Jack Wild (September 30, 1952 – March 2, 2006) was an English actor who achieved fame for his roles in both stage and screen productions of the Lionel Bart musical Oliver! with Ron Moody, Shani Wallis and Oliver Reed. For the latter performance (playing the Artful Dodger), he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the age of 16, but the Oscar went to Jack Albertson for his performance in The Subject Was Roses. Jack Wild appeared with actor Mark Lester in two films: Oliver! (1968) and Melody (1971).
Death of Jack Wild Wild died on 2 March, 2006, aged 53, after a long battle with oral cancer, which he claimed was caused by his alcoholism and smoking. Diagnosed with the disease in 2000, he underwent surgery in July 2004 and had part of his tongue and both vocal cords removed. Because of this surgery, he had lost his speech and had to communicate through his wife, Clare Harding, whom he had met in a stage production of Cinderella; Jack played one of the ugly stepsisters. He is buried in Toddington Parish Cemetery.
Darren McGavin (born William Lyle Richardson; May 7, 1922 – February 25, 2006) was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and also his portrayal in the movie A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears. He also appeared as the tough-talking, funny detective in the TV series Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer.
Death of Darren McGavin Darren McGavin died of natural causes in a Los Angeles-area hospital. Darren McGavin was 83 year old at the time of his death.
He was buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Oh Fudge! – from the movie "A Christmas Story" Darren McGavin is the father
Darren McGavin Filmography continues on next page
Darren McGavin Filmography
1940-1970 A Song to Remember (1945) Counter-Attack (1945) Kiss and Tell (1945) She Wouldn’t Say Yes (1946) Fear (1946) Queen for a Day (1951) Summertime (1955) The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955) A Word to the Wives (1955) The Delicate Delinquent (1957) Beau James (1957) The Case Against Brooklyn (1958) Bullet for a Badman (1964) The Great Sioux Massacre (1965) Gunsmoke" Joe Bascome (1966) African Gold (1966) Mission Mars (1968) Anatomy of a Crime (1969) The Challenge (1970)
1971-1990 Mooch Goes to Hollywood (1971) Mrs. Pollifax – Spy (1971) Happy Mother’s Day, Love George (1973) (also director and producer) 43: The Richard Petty Story (1974) B Must Die (1975) The Demon and the Mummy (1976) No Deposit, No Return (1976) Airport ’77 (1977) Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978) Zero to Sixty (1978) Hangar 18 (1980) Firebird 2015 AD (1981) A Christmas Story (1983) The Natural (1984) Turk 182 (1985) Flag (1986) Raw Deal (1986) From the Hip (1987) Dead Heat (1988) In the Name of Blood (1990)
1991-1999 Captain America (1991) Blood and Concrete (1991) Perfect Harmony (1991) Happy Hell Night (1992) Billy Madison (1995) Still Waters Burn (1996) Small Time (1996) Pros and Cons (1999)
Television work Crime Photographer (1951 – 1952) Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955. Episode 13 : The Cheney Vase) Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer (1956 – 1959) Riverboat (1959 – 1961) The Legend of Jud Starr (1967) Custer, ABC series with Wayne Maunder (1967) Mission: Impossible (1967) The Outsider (1967) (pilot episode) The Outsider (1968 – 1969) The Forty-Eight Hour Mile (1970) The Challenge (1970) The Challengers (1970) Berlin Affair (1970) Tribes (1970) Banyon (1971) (pilot episode) The Death of Me Yet (1971) The Night Stalker (1972) Something Evil (1972) The Rookies (1972) (pilot episode) Here Comes the Judge (1972) Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole (1972) The Night Strangler (1973) The Six Million Dollar Man (1973) (pilot episode) Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974 – 1975) Crackle of Death (1976) Brinks: The Great Robbery (1976) Ike: The War Years (1978) The Users (1978) A Bond of Iron (1979) Donovan’s Kid (1979) Ike (1979) (miniseries) Not Until Today (1979) Love for Rent (1979) Waikiki (1980) The Martian Chronicles (1980) (miniseries) Magnum, P.I. (1981) Freedom to Speak (1982) (miniseries) Small & Frye (1983) (canceled after six episodes) The Baron and the Kid (1984) The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D. (1984) My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn (1985) The O’Briens (1985) (sitcom pilot) Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Natica Jackson (1987) Tales from the Hollywood Hills: A Table at Ciro’s (1987) Inherit the Wind (1988) The Diamond Trap (1988) Murphy Brown (1989) Around the World in 80 Days (1989) (miniseries) Kojak: It’s Always Something (1990) Child in the Night (1990) By Dawn’s Early Light (1990) Clara (1991) Perfect Harmony (1991) Miracles and Other Wonders (1992–199?) Mastergate (1992) The American Clock (1993) A Perfect Stranger (1994) Fudge-A-Mania (1995) Derby (1995) Touched by an Angel ([1997, guest appearance) X-Files ([1999, two episodes)
William Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an Emmy Award-winning American actor, best known for his work in television, including roles on Gunsmoke, as Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud and in Steven Spielberg’s feature-length directorial debut, the cult TV movie Duel in 1971.
Death of Dennis Weaver Dennis Weaver died of complications from cancer, in Ridgway, Colorado, United States. Dennis Weaver was 81 year old at the time of his death.
Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960s television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show (a role which earned him five Emmy Awards), and as landlord Ralph Furley on the television sitcom Three’s Company in the 1980s.
Death of Don Knotts Don Knotts died at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California from pulmonary and respiratory complications related to lung cancer. He had been undergoing treatment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the months before his death, but had gone home after he reportedly had been getting better. Long-time friend Andy Griffith visited Knotts’ bedside a few hours before he died. His wife and his daughter stayed with him until his death.
Knotts’ obituaries cited him as a huge influence on other entertainers. Musician and fan J.D. Wilkes said this about Knotts: “Only a genius like Knotts could make an anxiety-ridden,passive-aggressive Napoleon character like Fife a familiar, welcome friend each week. Without his awesome contributions to television there would’ve been no other over-the-top, self-deprecating acts like Conan O’Brien or Chris Farley.”
Knotts is buried at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
His hometown of Morgantown, West Virginia, has begun creation of a statue of the actor that will be placed in a special memorial park along the river and Don Knotts Boulevard.
Don Knotts – Funniest Moments as Barney Fife
Don Knotts’ Biography & Filmography continues next page
Early life Knotts was born in the university town of Morgantown, West Virginia, the son of Elsie L. (née Moore) and William Jesse Knotts. His father’s family had been in the United States since the 17th century, originally settling in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland.His father had been a farmer, but suffered a nervous breakdown and lost his farm. The family (including Don’s two brothers) was supported by Don’s mother, who ran a boarding house in town. Knotts’ father suffered from schizophrenia and alcoholism and died when Don was 13 years old. Some time later, Knotts graduated from Morgantown High School.
At 19, Knotts was drafted into the Army and served during World War II as part of a traveling GI variety show and as a nurse, including in the Pacific Theater.
Early roles After performing in many venues (including a ventriloquist act with a dummy named Hooch Matador), Knotts got his first major break on television in the soap opera Search for Tomorrow where he appeared from 1953 to 1955. He came to fame in 1956 on Steve Allen’s variety show, as part of Allen’s repertory company, most notably in Allen’s mock “Man in the Street” interviews, always as a man extremely nervous. The laughs grew when Knotts stated his occupation — always one that wouldn’t be appropriate for such a shaky person, such as a surgeon or explosives expert.
In 1958, Knotts appeared in the movie No Time for Sergeants alongside Andy Griffith. The movie, based on the play and book of the same name, began a professional and personal relationship between Knotts and Griffith that would last for decades.
