Page 54 - The Peorian, Vol 3 Issue 2
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But now that I cogitate on it
more deeply, I realize what it
was that attracted me so much
to a guy who couldn’t have been
more different than me. It was a
sympathy he was able to evoke
or conjure when he was on stage.
Even though I didn’t have any of
the experiences he had (thank-
fully) I sympathized with him. In
the words of President Clinton,
I felt his pain. And no one could
run the gamut of emotions on
stage quite like Richard.
Great stage performers make
you feel every emotion they are
exuding. Richard could make you
cry as quickly as he could make
you laugh. And it was because
he wasn’t telling someone else’s
story; he was acting out his life
on stage – the good, the bad and
ugly – and it was hilarious, pain-
ful, profane, educational and, of
course, mesmerizing.
Richard didn’t ask to be born
in a brothel, the son of a pros-
titute and a drunken father. He
didn’t ask to be sexually mo-
lested throughout his childhood.
But he played the hand that was
dealt to him, made it out alive
(which was more than many of
his friends did) and achieved a
level of greatness in the comedic
arts unlike any other American
since Mark Twain.
Richard Pryor entertained and
influenced many generations
and will undoubtedly influence
countless generations to come.
That’s why now, fellow Peorians,
is the time to put our collective
shoulders to the wheel and pay
proper recognition to Richard
Pryor.
We are so proud of our history
in this town (another note of
disclosure: I’m on the Board of
Trustees at the Peoria Historical
Society) and yet we can’t find a
These photos are of the statue Peorian Preston Jackson
sculpted of Richard Pryor. A group is now trying to raise
money so the statue can be bronzed.
