Celebrity
Richard Pryor Death: What Illness Did Richard Pryor Have Before Death?
American stand-up comedian and actor, Richard Pryor, suffered multiple sclerosis before his death in 2005.
Pryor passed on after being taken to a hospital from his home in the San Fernando Valley.
He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the nervous system.
Pryor reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential stand-up comedians of all time.
In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked him first on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.
Pryor’s body of work includes the concert films 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).
As an actor, he starred mainly in comedies. His occasional roles in dramas included Paul Schrader’s Blue Collar (1978). He also appeared in action films, like Superman III (1983).
He collaborated on many projects with actor Gene Wilder, including the films Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), and See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989). Another frequent collaborator was actor/comedian/writer Paul Mooney.