A seventeen year-old Marie Pryor was arrested, at night in downtown Decatur, for fighting with another “colored woman.” Both were fined $5.50.
Peoria
A digital companion to the biography Becoming Richard Pryor
Police Notes: Marie Pryor Arrested for Fighting
Date: 09/21/1919
Citation:
“Police Notes.” Decatur Review, August 21, 1919, p. 8
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1. The Ballad of Marie and Roy Pryor (1914–1922)
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Married: Pryor-Carter
–8/07/1914–At age 14 Marie Carter married Roy Pryor and became Marie Pryor
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Claimed Wife Attended Ball
–12/06/1915–When Marie attended a “grand ball” by herself, her husband beat her for it
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Got Affectionate with the Baby
–11/19/1916–Marie preferred to have her husband Roy in jail rather than near her baby
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Roy Pryor/Marie Pryor Assault Arrest
–04/03/1917–Another assault charge filed by Marie Pryor against her husband Roy
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Roy Pryor Arrested for Carrying Gun
–05/27/1917–In a possible family feud, Marie's brother swore out a warrant against her husband
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Police Notes: Marie Pryor Arrested for Fighting
–09/21/1919–At 17, Marie was already settling matters with her fists
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Marie Pryor Asks for Divorce
–4/20/1922–After almost eight years of marriage, Marie Pryor divorced her husband Roy
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2. Roy Pryor and His Trail of Trouble (1910–1928)
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Chauffeur Talked Back to Policeman
–04/01/1910–Roy Pryor gave “back talk” to a policeman who tried to pacify him
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Roy Pryor’s Obscenity Fine
–06/22/1916–Roy Pryor was arrested and fined for using “bad language”
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Cases in Court
–09/22/1916–A judge weighed in on a fight between Roy Pryor and a bill collector
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Seven Colored Men Arrested
–01/05/1919–Roy Pryor paid a steep fine for running a gaming table from his home
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Held Up
–12/07/1924–A divorced Roy Pryor was caught on the opposite side of a crime for once — duped by a mugger
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Dismiss Economos Case
–11/20/1925–After an argument with his boss, Roy Pryor found himself at gunpoint
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One Prisoner of Fourteen Pleads Guilty
–06/06/1928–Six years after his divorce from Marie, Roy Pryor faced a grand larceny charge
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3. A Considerable Woman (1923–1929)
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Police Notes: Thomas Bryant’s Liquor Charge
–02/16/1927–Thomas Bryant, Marie's soon-to-be second husband, was convicted of bootlegging
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Three Taken in Raid
–10/11/1929–Marie appears to have bootlegged out of her home — and was arrested for it
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Three Are Arrested in Raid Sunday Night
–10/14/1929–Possessing “intoxicating liquor” proved a costly offense for Marie Carter
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Boy Slapped, Woman Routs Proprietor
–10/20/1929–When a black boy was slapped at a candy store, Richard's grandmother struck back
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Tit for Tat
–11/04/1929–Charged with assault, Marie fought back by filing assault charges against her accusers
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Three Arrested on Assault Charges
–11/05/1929–Under arrest, the candy store proprietor pled not guilty to Marie's assault charge.
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Woman Fined $50 on Assault Charge
–11/13/1929–The ultimate price Marie paid for her act of candy store justice
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4. Richard's "Mama" (1940–1979)
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North Washington Street
–1938–The block, in the red-light district, where Pryor was raised
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Marie Carter Bryant and Richard “Dickie” Carter
–n.d. (mid-1940s-1950s)–Richard's grandmother and Uncle Dickie at a bar.
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Green Eaters Clamor For Grandma Bryant
–07/20/1978–Marie won over the hearts — and stomachs — of Richard's LA circle
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Pryor Joins Family For Grandmother’s Funeral
–01/04/1979–Jet's coverage of a central event in Richard Pryor's life — the loss of his “Mama”
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