A digital companion to the biography Becoming Richard Pryor
Thomas Bryant, Marie Pryor‘s second husband, was known as “Pops” amongst Richard’s family. Though he had previous experience as a bootlegger, he was often the member of the family running the semi-legitimate sides of the family businesses — Bris Collins’s tavern or his own pool hall. For some years he was also Richard’s roommate, sharing a space in a brothel.
Photograph, 1944. Reproduced by courtesy of Barbara McGee.
The block, in the red-light district, where Pryor was raised
Thomas “Pops” Bryant was Marie's second husband
The Pryor family diversified its operations, becoming proud owners of a tavern in the mid-40s
Ann Pryor and a friend in 1950s Peoria
Richard's father and stepmother, on the town with some sharp-dressed friends
Richard's stepmother Ann, in a happy time and a sophisticated place
Richard's grandmother and Uncle Dickie at a bar.
Richard's father and stepmother relaxing on Aiken Alley
When Marie attended a “grand ball” by herself, her husband beat her for it
A judge weighed in on a fight between Roy Pryor and a bill collector
Marie preferred to have her husband Roy in jail rather than near her baby
Another assault charge filed by Marie Pryor against her husband Roy
Roy Pryor paid a steep fine for running a gaming table from his home
After an argument with his boss, Roy Pryor found himself at gunpoint
Six years after his divorce from Marie, Roy Pryor faced a grand larceny charge
Charged with assault, Marie fought back by filing assault charges against her accusers
Under arrest, the candy store proprietor pled not guilty to Marie's assault charge.
The ultimate price Marie paid for her act of candy store justice
Thomas Bryant, Marie's soon-to-be second husband, was convicted of bootlegging
Marie appears to have bootlegged out of her home — and was arrested for it
Possessing “intoxicating liquor” proved a costly offense for Marie Carter
Thomas “Pops” Bryant was Marie's second husband
The Pryor family diversified its operations, becoming proud owners of a tavern in the mid-40s
An unidentified group — perhaps from the extended Pryor family — standing outside The Famous Door
An interior shot of the Pryor family's tavern
At age 15, Marie's son LeRoy — later Richard's father — was arrested for disorderly conduct
LeRoy Pryor was discharged without honor from the US Army at the height of mobilization for WWII
A black sergeant, flush with cash, was robbed on N. Washington Street — and Richard's father seems to have been the culprit
A Peoria grand jury indicted LeRoy Pryor for robbing a black soldier
Peoria had a divorce rate nearly twice the US average; a sociologist surveyed Peoria from all angles to discover why
Three years after he was born, World War II spurred Richard's parents to marry
The divorce papers of Richard Pryor's parents
The marriage of Richard's parents entered its final phase — the back-and-forth motions of divorce court
Ann Pryor and a friend in 1950s Peoria
Richard's father and stepmother, on the town with some sharp-dressed friends
Richard's stepmother Ann, in a happy time and a sophisticated place
Richard's father and stepmother relaxing on Aiken Alley
Ann Pryor died of cancer on December 31, 1967
Richard's grandmother and Uncle Dickie at a bar.
A reporter dropped into Bris Collins's tavern to take black America's pulse — and met Richard's “Uncle Dickie”
Richard's Uncle Dickie was netted in Peoria's first major drug sting in years
Uncle Dickie was arrested with heroin and marijuana, and under suspicion of turning women to prostitution
Jimmy Bell, a band leader at the Famous Door, fled to St. Louis when his partner was caught in drug bust
When police raided the brothel of Richard's father and stepmother, Buck ran and Ann stayed
Ann, already sick with cancer, was sentenced to jail time for running a brothel
Richard's stepmother Ann, accused in court of being a "madam," was kicked out of a local vocational school
Buck avoided jail time by evading police during a raid
A year after her arrest, Ann's conviction was upheld by 2-1 vote in appeals court
Ann was ultimately sentenced to a year for prostitution, but did not live to serve the term
Buck arrested for 3rd time in as many years for running a brothel
In the year before his death, Buck was still getting arrested in vice squad raids
On the occasion of Richard's first film role, the Peoria Journal Star joined a conversation with his father
Richard raising the spirits of his ailing mother
A benefit for the local Afro-American Black Peoples Federation brought Richard Pryor back to the Carver Center stage
Jet's coverage of a central event in Richard Pryor's life — the loss of his “Mama”