest Hits, (Warner Bros. Records)
  • Contains tracks from Craps (After Hours), That Nigger's Crazy, and ...Is It Something I Said?, plus a previously unreleased track from 1975, "Ali".
• 2000 - ...And It's Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968–1992) (9-CD box set) (Warner Bros. Records/Rhino)
  • Box set collection containing all Warner Bros. albums plus a bonus disc of previously unissued material from 1973 to 1992.
• 2002 - The Anthology (1968–1992) (2-CD set) (Warner Bros. Records/Rhino, 2002 in music)
  • Highlights culled from the albums collected in the ...And It's Deep Too! box set.
• 2005 - Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974) (2-CD set) (Warner Bros. Records/Rhino, 2005 in music)
  • Pryor-authorized compilation of material released on Laff, including the entire Craps (After Hours) album.

Filmography[link]

1967 - The Busy Body 1968 - Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales 1968 - Wild in the Streets 1970 - Black Brigade 1970 - The Phynx 1971 - You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat 1972 - Dynamite Chicken 1972 - Lady Sings the Blues 1973 - The Mack 1973 - Wattstax 1973 - Hit! 1973 - Some Call It Loving 1974 - Uptown Saturday Night 1975 - The Lion Roars Again 1976 - Adios Amigo 1976 - Car Wash 1976 - The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings 1976 - Silver Streak 1977 - Which Way Is Up? 1977 - Greased Lightning 1978 - Blue Collar 1978 - The Wiz 1978 - California Suite 1979 - Richard Pryor: Live in Concert 1979 - The Muppet Movie - (cameo)

1980 - Wholly Moses 1980 - In God We Tru$t 1980 - Stir Crazy 1981 - Bustin' Loose 1982 - Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip 1982 - Some Kind of Hero 1982 - The Toy 1983 - Superman III 1983 - Richard Pryor: Here and Now 1983 - Motown 25 1985 - Live & Smokin' 1985 - Brewster's Millions 1986 - Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling 1987 - Critical Condition 1988 - Moving 1989 - See No Evil, Hear No Evil 1989 - Harlem Nights 1991 - The Three Muscatels 1991 - Another You 1994 - A Century of Cinema 1996 - Mad Dog Time 1997 - Lost Highway 1999 - The Norm Show - (Cameo in Opening of Season 2, Episode 11) 2003 - Bitter Jester 2003 - I Ain't Dead Yet, #*%$@!! 2005 - Richard Pryor: The Funniest Man Dead Or Alive (BET Special) 2009 - Black Dynamite - Cameo via archive footage

References[link]

