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Why Richard Pryor Threatened to Shoot One of the Hosts of ‘Def Comedy Jam’

The issue was short-lived and the two remained cordial until Pryor’s death in 2005

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When Def Comedy Jam started in 1992, Richard Pryor’s career was on the decline. The comedy icon had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a few years earlier, and the disease had started to take its toll on his ability to perform. Pryor’s deteriorating health was evident on the set of 1989’s Harlem Nights, which, coincidentally, was where he first crossed paths with future Def Comedy Jam host Joe Torry. The up-and-coming comic was only an extra in the movie and didn’t get to interact with Pryor behind the scenes. Eventually, the two became friends.

As Torry explained to Geto Boys rapper Willie D in 2024, he met Pryor for the first time when Pryor hosted a stand-up comedy show he was headlining a little later. From there, Pryor allowed Torry to occasionally visit him at his Los Angeles home and pick his brain about comedy. Their relationship was cordial for the most part, and the pair even made another movie together shortly thereafter. The Three Muscatels, released in 1991, featured Torry’s first substantial film appearance, in addition to what ended up being Pryor’s last.

Co-starring in the movie with Torry and Pryor was Pryor’s then-wife, Flynn Belaine, who also served as one of its writers. Belaine was the one who decided to cast Torry in The Three Muscatels and according to him, there was a point in their relationship when Pryor suspected that Torry had something going on with his wife. One night when Torry arrived at Pryor’s house for a visit, he found his idol standing out on the balcony in his underwear. “Tell that motherf–ker I’m gonna shoot his a–,” Pryor yelled to Belaine.

Torry laughed it off while recounting the story during a recent interview with The Art of Dialogue. There, he suggested that Pryor was high when he made the threat. “Dude, I don’t want your wife, trust me. I just want your knowledge,” the comedian joked. Torry went on to say, “The most [that] I got out of the relationship with him was, like, man, you can gain the whole world and lose it all. You know, by abusing your gift.” The rift between Torry and Pryor was short-lived, and the two remained on friendly terms until Pryor’s death in 2005.

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