Photo: richardpryor.com
Richard Pryor is considered one of the greatest comedians of all time, and beginning this Memorial Day weekend, SiriusXM is going to celebrate that notion for three solid weeks from May 21st through June 8th.
The three week tribute titled, Richard Pryor: Still Outrageous just kicked off on the SiriusXM Comedy Greats channel with programming in honor of the late, great comedian that will include playing Pryor's entire discography which was remastered for the event. “Richard Pryor is an American legend,” said Jack Vaughn, SVP of Comedy Programming, SiriusXM. “He broke down barriers during a tumultuous time in our history, blazing a path for some of today’s biggest stars. We’re proud to honor his brilliance with a three-week tribute, and are thrilled Jennifer [Pryor's wife] has entrusted us with his archives that we can offer exclusively to SiriusXM listeners.”
There will also be some original programming added to the tribute including an audio documentary hosted by SXM host, Ron Bennington. The original audio documentary, titled Richard Pryor: A Life In Comedy will cover Pryor's life through stories told by his wife Jennifer as well as stories of his influence from some of stand-up comedy's biggest names such as Kevin Hart, Tracy Morgan, Joan Rivers, Louie Anderson, Sandra Bernhard, Patrice O’Neal, Jay Mohr, and Howie Mandel. The documentary will premiere on three SiriusXM channels (Comedy Greats, Raw Dog, and Kevin Hart's Laugh Out Loud) starting on Comedy Greats on Friday, June 8th at 9am ET.
Besides the remastered catalog and documentary, SiriusXM will also exclusively broadcast three never-before-heard stand-up albums from Pryor that were unearthed from his family in some old storage unites. On Friday, May 25 at 9am ET, Live at the Roxy will premiere, a recording from the famous West Hollywood nightclub in 1976. The following Friday, June 1, will be the debut of Live at Casa Comedia, recorded in 1982 during a three-month residency at the club. The third album, Live at The Ice House, features material Pryor was working on before recording the special Here and Now.
“I’m always excited to share Richard’s comedy with his fans,” said Jennifer Pryor, Richard’s wife. “When we cut open the box containing this lost footage – literally using bolt cutters to break the lock – I was overjoyed to find all of this new material, and instantly knew we had something special. I’m so glad SiriusXM is paying tribute to the Original King of Comedy and making these albums available to millions of listeners.”