1. ^ Staff writer (2004-05-21). "Pryor: I Owe It All to Lenny Bruce". Contactmusic.com. http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/story/pryor.-i-owe-it-all-to-lenny-bruce. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 
2. ^ "George Carlin". Inside the Actors Studio. episode 4. season 1. 2004-10-31. Bravo. 
3. ^ Allis, Tim (1993-04-12). "Court Jester". People. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20110142,00.html. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 
4. ^ Lopez, George; Keteyian, Armen (2004). Why You Crying?: My Long, Hard Look at Life, Love, and Laughter. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-5994-7. 
5. ^ Margaret Cho. "Richard Pryor". http://www.margaretcho.com/content/2003/12/04/richard-pryor/. Retrieved 4 December 2003. 
6. ^ "Dave Chappelle". Inside the Actors Studio. episode 10. season 12. 2006-02-12. Bravo. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Reid, Shaheem (December 12, 2005). "Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, Eddie Murphy Call Pryor The Real King Of Comedy — 'Without Richard, There Would Be No Me,' Bernie Mac Says". MTV. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
8. ^ ^{a b} Richard Pryor: I Ain't Dead Yet, #*%$@!!, 2003, Comedy Central
9. ^ Fade to Black - Interviews - Bill Hicks^{[dead link]}
10. ^ Gillette, Amelie (2006-06-07). "Lewis Black". The A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/content/node/49217. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
11. ^ "Colin Quinn". Popentertainment.com. http://www.popentertainment.com/quinn.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
12. ^ Chris Tucker – Movie and Film Biography and Filmography – AllRovi.com
13. ^ "Interview with Louis C.K.". One Night Stand. HBO. 2005. http://www.hbo.com/onenightstand/interviews/louis_ck.html. Retrieved 2007-12-06. 
14. ^ "aspecialthing.com :: View topic - THE AST INTERVIEW: PATTON OSWALT". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20071013165258/http://aspecialthing.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1465. Retrieved 2010-09-24. 
15. ^ Kirschling, Gregory (2008-11-07). "Artie Lange: 'F--- It, I'll Write a Book'". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20239025_3,00.html. Retrieved 2008-11-11. 
16. ^ Jeremy Gillick; Nonna Gorilovskaya (November/December 2008). "Meet Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz (aka) Jon Stewart: The wildly zeitgeisty Daily Show host". Moment. http://www.momentmag.com/Exclusive/2008/12/JonStewart.html. Retrieved August 10, 2009. 
17. ^ Interview with Bill Zehme, Richard Lewis: Concerts from Hell: The Vintage Years, Image Entertainment, Released 2005-09-13
18. ^ "Interview with Jim Norton". One Night Stand. HBO. 2005. http://www.hbo.com/onenightstand/interviews/jim_norton.html. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 
19. ^ Richard Pryor-the Mafia Night Club YouTube
20. ^ Morton, Bruce (December 28, 2005). "Those We Lost". CNN. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
21. ^ American Masters . Bob Newhart PBS
22. ^ ^{a b} http://www.richardpryor.com/0/4113/0/1240D1271/ Richard Pryor's official biography
23. ^ "Richard Pryor website". Richardpryor.com. http://www.richardpryor.com/0/4113/0/1240D1271/. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
24. ^ "Richard Pryor". Nndb.com. http://www.nndb.com/people/342/000022276/. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
25. ^ Jones, Steve. "Comedian Richard Pryor dies at 65" USA Today. December 10, 2005
26. ^ Als, Hilton (September 13, 1999). "A Pryor Love". The New Yorker.
27. ^ Simone, Nina; Cleary, Stephen (1991). I Put a Spell on You — The Autobiography of Nina Simone. Pantheon Books (New York City, New York). pp. 70–71. ISBN 978-0-679-41068-3
28. ^ Richard Pryor Emmy Winner
29. ^ "SNL Transcripts: Richard Pryor: 12/13/75: Racist Word Association Interview". Snltranscripts.jt.org. http://snltranscripts.jt.org/75/75ginterview.phtml. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
30. ^ Silverman, David S. (2007). "You Can't Air That": Four Cases of Controversy and Censorship in American Television Programming. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.
31. ^ The word 'Nigger' - Richard Pryor & George Carlin YouTube
32. ^ ^{a b} Staff writer (December 10, 2005). "Comedian Richard Pryor Dead at 65 — Groundbreaking Black U.S. Comedian Richard Pryor Has Died after Almost 20 Years with Multiple Sclerosis". BBC News. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
33. ^ "Richard Pryor". Richard Pryor. http://www.richardpryor.com/0/4113/0/1240/. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
34. ^ Interview with Rain Pryor, November 6, 2006, edition of People, page 76.
35. ^ Nathan Rabin. Random Roles: Margot Kidder (interview) The A.V. Club, March 3, 2009
36. ^ "The Norm Show - Norm vs. the Boxer". Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com Inc. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0662160/. Retrieved 23 August 2011. 
37. ^ "Richard Pryor". Richard Pryor. http://www.richardpryor.com. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
38. ^ ^{[dead link]}"Richard Pryor to Get Posthumous Grammy Award". VOA News (Voice of America). January 11, 2006. http://voanews.com/english/archive/2006-01/Richard-Pryor-to-Get-Posthumous-Grammy-Award.cfm. Retrieved January 4, 2009. 
39. ^ All Voices Article July 5th 2010
40. ^ Flick Direct article 10th September 2009
41. ^ Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said? at the Internet Movie Database

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Richard Pryor

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Richard Pryor

• Richard Pryor at the Internet Movie Database
• Richard Pryor: Stand-Up Philosopher, City Journal, Spring 2009
• Jennifer Lee Pryor at the Internet Movie Database
• Post by Richard Pryor on his official website rebutting voice-loss rumors
• Richard Pryor's Ancestry
• Bright Lights Film Journal career profile