Andy Griffith Show In 1960, when Griffith was offered the opportunity to headline in his own sitcom, The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968), Knotts took the role of Barney Fife, the deputy — and originally cousin — of Sheriff Andy Taylor (portrayed by Griffith). Knotts’ five seasons portraying the deputy on the popular show would earn him five Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Comedy.Andy Griffith Show
Personal life The actor was married to college sweetheart Kathryn (Kay) Metz from 1947-64 and to Loralee Czuchna from 1974-83. He had two children from his first marriage, Karen and Thomas. He was married to actress Francey Yarborough at the time of his death.
Filmography
Film No Time for Sergeants (1958) Wake Me When It’s Over (1960) The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961) It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) (cameo) Move Over, Darling (1963) The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964) The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) The Reluctant Astronaut (1967) Rowan & Martin at the Movies (1968) The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968) The Love God? (1969) How to Frame a Figg (1971) The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) No Deposit, No Return (1976) Gus (1977) Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978) The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979) The Prize Fighter (1979) The Private Eyes (1981) Cannonball Run II (1984) Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987) Big Bully (1996) Cats Don’t Dance (1997) Pleasantville (1998) Tom Sawyer (2000) Chicken Little (2005) Air Buddies (2006)
Television Search for Tomorrow (1953-1955) The Steve Allen Show (1956-1960) The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1965, 1966, 1967) The New Steve Allen Show (1961-1963) The Don Knotts Show (1970-1971) The Man Who Came to Dinner (1972) The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972) I Love a Mystery (1973) Steve Allen’s Laugh Back (1975) Fantasy Island (1978-1979) Three’s Company (1979-1984) The Little Troll Prince (1985) Return to Mayberry (1986) Johnny Bravo Matlock (1987-1995) What a Country (1987) Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987) Timmy’s Gift: A Precious Moments Christmas (1991) Jingle Bells (1999) Quints (2000) Hermie: A Common Caterpillar (2003) Odd Job Jack (2003) 8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter (2003) Hermie and Friends (2004) Robot Chicken (2005) That 70’s Show (2005) Las Vegas (2005)
Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American R&B/Rock and Roll and soul singer. Known for his raw, raspy, passionate vocal delivery, he recorded some of the most incendiary soul music of the twentieth century. A major figure in the development of Southern soul music, his recordings between 1963 and 1973 left behind a legacy of some of the deepest, funkiest soul music ever to emerge from the South. The impact of his recordings also resulted in his 1991 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Wilson Pickett’s Death Wilson Pickett died of a heart attack January 19, 2006, Wilson Pickett was 64 years old at the time of his death
Shelley Winters (August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress.
Winters died on January 14, 2006 of heart failure at the Rehabilitation Centre of Beverly Hills at the age of 85 a few hours after she married DeFord; she had suffered a heart attack on October 14, 2005. Ex-husband Anthony Franciosa died of a stroke five days later.
Academy awards
1951 Best Actress in a Leading Role A Place in the Sun – Nominated
1959 Best Actress in a Supporting Role The Diary of Anne Frank – won
1965 Best Actress in a Supporting Role A Patch of Blue – won
1972 Best Actress in a Supporting Role The Poseidon Adventure – nominated
Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was a Chicago-born American soul music, jazz, and blues singer. Known for his smooth vocal style, Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game." Rawls released more than 70 albums, sold more than 40 million records, appeared as an actor in motion pictures and on television, and voiced-over many cartoons. He had been called "The Funkiest Man Alive".
Death of Lou Rawls Rawls died on January 6, 2006 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from complications of the cancers. Lou Rawls was 74 years old at the time of his death.
Lou Rawls is well known for:
Phrase "Yeahhhh, buddy!"
Songs "Lady Love", "You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine", "Love Is a Hurtin’ Thing"
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American comedian, actor, and writer.
