Peoria
A digital companion to the biography
Becoming Richard Pryor
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People
Richard Pryor
Marie Pryor
LeRoy ‘Buck’ Pryor
Ann Pryor
Juliette Whittaker
Bris Collins
Harold Parker
Places
Peoria: An Introduction
North Washington Street
The Famous Door
The Carver Center
Harold’s Club
Collins Corner
The Murray-Baker Bridge
Eras
1919–1941: “Roarin’ Peoria”
1942–1945: WWII Comes to Peoria
1946–1952: Reformers on the March
1953–1962: All-American City
1963–1969: Civil Rights Hits Peoria
1970s & Beyond: “Pryor’s Peoria” After Pryor
Themes
Family Affairs
The Making of a Comic
Schooled
Segregation and Desegregation
Sin City
Reform This Town!
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Documents Tagged ‘Richard Pryor’
Remembering Juliette
Archive Entry Date: 2010
Juliette Whittaker was “my angel,” wrote Richard's childhood friend Matt Clark
A Quiet Storm
Archive Entry Date: 05/08/2007
At her funeral service in the Carver Community Center, Whittaker's gift for nurturing talent was fondly recalled
Matt Clark Recalls Richard’s Early Love for Performance
Archive Entry Date: 12/18/2005
A portrait of the young Richard, courtesy of his childhood friend Matt Clark
If You Shoot For The Moon…
Archive Entry Date: 03/08/1981
An in-depth profile of the remarkable woman who first mentored Richard Pryor as an artist
Pryor Joins Family For Grandmother’s Funeral
Archive Entry Date: 01/04/1979
Jet's coverage of a central event in Richard Pryor's life — the loss of his “Mama”
Green Eaters Clamor For Grandma Bryant
Archive Entry Date: 07/20/1978
Marie won over the hearts — and stomachs — of Richard's LA circle
Richard Pryor Returns To Peoria Stage
Archive Entry Date: 03/09/1969
A benefit for the local Afro-American Black Peoples Federation brought Richard Pryor back to the Carver Center stage
Richard Visits His Mother Gertrude
Archive Entry Date: 1969
Richard raising the spirits of his ailing mother
R. Pryor Launched in Movies
Archive Entry Date: 9/9/1967
On the occasion of Richard's first film role, the Peoria Journal Star joined a conversation with his father
Divorce Decree
Archive Entry Date: 2/9/1967
The judge's settling of accounts between Richard and his first wife, Patricia
Richard Pryor vs. Patricia Pryor
Archive Entry Date: 3/4/1966
Richard Pryor's divorce complaint, filed against his first wife Patricia five years after their wedding
National TV Debut For Peoria Entertainer
Archive Entry Date: 08/31/1964
Juliette Whittaker encouraged Pryor to “move into every and any stage he could find.”
Grand Jury Recommended on Shotgunning
Archive Entry Date: 4/5/1962
A detailed account of the shotgunning of the Elks Club bouncer who saved Richard's life
Father of 5 Fatally Shotgunned At Elk’s Club
Archive Entry Date: 4/3/1962
A bouncer saved Richard's life but was himself killed by a disgruntled customer
Children’s Theater of Carver Center
Archive Entry Date: 3/15/55
A review of “Rumpelstiltskin,” Richard's first stage appearance.
Richard on a Sixth-Grade Field Trip
Archive Entry Date: 3/1/1954
The great comedian-to-be in Springfield, next to a statue of the Great Emancipator
Richard’s School Record
Archive Entry Date: 1945-1955
Richard struggled to find his way through Peoria's schools
Gertrude Pryor v. LeRoy Pryor
Archive Entry Date: 1/1946
The divorce papers of Richard Pryor's parents
North Washington Street
Archive Entry Date: 1938
The block, in the red-light district, where Pryor was raised