• Richard Pryor at Emmys.com

Obituaries

• "Entertainment | Comedian Richard Pryor dead at 65". BBC News. 2005-12-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4517714.stm. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
• "CNN.com - Comedian Richard Pryor dies at 65 - Dec 11, 2005". Edition.cnn.com. http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/12/11/pryor.obit/. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
• Feeney, Mark (2005-12-11). "Richard Pryor, whose profane, incisive humor revolutionized American comedy, dies at 65 - The Boston Globe". Boston.com. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2005/12/11/richard_pryor_whose_profane_incisive_humor_revolutionized_american_comedy_dies_at_65/. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
• Schudel, Matt (2005-12-11). "With Humor and Anger On Race Issues, Comic Inspired a Generation". washingtonpost.com. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/10/AR2005121001406.html. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
• Watkins, Mel (2005-12-11). "Richard Pryor, Iconoclastic Comedian, Dies at 65 - New York Times". Nytimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/arts/11pryor.html?ex=1291957200&en=ea88c61b92de25e6&ei=5090. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 

v t e Hosts of the Academy Awards ceremonies (1961–1980) Bob Hope (1961) Bob Hope (1962) Frank Sinatra (1963) Jack Lemmon (1964) Bob Hope (1965) Bob Hope (1966) Bob Hope (1967) Bob Hope (1968) None (1969) None (1970) None (1971) Helen Hayes / Alan King / Sammy Davis, Jr. / Jack Lemmon (1972) Carol Burnett / Michael Caine / Charlton Heston / Rock Hudson (1973) John Huston / Burt Reynolds / David Niven / Diana Ross (1974) Sammy Davis, Jr. / Bob Hope / Shirley MacLaine / Frank Sinatra (1975) Goldie Hawn / Gene Kelly / Walter Matthau / George Segal / Robert Shaw (1976) Warren Beatty / Ellen Burstyn / Jane Fonda / Richard Pryor (1977) Bob Hope (1978) Johnny Carson (1979) Johnny Carson (1980) Complete list (1927–1940) (1941–1960) (1961–1980) (1981–2000) (2001–2020)

v t e Hosts of the Academy Awards ceremonies (1981–2000) Johnny Carson (1981) Johnny Carson (1982) Liza Minnelli / Dudley Moore / Richard Pryor / Walter Matthau (1983) Johnny Carson (1984) Jack Lemmon (1985) Alan Alda / Jane Fonda / Robin Williams (1986) Chevy Chase / Goldie Hawn / Paul Hogan (1987) Chevy Chase (1988) None (1989) Billy Crystal (1990) Billy Crystal (1991) Billy Crystal (1992) Billy Crystal (1993) Whoopi Goldberg (1994) David Letterman (1995) Whoopi Goldberg (1996) Billy Crystal (1997) Billy Crystal (1998) Whoopi Goldberg (1999) Billy Crystal (2000) Complete list (1927–1940) (1941–1960) (1961–1980) (1981–2000) (2001–2020)

v t e Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series (1970–1979) James L. Brooks / Allan Burns for "Support Your Local Mother" (1971) Burt Styler for "Edith's Problem" (1972) Lee Kalcheim / Michael Ross / Bernie West for "The Bunkers and the Swingers" (1973) Treva Silverman for "The Lou and Edie Story" (1974) Stan Daniels / Ed. Weinberger for "Will Mary Richards Go to Jail?" (1975) David Lloyd for "Chuckles Bites the Dust" (1976) James L. Brooks / Allan Burns / Stan Daniels / Bob Ellison / David Lloyd / Ed. Weinberger for "The Last Show" (1977) Harve Brosten / Barry Harman / Bob Schiller / Bob Weiskopf for "Cousin Liz"(1978) Complete list (1955–1959) (1960–1969) (1970–1979) (1980–1989) (1990–1999) (2000–2009) (2010–present)