Pryor was a storyteller known for unflinching examinations of racism and customs in modern life, and was well-known for his frequent use of colorful language, vulgarities, and racial epithets such as "nigger", "honky," "cracker," and "motherfucker." He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations, although public opinion of his act was often divided. He is commonly regarded as the most important stand up comedian of his time: Jerry Seinfeld called Pryor "The Picasso of our profession"; Whoopi Goldberg cited him as her biggest influence, stating "The major influence was Richard – I want to say those things he’s saying." Bob Newhart has called Pryor "the seminal comedian of the last 50 years."
Death of Richard Pryor Ricahrd Pryor died of cardiac arrest in Encino, California. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 7:58 a.m. PST. Richard Pryor was 65 years old at the time of his death.He was brought to the hospital after his wife’s attempts to resuscitate him failed. His wife Jennifer was quoted as saying, "At the end, there was a smile on his face."
His body of work includes such concert movies and recordings as Richard Pryor: Live and 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. He also starred in numerous films as an actor, usually in comedies such as Silver Streak, but occasionally in dramatic roles, such as Paul Schrader’s film Blue Collar and epic roles like Gus Gorman from Superman III (1983). He also collaborated on many projects with actor Gene Wilder. He won an Emmy Award in 1973, and five Grammy Awards in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, and 1982. In 1974, he also won two American Academy of Humor awards and the Writers Guild of America Award. In 2004, Pryor was voted the greatest stand-up act of all time by Comedy Central.
Early life and career Born on December 1, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois, Pryor grew up in his grandmother’s brothel, where his mother, Gertrude L. Thomas, practiced prostitution. His father, LeRoy "Buck" Pryor (a.k.a. Buck Carter) was a former bartender, boxer, and World War II veteran who worked as his wife’s pimp. After his mother deserted him when he was 10, he was raised primarily by his grandmother, Marie Carter. As a small child, Pryor was molested by a neighbor and a priest.
He was expelled from school at age 14, and began working various odd jobs. His first professional performance was playing drums at a night club. From 1958 to 1960, Pryor served in the U.S. Army but spent virtually that 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. Annoyed 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 the white soldier (not fatally). According to Live on Sunset Boulevard, when he was nineteen he worked at a Mafia owned nightclub as the MC. Upon hearing that they would not pay a stripper, he attempted to hold up the owners with a cap pistol. They apparently thought he was amusing, though Richard Pryor may have made this story up.
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 the Village Gate. Simone recalls Pryor’s bout of performance anxiety:
“ He shook like he had malaria, he was so nervous. I couldn’t bear to watch him shiver, so I put my arms around him there in the dark and rocked him like a baby until he calmed down. The next night was the same, and the next, and I rocked him each time.”
Inspired by Bill Cosby, Pryor began as a middlebrow comic 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 him to become a rather successful 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, said over the microphone "What the fuck am I doing here!?", and walked off the stage. Afterward, Pryor began working at least mild profanity into his act, including the word "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. It was around this time that his parents died-his mother in 1967 and his father in 1968. Richard got his familiar nickname at this point of time which is ba-loot.
What he thought was his first child was a girl named Renee. Years later however, he found out that this 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. In 1967, his second child and first daughter, Elizabeth Ann, was born to his girlfriend Maxine Anderson. Later that year, he married Shelly Bonus. In 1969, his third child and second daughter Rain Pryor was born. Pryor and Bonus divorced later that year.
Mainstream success 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-centric independent record label Laff Records in 1970 and recorded his second album in 1971, Craps (After Hours). In 1972, the relatively unknown comedian appeared in his first film, a documentary entitled 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. It was at this time that 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 Bros. (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 the label would continue until 1983.
