"Jokes My Father Never Taught Me" by Rain Pryor

Book Review

As a child, I disliked reading my oldest sister's books. She would black out any cuss words, such as hell or darn and I would be left wondering exactly what a sentence said. She seemed to do this even if the offending word was used to describe a donkey or mending clothes. She would have a field day with her black marker if she read: "Jokes My Father Never Taught Me: Life, Love, and Loss with Richard Pryor". If you are like my sister and do not approve of colorful language, this book is not for you. For everyone else and those that do not approve of censorship, it is an honest look at Richard Pryor as seen through the eyes of his daughter, Rain Pryor.

In September, 1967, Richard Pryor walked on stage to a sold-out crowd in the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas and froze. He spoke his thoughts into the microphone and walked off stage. The gist of those 5 words are explained by Rain: "Onstage, he was a black man, a funny black man, but deep down he was a Nigger with a capital N. An Angry Nigger". If I were like my sister, I would black that word out of the book. I loathe to use that quote, but that word it is part of Pryor's story and Rain's as well. Walking offstage that day, might have spelled death to other up and coming comedians, but it was the catalyst for Pryor's later success. Call it truth in humor.

Rain Pryor has inherited her father's talent for telling the truth and making you laugh at the same time. "Jokes My Father Never Taught Me" continues with her dad meeting her mother in a Los Angeles bar. She was dancing and he was writing. When he told her he was writing comedy, she mentioned seeing him on the Ed Sullivan show and said she admired him for walking off the stage in Las Vegas. Richard and Shelley, a blue-eyed, blonde Jewish woman were soon married giving birth to Rain in 1969. Their marriage was as turbulent as the times; Richard was soon gone and Rain did not meet her now famous dad until she was 4 years old.