v t e Richard Pryor Albums Richard Pryor Craps (After Hours) That Nigger's Crazy ...Is It Something I Said? Bicentennial Nigger Wanted: Live in Concert Compilations L.A. Jail Richard Pryor's Greatest Hits …And It's Deep Too! The Anthology (1968–1992) Evolution/Revolution TV & Films Live & Smokin' The Richard Pryor Show Live in Concert Live on the Sunset Strip Here and Now Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling I Ain't Dead Yet The Funniest Man Dead or Alive

v t e Mark Twain Prize winners Richard Pryor (1998) · Jonathan Winters (1999) · Carl Reiner (2000) · Whoopi Goldberg (2001) · Bob Newhart (2002) · Lily Tomlin (2003) · Lorne Michaels (2004) · Steve Martin (2005) · Neil Simon (2006) · Billy Crystal (2007) · George Carlin (2008) · Bill Cosby (2009) · Tina Fey (2010) · Will Ferrell (2011) · Ellen DeGeneres (2012)

v t e Stax/Volt Records Major figures Jim Stewart · Estelle Axton · Al Bell · Steve Cropper · Booker T. Jones · Donald "Duck" Dunn · Al Jackson, Jr. · Isaac Hayes · David Porter · Jerry Wexler · Clive Davis Major artists (Atlantic years) Otis Redding · Sam & Dave · Carla Thomas · Rufus Thomas · The Mar-Keys · Booker T. & The MG's · William Bell · Eddie Floyd · Johnnie Taylor · Albert King · The Bar-Kays Major artists (Post-Atlantic) Isaac Hayes · David Porter · Eddie Floyd · Johnnie Taylor · The Rance Allen Group · The Soul Children · The Staple Singers · The Temprees · The Emotions · Mel & Tim · The Bar-Kays · Linda Lyndell · Richard Pryor · Bill Cosby · William Bell · Little Milton · Jesse Jackson · Big Star Modern Stax artists Soulive · Angie Stone · Lalah Hathaway · Leela James · Isaac Hayes  · Leon Ware · N'dambi · Nikka Costa · Teena Marie Related articles Memphis soul · Wattstax · Stax Museum of American Soul Music · Atlantic Records · Union Planters Bank · CBS Records · Fantasy Records · Concord Records

Persondata
Name	Pryor, Richard
Alternative names
Short description	American comedian and actor
Date of birth	December 1, 1940
Place of birth	Peoria, Illinois
Date of death	December 10, 2005
Place of death	Encino, Los Angeles, California

Harrison Ford
Ford in 2010
Born	(1942-07-13) July 13, 1942 (age 69) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, producer
Years active	1966–present
Spouse	Mary Marquardt (1964–1979; divorced) Melissa Mathison (1983–2004; divorced) Calista Flockhart (2010–present)

Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. His career has spanned six decades and includes roles in several Hollywood blockbusters, including Presumed Innocent, The Fugitive, Air Force One, and What Lies Beneath. At one point, four of the top six box-office hits of all time included one of his roles.^[1] Five of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry.

In 1997, Ford was ranked No. 1 in Empire's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. As of July 2008^[update], the United States domestic box office grosses of Ford's films total over US$3.5 billion, with worldwide grosses surpassing $6 billion, making Ford the third highest grossing U.S. domestic box-office star.^[2] Ford is the husband of actress Calista Flockhart.

Early life[link]

Ford was born July 13, 1942, at Chicago, Illinois' Swedish Covenant Hospital.^[3] His mother, Dorothy (née Dora Nidelman), was a homemaker and former radio actress, and his father, Christopher Ford (born John William Ford), was an advertising executive and a former actor.^[4][5] A younger brother, Terence, was born in 1945. Ford's paternal grandparents, John Fitzgerald Ford and Florence Veronica Niehaus, were of Irish Catholic and German descent, respectively.^[4] Ford's maternal grandparents, Harry Nidelman and Anna Lifschutz, were Jewish immigrants from Minsk, Belarus (at that time a part of the Russian Empire).^[4] When asked in which religion he and his brother were raised, Ford has jokingly responded, "Democrat,"^[6] "to be liberals of every stripe".^[7] In a television interview shown in August 2000, when asked about what influence his Irish Catholic and Russian Jewish ancestry may have had on his life as a person and as an artist, Ford humorously stated "As a man I've always felt Irish, as an actor I've always felt Jewish."^[8][9]

Ford was active in the Boy Scouts of America, and achieved its second-highest rank, Life Scout. He worked at Napowan Adventure Base Scout camp as a counselor for the Reptile Study merit badge. Because of this, he and Eagle Scout director Steven Spielberg later decided to depict the young Indiana Jones as a Life Scout in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. They also jokingly reversed Ford's knowledge of reptiles into Jones' fear of snakes.