In the 1970s, he 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. Pryor also made an attempt to break into mainstream television during this period. In 1974, he was arrested for income tax evasion and served 10 days in jail. He was a guest host on the first season of Saturday Night Live,Richard took long time girlfriend -actress talk show host Kathrine McKee with him to New York,(sister of Lonette McKee) she made a brief guest appearance with Richard on SNL, and his "racist word association" skit with Chevy Chase is frequently cited by TV critics as one of the funniest and most daring skits in SNL history (this sketch was replayed on the Season 31 episode hosted by Alec Baldwin, which first aired on the day Pryor died). The Richard Pryor Show premiered on NBC in 1977 but after only four shows, the series was cancelled. Television was not ready for the show’s controversial subject matter, and Pryor was not ready to alter the content of his material to meet the demands of network censors. During the short-lived series, he portrayed the first African-American President of the United States and in another skit, used costumes and visual distortion to appear nude.
In 1977, he married actress Deborah McGuire and they divorced in 1978. He soon began dating Jennifer Lee and they married in 1981. They divorced the following year.
Very successful and towards the height of his success, Pryor visited Africa in 1979. Upon returning to the United States, Pryor swore he would never use the word "nigger" in his stand-up comedy routine again. (His favorite epithet, "motherfucker", remains a term of endearment on his official website.)
In 1983, Pryor signed a five-year contract with Columbia Pictures for $40,000,000.[8] Pryor appeared in several popular films, including Lady Sings the Blues; The Mack; Uptown Saturday Night; Silver Streak; Which Way Is Up?; Car Wash; Superman III (which earned Pryor $4,000,000); Brewster’s Millions; Stir Crazy; Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling; Moving; and See No Evil, Hear No Evil. He also took part in The Toy, one of Jackie Gleason’s last projects. 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 also 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 (1983), before Eddie Murphy ultimately won the part.
Despite a reputation for profanity, 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 cancelled 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 to ensure its success.
Pryor co-hosted the Academy Awards twice, and was also nominated for an Emmy for a guest role on the television series, Chicago Hope.
The freebasing incident and its aftermath On June 9, 1980, Pryor set himself on fire while freebasing cocaine. He ran down Parthenia Street from his Northridge, California home until subdued by police, with burns having covered over 50 percent of his body. Pryor spent six weeks in recovery at the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital. Pryor made this part of his heralded "final" stand up show Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982). After joking that the incident was actually caused when he dunked a cookie into a glass containing two different types of milk, he gave a poignant yet funny account of his accident and recovery, then poked fun at people who told jokes about it by waving a lit match and saying "What’s this? It’s Richard Pryor running down the street." Interviewed in 2005, his wife Jennifer Lee Pryor said that Pryor poured high-proof rum over his body and torched himself in a drug psychosis.[citation needed]His daughter, Rain Pryor also stated this in an interview in People Magazine.[9] In a TV interview with Barbara Walters during his recovery, Pryor said that he tried to commit suicide. He claimed that his managers and lawyers created the "accident" lie in the belief that it would be less damning than a suicide attempt[citation needed]. Regardless of the incident’s origins, Pryor continued his tradition of mining comedy out of the most intensely personal events. One of his jokes about this subject was
“ When you’re on fire and running down the street, people will get out of your way. ”
Fellow comedian George Carlin made reference to this incident during his Carnegie Hall performance in 1983:
“ An update on the comedian health sweepstakes. I currently lead Richard Pryor in heart attacks 2 to 1. But Richard still leads me 1 to nothing in burning yourself up. See, it happened like this. First Richard had a heart attack. Then I had a heart attack. Then Richard burned himself up. And I said, ‘Fuck that. I’m having another heart attack!’ ”
He did not stay away from stand-up comedy very long though — in 1983 he filmed and released a new concert film and accompanying album, Here And Now, which he directed himself. He then wrote and directed a fictionalized account of his life, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling. Interestingly, Jo Jo Dancer depicted a suicide attempt by the main character in which he douses himself in rum and ignites himself.
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 Richard’s girlfriends, Geraldine Mason gave birth to Franklin Mason in April 1987 (his fifth child and third son). Six months later (October 1987), Belaine gave birth to Kelsey Pryor (Richard’s sixth child and third daughter).
