A digital companion to the biography Becoming Richard Pryor
In this photo are Richard’s grandmother Marie (left) and her son Dickie (right), Richard’s uncle, sitting at the bar of a Peoria diner or tavern sometime around 1950.
Immaculately dressed in a fine hat and pearls, Marie wears a look that might be interpreted in any number of ways—as an expression of toughness, fatigue, seriousness, or something else entirely.
Photograph reproduced courtesy of Barbara McGee.
At age 14 Marie Carter married Roy Pryor and became Marie Pryor
When Marie attended a “grand ball” by herself, her husband beat her for it
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
In a possible family feud, Marie's brother swore out a warrant against her husband
At 17, Marie was already settling matters with her fists
After almost eight years of marriage, Marie Pryor divorced her husband Roy
Roy Pryor gave “back talk” to a policeman who tried to pacify him
Roy Pryor was arrested and fined for using “bad language”
A judge weighed in on a fight between Roy Pryor and a bill collector
Roy Pryor paid a steep fine for running a gaming table from his home
A divorced Roy Pryor was caught on the opposite side of a crime for once — duped by a mugger
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
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
When a black boy was slapped at a candy store, Richard's grandmother struck back
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
The block, in the red-light district, where Pryor was raised
Richard's grandmother and Uncle Dickie at a bar.
Marie won over the hearts — and stomachs — of Richard's LA circle
Jet's coverage of a central event in Richard Pryor's life — the loss of his “Mama”