In 1960, Ford graduated from Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois. His was the first student voice broadcast on his high school's new radio station, WMTH,^[8] and he was its first sportscaster during his senior year (1959–1960). He attended Ripon College in Wisconsin,^[8] where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. He took a drama class in the final quarter of his senior year to get over his shyness.^[10] Ford, a self-described "late bloomer,"^{[citation needed]} became fascinated with acting.

Early career[link]

In 1964, Ford traveled to Los Angeles, California to apply for a job in radio voice-overs. He did not get it, but stayed in California and eventually signed a $150 a week contract with Columbia Pictures' New Talent program, playing bit roles in films. His first known part was an uncredited role as a bellhop in Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966). There is little record of his non-speaking roles (or "extra" work) in film. Ford was at the bottom of the hiring list, having offended producer Jerry Tokovsky after he played a bellboy in the feature. He was told by Tokovsky that when actor Tony Curtis delivered a bag of groceries, he did it like a movie star; Ford felt his job was to act like a bellboy.^[11] Ford managed to secure other roles in movies, such as A Time for Killing (The Long Ride Home), starring Glenn Ford, George Hamilton and Inger Stevens.

His speaking roles continued next with Luv (1967), though he was still uncredited. He was finally credited as "Harrison J. Ford" in the 1967 Western film, A Time for Killing, but the "J" did not stand for anything, since he has no middle name. It was added to avoid confusion with a silent film actor named Harrison Ford, who appeared in more than 80 films between 1915 and 1932, and died in 1957. Ford later said that he was unaware of the existence of the earlier Harrison Ford until he came upon a star with his own name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Ford soon dropped the "J" and worked for Universal Studios, playing minor roles in many television series throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, including Gunsmoke, Ironside, The Virginian, The F.B.I., Love, American Style, and Kung Fu. He appeared in the western Journey to Shiloh (1968) and had an uncredited, non-speaking role in Michelangelo Antonioni's 1970 film Zabriskie Point, as an arrested student protester. Not happy with the roles being offered to him, Ford became a self-taught professional carpenter^[8] to support his then-wife and two small sons. While working as a carpenter, he became a stagehand for the popular rock band The Doors. He also built a sun deck for actress Sally Kellerman and a recording studio for Brazilian band leader Sérgio Mendes.

He was then hired to build cabinets at the home of director George Lucas, who subsequently cast him in a pivotal supporting role for his film American Graffiti (1973).^[8] Ford's relationship with Lucas affected his career later on. After director Francis Ford Coppola's film The Godfather was a success, he hired Ford to expand his office and gave him small roles in his next two films, The Conversation (1974) and Apocalypse Now (1979); in the latter film he played a smarmy officer named "G. Lucas."

Milestone franchises[link]

[edit] Star Wars

Ford's carpentry work eventually landed him his first starring film role. In 1975, George Lucas hired him to read lines for actors auditioning for parts in his Star Wars (1977). Lucas was eventually won over by Ford's portrayal, and cast him as Han Solo.^[12] Star Wars became one of the most successful movies of all time worldwide, and established Ford as a superstar.^[8] He went on to star in the similarly-successful Star Wars sequels, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), as well as The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978). Ford wanted Lucas to kill off Han Solo at the end of either sequel, saying, "That would have given the whole film a bottom," but Lucas refused.^[13]

[edit] Indiana Jones

The type of fedora worn by Ford in the Indiana Jones films

Ford's status as a leading actor was solidified when he starred as Indiana Jones in the George Lucas/Steven Spielberg collaboration Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).^[8] Though Spielberg was interested in casting Ford in the lead role from the start, Lucas was not, due to having already worked with the actor in American Graffiti and Star Wars, but he eventually relented after Tom Selleck was unable to accept.^[14][8] Ford reprised the role for the prequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and the sequel Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).^[8] He later returned to his role as Indiana Jones again for a 1993 episode of the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and for the fourth film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).

