Deztin J. Pryor, known professionally as D.J. Pryor, is an American actor and stand-up comedian and actor. In January 2019, Pryor participated in the CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase. He has acted in short films.

Early life

Deztin Pryor is originally from

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights) with Din ...

, slitting some time in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and later moved to

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States. It is the fifth-largest city in the state behind Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States ce ...

due to his father's military service. He is the oldest of 12 children. Pryor was born when his mother was 13 years old. As a child, his grandmother would let him watch

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

and he would secretly watch

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

. He began doing stand-up comedy professionally at the age of 15 years.

Career

Pryor performs in a variety of venues from

comedy club A comedy club is a venue—typically a nightclub, bar, hotel, casino, or restaurant—where people watch or listen to performances, including stand-up comedians, improvisational comedians, impersonators, impressionists, magicians, ventriloquists, ...

s to churches and colleges. He has performed at the Virginia House of Comedy. Pryor was once the opening act for

Corey Clark Corey Delaney Clark (born July 13, 1980) is an American singer. He is known for his highly publicized disqualification from the second season of ''American Idol'' and later allegations of a sexual relationship with then-''Idol'' judge Paula Abd ...

. In 2012, Pryor's promoter and manager was Kasey Carlton. Pryor has trained under Kim Hardin and participated in improvisation classes with Chris Berube. He has performed in commercials for

Allstate The Allstate Corporation is an American insurance company, headquartered in Northfield Township, Illinois, near Northbrook since 1967. Founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., it was spun off in 1993 but still partially owned by S ...

and

Jack Daniel's Jack Daniel's is a brand of Tennessee whiskey. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee, by the Jack Daniel Distillery, which has been owned by the Brown–Forman Corporation since 1956. Packaged in square bottles, Jack Daniel's "Black Label" T ...

. He hosted a radio show, ''The DJ Pryor Show'' in early 2014, that will soon become a watchable series. , he was represented by Dan Talent Group. As of February 2019, he is represented by APA Talent Agency and still based out of Clarksville, TN. In January 2019, Pryor participated in the CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase. He was one of 21 actors and comedians selected out of over 3,000 auditions. Pryor has acted in several short films. In June 2019, Pryor and his son, Kingston, were featured in a

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries. Description Originally opened as a Diner, coffee shop un ...

commercial for

Father's Day Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the United ...

. The ''Wired'' recognized Pryor as a "dadfluencer." At the close of 2019, DJ Pryor was a guest on Dateline NBC's: A Toast to 2019! and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2020 to commemorate the highlights of 2019. As of September 2021, DJ Pryor performed in commercials for the Tennessee Titans. Pryor has also been featured as a guest on "Titans Blitz" showing Wednesdays on Nashville's MyTV 30 and Nashville's Fox 17. Pryor's segment "All Titan'd Up" on "Titans Blitz" will be featured falling on the week of Titans' home games.

Artistry

Pryor cites

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

Martin Lawrence Martin Fitzgerald LawrenceStated in interview on ''Inside the Actors Studio'' (born April 16, 1965) is an American comedian and actor. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor. He got his start playin ...

Chris Tucker Christopher Tucker (born August 31, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. Tucker made his debut in 1992 as a stand-up performer on the HBO comedy series ''Def Comedy Jam'', where he frequently appeared on the show during the 1990s. He app ...

and

Flip Wilson Clerow "Flip" Wilson Jr. (December 8, 1933 – November 25, 1998) was an American comedian and actor best known for his television appearances during the late 1960s and 1970s. From 1970 to 1974, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series ''The F ...

as early influences on his style. Pryor's stand-up routines are based on his real life.

Personal life

Pryor resides in

. He is married to Shanieke Pryor since 2015. Pryor has three children. His eldest son, Jabari, was born in 2011 to Latosha Roberson. Two kids together with his wife Shanieke Pryor. In 2017, his second son Kingston Pryor was born. December 7, 2020 Pryor released a video announcing the birth of his daughter Zaria Pryor. In 2019, a home video of him and his 19-month old son babbling went viral. Author Jenny Anderson and Al Race of the Center on the Developing Child at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

remark that Pryor's interaction with his son demonstrates a social-

feedback loop Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled c ...

called serve-and-return which contributes to

child development Child development involves the Human development (biology), biological, developmental psychology, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence. Childhood is divided into 3 stages o ...

. Pryor is Christian.

Television

*Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2020'''' *A Toast to 2019!

Filmography

Film

* ''Country Strong'' * ''The Konichiwa Kid '' * ''Message Read ''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pryor, DJ Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Tennessee Comedians from Tennessee People from Petersburg, Virginia People from Clarksville, Tennessee Male actors from Virginia Comedians from Virginia African-American male actors American male comedians African-American male comedians American stand-up comedians African-American stand-up comedians 21st-century African-American people