Fight with multiple sclerosis In 1991, Pryor announced that he had been suffering from multiple sclerosis since 1986. In response to giving up drugs after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he said:
“ God gave me this M.S. shit to save my life. ”
In 1992, he gave some final live performances, excerpts of which appear on the …And It’s Deep Too! box set. He continued to make occasional film appearances, pairing with Gene Wilder one last time in the unsuccessful 1991 comedy, Another You (in which his physical deterioration was noted by many critics). His final film appearance was a small role in the David Lynch film Lost Highway in 1997; by then, Pryor was wheelchair bound. His Final episodic Television appearance was on an episode of The Norm Show (AKA "Norm") in 2000, where he had a small role as one of Norm’s clients. Afterwards, he was frequently a featured story on Entertainment Tonight until his death.
Marriages Richard Pryor was married seven times to five different women:
Patricia Price (1961 – 1967) (divorced) 1 child Richard Pryor Jr. Shelly Bonus (1967 – 1969) (divorced) 1 child Rain Pryor Deborah McGuire (22 September 1977 – 1979) (divorced) Jennifer Lee (August 1981 – October 1982) (divorced) Flynn Belaine (October 1986 – July 1987) (divorced) 1 child Flynn Belaine (1 April 1990 – July 1991) (divorced) 1 child Jennifer Lee (June 2001 – 10 December 2005) (his death) Each of his marriages was characterised by accusations of domestic violence and spousal abuse except for his relationship with Belaine (with whom there were no allegations of physical abuse); most of the allegations of abuse were connected to Pryor’s drug use. The exception to this rule was Patricia Price who was married to Pryor before his rise to stardom. Deborah McGuire accused him of shooting her car with a .357 Magnum[citation needed] , but later dropped the charges (even though this was mentioned during one of Pryor’s standup routines, Live in Concert). Lee accused him of beating and attempting to strangle her during their first marriage[citation needed], and did not share his home after they remarried. During his relationship with actress Pam Grier, Pryor proposed to actress Deborah McGuire (1977).
He had seven children: Renee, Richard Jr, Elizabeth, Rain, Steven, Franklin and Kelsey.
Later life In 1998, Pryor became the first performer to win the inaugural 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,
“ Richard Pryor was selected as the first recipient of the new Mark Twain Prize because as a stand-up comic, writer, and actor, he struck a chord, and a nerve, with America, forcing it to look at large social questions of race and the more tragicomic aspects of the human condition. Though uncompromising in his wit, Pryor, like Twain, projects a generosity of spirit that unites us. They were both trenchant social critics who spoke the truth, however outrageous. ”
In 2000, Rhino Records remastered all of Pryor’s Reprise and Warner Bros. albums for inclusion in the box set …And It’s Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968-1992).
In 2001, he remarried Jennifer Lee, who also had become his manager.
In 2002, Pryor and his wife/manager Jennifer Lee Pryor, won the legal rights to all of the Laff material; almost 40 hours of reel-to-reel analog tape. After going through the tapes and getting Richard’s blessing, Jennifer Lee Pryor gave Rhino Records access to the Laff tapes in 2004. These tapes, including the entire Craps album, form the basis of the double-CD release Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966-1974).
In 2003, a television documentary, Richard Pryor: I Ain’t Dead Yet, , came out. It consisted of archival footage of Pryor’s performances and testimonials from fellow comedians such as Dave Chappelle, Wanda Sykes and Denis Leary of the influence Pryor had 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.
His final performance was at the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, California.
In his later years, Richard Pryor became a wheelchair user due to multiple sclerosis (M.S., which he said stood for "More Shit"). In late-2004, his sister claimed that Pryor lost his voice. However, on January 9, 2005, Pryor’s wife, Jennifer Lee, rebutted this statement in a post on Pryor’s official website,[11] citing Richard as saying: "Sick of hearing this shit about me not talking… not true… good days, bad days… but I still am a talkin’ motherfucker!"