Other film work[link]

Ford has been in numerous other films, including Heroes (1977), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), and Hanover Street (1979). Ford also co-starred alongside Gene Wilder in the buddy-Western The Frisco Kid (1979), playing a bank robber with a heart of gold. He then starred as Rick Deckard in Ridley Scott's cult sci-fi classic Blade Runner (1982), and in a number of dramatic-action films: Peter Weir's Witness (1985) and The Mosquito Coast (1986), and Roman Polanski's Frantic (1988).^[8]

The 1990s brought Ford the role of Jack Ryan in Tom Clancy's Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994), as well as leading roles in Alan Pakula's Presumed Innocent (1990) and The Devil's Own (1997), Andrew Davis' The Fugitive (1993), Sydney Pollack's remake of Sabrina (1995), and Wolfgang Petersen's Air Force One (1997). Ford also played straight dramatic roles, including an adulterous husband in both Presumed Innocent (1990) and What Lies Beneath (2000), and a recovering amnesiac in Mike Nichols' Regarding Henry (1991).^[8]

Many of Ford's major film roles came to him by default through unusual circumstances: he won the role of Han Solo while reading lines for other actors, was cast as Indiana Jones because Tom Selleck was not available, and took the role of Jack Ryan supposedly due to Alec Baldwin's fee demands, although Baldwin disputes this (Baldwin had previously played the role in The Hunt for Red October).

Recent roles[link]

Ford in 2007

Starting in the late 1990s, Ford appeared in several critically derided and commercially disappointing movies, including Six Days Seven Nights (1998), Random Hearts (1999), K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), Hollywood Homicide (2003), Firewall (2006), and Extraordinary Measures (2010). One exception was 2000's What Lies Beneath, which grossed over $155 million in the United States and $291 million worldwide.^[15]

In 2004, Ford declined a chance to star in the thriller Syriana, later commenting that "I didn't feel strongly enough about the truth of the material and I think I made a mistake."^[16] The role eventually went to George Clooney, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his work. Prior to that, he had passed on a role in another Stephen Gaghan-written role, Robert Wakefield in Traffic. That role went to Michael Douglas.

In 2008, Ford enjoyed success with the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, another collaboration between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. The film received generally positive reviews and was the second highest-grossing film worldwide in 2008.^[17] He later said he would like to star in another sequel, "...if it didn't take another 20 years to digest."^[18]

Other 2008 work included Crossing Over, directed by Wayne Kramer. In the film, he plays an immigrations officer, working alongside Ashley Judd and Ray Liotta.^[19][20] He also narrated a feature documentary film about the Dalai Lama entitled Dalai Lama Renaissance.^[21]

Ford at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival

Ford filmed the medical drama Extraordinary Measures^[22] in 2009 in Portland, Oregon. Released January 22, 2010, the film also starred Brendan Fraser and Alan Ruck. Also in 2010, he co-starred in the film Morning Glory, along with Patrick Wilson, Rachel McAdams, and Diane Keaton.^[23]

He has expressed interest in returning to the Jack Ryan franchise.^[24]

In July 2011, Ford starred alongside Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde in the science fiction Western film Cowboys & Aliens. Ford portrays Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde, a character who rules the town of Absolution with an iron fist.^[25] Ford and executive producer Steven Spielberg did not want to have the character wear a cowboy hat because they were worried that it would remind audiences of the Indiana Jones films.^[26] Ford described his character as a "grumpy old man."^[27] To promote the film, Ford made his first appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con International, being led onstage in handcuffs by two security guards, giving the audience the impression that he was being dragged to Comic-Con against his will. However, the actor's arrival involuntarily referred to an actual assault that occurred shortly before the presentation of the film, after which the alleged assailant was taken away in handcuffs. Ford received a long standing ovation as he joined his co-stars, and, apparently surprised by the warm welcome, told the audience, "I just wanted to make a living as an actor. I didn't know about this."^{[28][29][30][31][32]}

In 2011, Ford starred in Japanese commercials advertising the video game Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception for the PlayStation 3. In it, he can be seen playing the game whilst appearing amazed and praising it.^[33]

