Wikipedia
Pryor's Place
Pryor's Place is an American children's television series that aired for one season in 1984 on CBS. The live-action series starred comedian Richard Pryor as himself.[1]
| Pryor's Place | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television series Comedy |
| Created by | Sid and Marty Krofft Lorne Frohman |
| Starring | Richard Pryor |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Distributor | Sony Pictures Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 15 – December 8, 1984 |
Overview
Despite a reputation for profanity from Richard Pryor, Pryor's Place was aimed at children. Like Sesame Street, Pryor's Place featured a cast of puppets hanging out and having fun in a friendly inner-city environment, along with several children and characters portrayed by Pryor himself.
The theme song was performed by Ray Parker Jr.[2] of Ghostbusters fame, who also appeared in the show's opening credits. The show was also fitted with a laugh track. An uncredited Rick Dees announced the commercial-bumpers for each show (although Dees announced the commercial-bumpers for CBS Saturday morning overall, Pryor's Place had its own bumpers).
Pryor's Place was broadcast on Saturdays on CBS (at 11:30 AM Eastern/10:30 AM Central) from September 15 to December 8, 1984, with repeats airing until June 15, 1985.[3] Four VHS videotapes were released between September 1997 and June 1998 by Rhino Entertainment, each containing one episode of the series.[4][5][6][7]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "High Noon at 5:30 P.M." | September 15, 1984 | |
| Main character Richie (ostensibly Pryor as a child) is challenged to an afterschool showdown by Meatrack, the neighborhood bully. | |||
| 2 | "To Catch a Little Thief" | September 22, 1984 | |
| In the series pilot, Richie shoplifts a basketball to join a street gang...but the gang instead leaves him at the mercy of an angry pawnshop-owner and the police. | |||
| 3 | "Love Means Never…" | September 29, 1984 | |
| Richie’s painful first grade first romance. | |||
| 4 | "Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb" | October 6, 1984 | |
| Richie and three ambitious peers ditch school to meet with Joe, a shady talent agent who also happens to own the local video arcade...and who teaches these four young dropouts the value of education, by magically transporting them to a distant planet whose very atmosphere saps points from its denizens' IQs. | |||
| 5 | "Close Encounters of…" | October 13, 1984 | |
| Richie tries to get a fuzzy alien home. | |||
| 6 | "Sax Education" | October 20, 1984 | |
| After misplacing a saxophone which a friend left in his care, Richie must raise $300 to buy a replacement. So he and Wally hold a garage sale, which soon turns into a counterfeit-autograph operation. However, when Wally proves to be hardly the world's greatest name-speller (as that baseball signed by "Ron Sey" will verify), the boys' scheme collapses around their ears faster than Richie can say "Lee Israel". | |||
| 7 | "Readers of the Lost Art" | October 27, 1984 | |
| Richie and Wally think reading is uncool. | |||
| 8 | "Divorce Children’s Style" | November 3, 1984 | |
| Divorce sometimes happens, but what does it do to the kids involved? | |||
| 9 | "The Kimosabe Blues" | November 10, 1984 | |
| A feud between Richie and Wally threatens not only their friendship but also their grade on a joint school project. | |||
| 10 | "The Showoff" | November 17, 1984 | |
| Richie is terrified to perform in front of his first audience. | |||
| 11 | "Cousin Rita" | November 24, 1984 | |
| Wally gets a crush on Richie's teenage cousin. | |||
| 12 | "Home Free" | December 1, 1984 | |
| Amanda reveals a traumatic incident from her past to Richie. | |||
| 13 | "Too Old Too Soon, Too Smart Too Late" | December 8, 1984 | |
| Richie's mother insists that he spend a whole day with his Uncle Mose...although, being Richie, he would much rather attend a local public appearance by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. | |||
Cast
- Richard Pryor as Himself
- Akili Prince as Little Richie
- Cliffy Magee as Wallace "Wally" Walker
- Michael Sheehan as Puppeteer
Guest Stars
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as himself (episode: "Too Old Too Soon, Too Smart Too Late")
- Ron Cey as himself (episode: "Sax Education")
- Scatman Crothers as Uncle Mose (episode: "Too Old Too Soon, Too Smart Too Late")
- Sammy Davis Jr. as Smooth Sam (episode: "To Catch a Little Thief")
- Kim Fields as Rita (episode: "Cousin Rita")
- Shirley Hemphill as the Shopkeeper (episode: "Sax Education")
- Pat McCormick as King Empty-Head (episode: "Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb")
- Jeremy Miller (episode: "Sax Education")
- Pat Morita as Joe (episode: "Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb")
- John Ritter (episode: "The Showoff")
- Rip Taylor (episode: "Sax Education")
- Lily Tomlin (episode: "Cousin Rita")
- Robin Williams as Gabby (episode: "Sax Education")
- Henry Winkler as himself (episode: "Home Free")
Recurring Cast
- Marla Gibbs as Ms. Stern (episodes: "Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb," "Kimosabe Blues," "Sax Education")
- Danny Ponce as Charlie (episode: Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb)
- Danny Nucci as Freddy (episode: Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb)
- Angela Lee as Sheri (episode: Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb)
- Patty Maloney as Dummy #1 (episode: Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb)
- Jimmy Briscoe as Dummy #3 (episode: Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb)
- Tony Cox as Allen/Dummy #2 (episode: Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb)
- Spring Mooney as Denise (episode: Cousin Rita)
- Lily Mariye as Lily (episode: Cousin Rita)
- Regina Hooks as Regina (episode: Cousin Rita)
- E. Hampton Beagle as Anything Shop Owner (episode: To Catch a Little Thief)
- Milt Kogan as Solly (episode: To Catch a Little Thief and episode: High Noon at 5:30 p.m.)
- Stephen Rumph as Jake (episode: To Catch a Little Thief)
- Chez Lister as J.D. (episode: To Catch a Little Thief)
- Carol Lipin as Woman in Prison (episode: To Catch a Little Thief)
- Keland Love as Meatrack (episode: High Noon at 5:30 p.m.)
- Elliot Sarkin as Ronny Chung (episode: High Noon at 5:30 p.m.)
- Scooter Stevens as Kid #1 (episode: High Noon at 5:30 p.m.)/Sid (episode: Kimosabe Blues)
- Leanne Richelle as Patty (episode: Kimosabe Blues)
- Sean Garrett McFrazier as Marty (episode: Kimosabe Blues)
References
- ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 352. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ Retrojunk.com - Pryor's Place (intro)
- ^ TV Party - Saturday Mornings 1984
- ^ Vol. 1 at AllMovie
- ^ Vol. 2 at AllMovie
- ^ Vol. 3 at AllMovie
- ^ Vol. 4 at AllMovie
External links
- Pryor's Place at IMDb
- Pryor's Place at Toonarific Cartoons
- Writer Mark Evanier on working on the show