Pryor was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. The animal rights organization PETA gives out an award in Pryor’s name to people who have done outstanding work to alleviate animal suffering. Mr. Pryor was active in animal rights and was deeply concerned about the plight of elephants in circuses and zoos.
Death On December 10, 2005, Pryor died of cardiac arrest in Encino, California. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 7:58 a.m. PST. He died just 9 days after his 65th birthday. He was brought to the hospital after his wife’s attempts to resuscitate him failed. His wife Jennifer was quoted as saying, "At the end, there was a smile on his face."
Discography Richard Pryor (Dove/Reprise, 1968) Craps (After Hours) (Laff Records, 1971, reissued 1993 by Loose Cannon/Island) That Nigger’s Crazy, (Partee/Stax, 1974, reissued 1975 by Reprise) …Is It Something I Said?, (Reprise, 1975, reissued 1991 on CD by Warner Archives) L.A. Jail, (Tiger Lily, 1976) Bicentennial Nigger, (Reprise, 1976) Are You Serious???, (Laff, 1977) Who Me? I’m Not Him, (Laff, 1977) Black Ben The Blacksmith, (Laff, 1978) The title track was first issued as "Prison Play" on Richard Pryor, in spite of Warner Bros.’ ownership of that particular master recording. The Wizard Of Comedy, (Laff, 1978) Wanted: Live in Concert (2-LP set), (Warner Bros. Records, 1978) Outrageous, (Laff, 1979) Insane, (Laff, 1980) Holy Smoke!, (Laff, 1980) Rev. Du Rite, (Laff, 1981) Live On The Sunset Strip (Warner Bros. Records, 1982) Richard Pryor Live! (picture disc), (Phoenix/Audiofidelity, 1982) Supernigger, (Laff. 1983) Here And Now, (Warner Bros. Records, 1983)
Filmography The Busy Body (1967) Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales (1968) (unfinished) Wild in the Streets (1968) Black Brigade (1970) The Phynx (1970) Richard Pryor: Live and Smokin’ (filmed in 1971, released in 1985) (documentary) You’ve Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You’ll Lose That Beat (1971) Dynamite Chicken (1972) Lady Sings the Blues (1972) The Mack (1973) Wattstax (1973) (documentary) Hit! (1973) Some Call It Loving (1973) Blazing Saddles (1974) (co-writer) Uptown Saturday Night (1974) The Lion Roars Again (1975) (short subject) Adios Amigo (1976) Car Wash (1976) The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976) Silver Streak (1976) Which Way Is Up? (1977) Greased Lightning (1977) Blue Collar (1978) The Wiz (1978) California Suite (1978) Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979) (documentary) The Muppet Movie (1979) (cameo) Wholly Moses (1980) In God We Tru$t (1980) Stir Crazy (1980) Bustin’ Loose (1981) Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982) (documentary) Some Kind of Hero (1982) The Toy (1982) Superman III (1983) Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983) (documentary) Brewster’s Millions (1985) Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986) (also director and co-writer) Critical Condition (1987) Moving (1988) See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) Harlem Nights (1989) The Three Muscatels (1991) Another You (1991) A Century of Cinema (1994) (documentary) Mad Dog Time (1996) Lost Highway (1997) Bitter Jester (2003) (documentary) I Ain’t Dead Yet, #*%$@!! (2003) Richard Pryor: The Funniest Man Dead Or Alive (2005, BET Special)
Jean Parker (August 11, 1915 – November 30, 2005) was an American movie actress.
Born as Lois Mae Green in Deer Lodge, Montana, she appeared in 70 movies from 1932 through 1966. She was discovered by Ida Koverman, secretary to MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer, after she saw a poster featuring Parker portraying Father Time. She attended Pasadena schools and graduated from John Muir High School. Her original aspirations were in the fine arts and illustration.
Death of Jean Parker
Jean Parker spent her final years in the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, where she died of a stroke on November 30, 2005.
Jean parker was 90 years old at the time of his death.