As of April 2012, he was said to be in late-stage negotiations to join the corporate espionage thriller Paranoia. The movie already has Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth confirmed as the lead while Gary Oldman is also in final talks to star in a supporting role. Directed by Robert Luketic, Paranoia takes place in the fast-paced world of business and involves a duel between telecom giants. Production is scheduled to begin this summer.^[34]

Personal life[link]

Marriages and family[link]

Ford with wife Calista Flockhart at the 2009 Deauville American Film Festival

Ford is one of Hollywood's most private actors,^[8] guarding his personal life. He has two sons (Benjamin and Willard) with his first wife, Mary Marquardt, as well as two children (Malcolm and Georgia) with his second wife, screenwriter Melissa Mathison.

Ford began dating actress Calista Flockhart after meeting at the 2002 Golden Globes, and together they are parents to her adopted son, Liam. Ford proposed to Flockhart over Valentine's Day weekend in 2009.^[35] They married on June 15, 2010, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Ford was filming Cowboys and Aliens.^[36]

Ford has three grandchildren: Eliel (born 1993), Giuliana (born 1997), and Ethan (born 2000).^[37] Son Benjamin owns Ford's Filling Station, a gastro pub in Culver City, California.^{[38][39][40][41]} Son Willard is co-owner of Ford & Ching showroom, as well as Ludwig Clothing company.^[42]

Chin and back injury[link]

Ford injured his chin at the age of 20 when his car, a Volvo 544, hit a telephone pole in Northern California;^{[citation needed]} the scar is visible in his films. An explanation for it on film is offered in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when a young Indiana Jones cuts his chin while attempting to crack a whip to ward off a lion. In Working Girl, Ford's character explains that it happened when he passed out and hit his chin on the toilet when a college girlfriend was piercing his ear. In June 1983, at age 40, during the filming of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in London, he herniated a disc in his back, forcing him to fly back to Los Angeles for an operation. He returned six weeks later.^[43]

Aviation[link]

Ford is a private pilot of both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters,^[8] and owns an 800-acre (3.2 km²) ranch in Jackson, Wyoming, approximately half of which he has donated as a nature reserve. On several occasions, Ford has personally provided emergency helicopter services at the behest of local authorities, in one instance rescuing a hiker overcome by dehydration.^[44]

Ford began flight training in the 1960s at Wild Rose Idlewild Airport in Wild Rose, Wisconsin, flying in a Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer, but at $15 an hour he was unable to continue the training.^[45] In the mid-1990s, he bought a used Gulfstream II and asked one of his pilots, Terry Bender, to give him flying lessons. They started flying a Cessna 182 out of Jackson, Wyoming, later switching to Teterboro, New Jersey, flying a Cessna 206, the aircraft he soloed in.^[46]

On October 23, 1999, Harrison Ford was involved in the crash of a Bell 206L4 LongRanger helicopter (N36R). The NTSB accident report states that Ford was piloting the aircraft over the Lake Piru riverbed near Santa Clarita, California, on a routine training flight. While making his second attempt at an autorotation with powered recovery Ford allowed the aircraft's altitude to drop to 150–200 feet before beginning power up. As a result the aircraft was unable to recover power before hitting the ground. The aircraft landed hard and began skidding forward in the loose gravel before one of its skids struck a partially embedded log and flipped onto its side. Neither Ford nor the instructor pilot suffered any injuries, though the helicopter was seriously damaged. When asked about the incident by fellow pilot James Lipton in an interview on the TV show Inside the Actor's Studio Ford replied, "I broke it."^[47]

Ford keeps his aircraft at Santa Monica Airport,^[48] though the Bell 407 is often kept and flown in Jackson, Wyoming, and has been used by the actor in two mountain rescues during the actor's assigned duty time assisting the Teton County Search and Rescue. On one of the rescues Ford recovered a hiker who had become lost and disoriented. She boarded Ford's Bell 407 and promptly vomited into one of the rescuers' caps, unaware of who the pilot was until much later; "I can't believe I barfed in Harrison Ford's helicopter!" she said later.^[49]

