Page 52 - The Peorian, Vol 3 Issue 2

When Richard turned his tragic
story of lighting himself on fire
and nearly dying while free-bas-
ing cocaine into a great comedic
bit, he (knowingly or unknow-
ingly) ensured that many of those
people watching and laughing
to tears would never EVER think
about freebasing cocaine. There’s
a lyric from a Jay-Z’s song “Izzo
(HOVA)” that sums it up nicely:
Like I told you sell drugs - No!
Hov’ did that so hopefully you won’t
have to go through that
Perhaps his story of violence
and abuse could very well have
the same effect, albeit on a
smaller scale.
Head down to the Peoria River-
front Museum – of which I am
a huge supporter and (for the
sake of disclosure) a member of
the Associate Board – and try to
find a presence of Richard Pryor.
Maybe a permanent display,
perhaps a window exhibit?
Not a chance.
Richard is lodged in a quiet
nook off the Street exhibit, along
with other Peoria luminaries, that
one can only find if adamantly
searching. Search “Richard
Pryor” on the Museum’s web-
site and response is telling: “No
results.” That’s been the problem
too long.
The Peoria Riverfront Mu-
seum should be embarrassed
and perhaps the new CEO, Sam
Gappmayer, will help rectify the
situation. And 2014 seems like the
perfect year for that rectification
to begin.
Consider that the end to my
rather long-winded rant against
(largely) the city and (to a lesser
degree) the Peoria Riverfront
Museum. Truth be told, I believe
a rant to be kind of pointless un-
less it is followed by a solution
no matter how hare-brained. In
this case, I think an appropri-
ate solution and a great way to
preserve Pryor’s memory (as well
as bring tourism to Peoria) would
be to create an annual three-day
Richard Pryor event.
The event could be hosted (pri-
marily) by the Peoria Riverfront
Museum, with movies, exhibits,
panel discussions and a kick-
off dinner with a well-known
comedian at the helm, along with
other downtown venues where
ancillary events could be held.
We always hear about attempts
to increase tourism in Peoria and
this seems like a ready-made
solution staring the city in the
face. An annual event celebrating
Richard Pryor (correctly pro-
moted) would draw visitors from
Chicago and cities throughout
the Midwest. With a big-name
comedian as host (and other
comedians performing) perhaps
you have an event with an even
bigger draw.
Right now, there really is no
National Comedy Hall of Fame.
Why not start building that repu-
tation in the city that was home
to America’s greatest comedian
(as well as Sam Kinison and “Fib-
ber McGee & Molly”)?
52 thePeorian.com