Today on another episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to professor Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, daughter of the great comedian, writer, director Richard Pryor. Elizabeth was terrific to talk to as recently we had the great pleasure to see a book reading & conversation with her at Book Soup in Los Angeles for her new book, Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word and Me. Part memoir as well as a historical look at one very difficult word, the book meshes together how that notorious word connects to her personally and American landscape as well. Recently covered in NPR, the New York Times and Forbes, the book is getting much attention for its deeply personal autobiographical look from Elizabeth’s first hand recollections of one of the greatest comedians this country has ever produced, her own story of connecting with her father as well as deep dive into America’s deeply troubled use and context of THAT notorious word.
Now if you remember, we actually spoke to Elizabeth’s sister Rain Pryor in a previous episode and one of the things we love on this podcast is speaking to more than one sibling of celebrities because it’s a fascinating look at how two people intimately remember the same person. Elizabeth spoke to us about everything from her time growing up in Massachusetts with her Jewish mother and family and moving to Los Angeles to be closer to her father when her mother sensed she needed her father. Moreover we get a look at what it was like in the Pryor household, the cars he drove (you will never guess which was his favorite) as well as the foods he loved.
We also dig into the Elizabeth’s life as a professor at Smith College and how an incident with a student in her classroom, quoting a line from the film Blazing Saddles that included that notorious word in her book title begat her journey in trying to understand how that incident led to the writing of this book. While likely a line her father wrote for the movie, the question in her classroom, none the less set up a sort of crisis for Elizabeth that we discuss in the upcoming episode. Our conversation jumps around from light to intense as we discuss race, family trauma and the understanding that Richard Pryor was more than a comedian. He was a seeker, a thinker, a regular person thought it all and also a father who was there when it counted. Take a listen to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.