Ford flies his de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (N28S) more than any of his other aircraft, and although he dislikes showing favoritism, he has repeatedly stated that he likes this aircraft and the sound of its Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engine.^[50] Ford first encountered the Beaver while filming Six Days Seven Nights, and soon purchased one.^{[citation needed]} Kenmore Air in Kenmore, Washington, restored Ford's yellow and green Beaver — a junked former U.S. military aircraft — with updated avionics and an upgraded engine. According to Ford, it had been flown in the CIA's Air America operations, and was riddled with bullet holes that had to be patched up.^[51] He uses it regularly for impromptu fly-ins at remote airports and bush strips, as well as gatherings with other Beaver owners and pilots.^{[citation needed]}

In March 2004, Ford officially became chairman of the Young Eagles program of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). Ford was asked to take the position by Greg Anderson, Senior Vice President of the EAA at the time, to replace General Charles "Chuck" Yeager who was vacating the post that he had held for many years. Ford at first was hesitant, but later accepted the offer and has made appearances with the Young Eagles at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh gathering at Oshkosh, Wisconsin for two years. In July 2005, at the gathering in Oshkosh Ford agreed to accept the position for another two years. Ford has flown over 280 children as part of the Young Eagles program, usually in his DHC-2 Beaver, which can seat the actor and five children. Ford is involved with the EAA chapter in Driggs, Idaho, just over the mountains from Jackson, Wyoming.

As of 2009, Ford appears in Web advertisements for General Aviation Serves America, a campaign by advocacy group AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association).^[52]

Ford is an Honorary Board Member of the humanitarian aviation organization Wings of Hope.^[53]

He has also flown as an invited VIP with the Blue Angels.^[54]

Aircraft owned

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2010)

Activism[link]

Environmental causes[link]

Ford sits on the board of directors of Conservation International.^{[citation needed]} He received the Jules Verne Spirit of Nature Award for his ongoing work in preservation of the planet.^[55]

In 1993, the arachnologist Norman Platnick named a new species of spider Calponia harrisonfordi, and in 2002, the entomologist Edward O. Wilson named a new ant species Pheidole harrisonfordi (in recognition of Harrison's work as Vice Chairman of Conservation International).^[56]

Since 1992, Ford has lent his voice to a series of public service messages promoting environmental involvement for EarthShare, an American federation of environmental and conservation charities.^{[citation needed]}

Political views[link]

Like his parents, Ford is a lifelong Democrat,^[57] and a close friend of former President Bill Clinton.^[19]

On September 7, 1995, Ford testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in support of the Dalai Lama and an independent Tibet, and was banned thereafter by the Chinese government from entering Tibet and China.^[58][59] In 2008, he narrated the documentary Dalai Lama Renaissance.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, he publicly condemned the Iraq War and called for "regime change" in the United States. He also criticized Hollywood for making violent movies, and called for more gun control in the United States.^[60] He opposed the recall of Californian Governor Gray Davis, and stated in an interview that replacing Davis with Arnold Schwarzenegger would be a mistake.^[61]

Archaeology[link]

Following on his success portraying the archaeologist Indiana Jones, Ford also plays a part in supporting the work of professional archaeologists. He serves as a General Trustee^[62] on the Governing Board of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), North America's oldest and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. Ford assists them in their mission of increasing public awareness of archaeology and preventing looting and the illegal antiquities trade.

Community work[link]

Ford volunteered as a food server. On November 21, 2007, Ford and other celebrities, including Kirk Douglas, Nia Long and Calista Flockhart, helped serve hot meals to the homeless at the annual Thanksgiving feast at the Los Angeles Mission.^[63]

Awards[link]

Ford's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Ford received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Witness, for which he also received "Best Actor" BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. He received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2002 Golden Globe Awards and on June 2, 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has received three additional "Best Actor" Golden Globe nominations for The Mosquito Coast, The Fugitive and Sabrina.

In 2006, Ford was awarded the Jules Verne Spirit of Nature Award for his work in nature and wildlife preservation. The ceremony took place at the historic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.^[55]

He received the first ever Hero Award for his many iconic roles, including Han Solo and Indiana Jones, at the 2007 Scream Awards, and in 2008, the Spike TV's Guy's Choice Award for Brass Balls.^[64][65]

Harrison Ford received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2000.^[66]

Filmography[link]