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Jean Parker’s biography continues on next page
Jean Parker in She Married A Cop (1939)
Jean Parker biography continues
She had a successful career at MGM, RKO and Columbia including important roles such as the tragic Beth in the original Little Women, among many other film appearances including Frank Capra’s Lady for A Day and Gabriel Over the White House; Sequoia; The Ghost Goes West, opposite Robert Donat; and Rasputin and the Empress, with fellow players, the Barrymore siblings (John, Ethel, and Lionel) in the only movie they all made together. In 1939, she starred opposite Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in RKO’s The Flying Deuces.
Parker stayed active in film throughout the 1940s, playing opposite Lon Chaney in "Dead Man’s Eyes" "Detective Kitty O’ Day", and a variety of other films. Parker managed her own airport and flying service with then-husband Doug Dawson in Palm Springs, California until shortly after the start of World War II. During World War II, she toured many of the veteran hospitals throughout the U.S. and performed on radio. In the 1950s, Parker co-starred opposite Edward G. Robinson in Black Tuesday; had a small but effective role in Gunfighter which starred Gregory Peck and appeared with Randolph Scott and Angela Lansbury in the western Lawless Street (1955). Her last film appearance was Apache Uprising (1966), directed by A. C. Lyles.
Parker also appeared on Broadway. In 1949 she replaced Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday on Broadway and enjoyed a successful run in this classic. Parker also appeared on Broadway opposite Bert Lahr in the play Burlesque, did summer stock in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was on tour in the play Candlelight and Loco, and performed on stage in other professional productions.
She married Robert Lowery (who played Batman in 1949) in 1950. Two years later she gave birth to a son, Robert Lowery Hanks, an executive with the city of Los Angeles, California. Later in life, she continued a successful stint on the West Coast theatre circuit and worked as an acting coach.
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Eduardo "Eddie" Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestler born into a Mexican wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan and in every major professional wrestling promotion in the United States. He wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Death of Eddy Guerrero
On November 13, 2005, Guerrero was found unconscious in his hotel room (The Marriott City Center) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by his nephew, Chavo. Chavo attempted CPR, but Eddie was pronounced dead when paramedics arrived on the scene. He was survived by his widow Vickie Guerrero and their two daughters, Shaul and Sherilyn. He also is survived by a daughter, Kaylie, from a previous relationship.
An autopsy revealed that Guerrero died as a result of acute heart failure, caused by undiagnosed arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Although Guerrero had not taken alcohol or illicit drugs for nearly four years, his past excesses contributed to his heart failure.
Guerrero’s wife Vickie claimed that he had been lethargic and unwell in the week preceding his death, but had attributed it to the stress of continuously traveling and performing. She added that the doctors had told her that Guerrero’s blood vessels had shriveled and weakened as a result of an undiagnosed heart disease, and that he had simply dropped into a deep sleep.
On the November 30 edition of WWE Byte This!, Chavo said that Guerrero had been working hard and was at peak physical fitness as a result, doing cardiovascular and weight training exercises every day. There had been no symptoms or cause for concern. Chavo noted that, while many people abuse drugs for over ten years with no ill effects, Guerrero had suffered heart complications that were not detected in time to prevent his death, even though he had ceased his drug abuse some four years earlier.
Jack Wild (September 30, 1952 – March 2, 2006) was an English actor who achieved fame for his roles in both stage and screen productions of the Lionel Bart musical Oliver! with Ron Moody, Shani Wallis and Oliver Reed. For the latter performance (playing the Artful Dodger), he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the age of 16, but the Oscar went to Jack Albertson for his performance in The Subject Was Roses. Jack Wild appeared with actor Mark Lester in two films: Oliver! (1968) and Melody (1971).
William Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – 
Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960s television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show (a role which earned him five Emmy Awards), and as landlord Ralph Furley on the television sitcom Three’s Company in the 1980s.
Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – 
Shelley Winters (August 18, 1920 – 
Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – 
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III (December 1, 1940 – 
Eduardo "Eddie" Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 –