On A Pale Horse

As a kid I watched a lot of Richard Pryor movies on channel 50, either Saturday or Sundays. To me, Richard Pryor didn't make funny movies, he made movies that were bleeped and that were a little choppy. It wasn't until the advent of cable television and Movieland stores that I understood why my mom was getting so upset every time she saw that I was watching one of his films.

It would be pretty crazy for me to go over the rise of this great American comedian so I'm just going to direct you to his website.

He had a pretty prolific career, starring in numberous movies, doing countless dates of stand-up, winning an Emmy, five Grammys, getting married seven times to five women and having seven children.

He was also involved in trying to get one of my favorite movies to the big screen, Blazing Saddles. But after being turned down, specifically because of Richard Pryor being attached to the project, he handed it over to someone else.

Mr. Pryor passed away on December 10th after a cardiac arrest.

December 1, 1940 - December 10, 2005
RIP

Labels: 1940 births, 2005 December deaths, actor, cardiac arrest, comedian

My father took me to a lot of movies when I was a kid - because he didn't really know what else to do with me. I begged him to go see 'Star Wars' and 'Empire Strikes Back' but he wasn't interested in those type of flicks, he took me to see movies like 'Hot Dog' and 'The Fog' instead, movies that would basically screw me up for a REALLY long time. I finally wore him down so he took me to see 'Return of the Jedi' but it really didn't make any sense to me because I missed the first two (we didn't have a VCR). So fast forward a few years to when I had 'Empire' pretty much memorized, or so I thought. Remember when the movies were re-releases with all the added (crappy) features? My boyfriend, at the time, and his friends went to a showing of ESB at the Showcase on 15 & Van Dyke. I was quoting a line or two here and there but DK knew the whole damn movie by heart, even doing an incredible impression of Yodi. He was my idol, not only could he do that, he drove a Coronet (a '68 I believe).

The man who played Admiral Ozzel, Michael Sheard, passed away of cancer today. For me he was fondly remembered as the guy who was choked by Vader who was standing 10 feet away. He also played Hilter in a number of movies such as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, but he was best known for playing Mr. Bronson in the British Childrens show "Grange Hill".

RIP
June 18, 1940 - August 31, 2005

Labels: 1940 births, 2005 August deaths, actor, cancer