''Pryor's Place'' is an American

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

that aired for one season in 1984 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. The live-action series starred comedian

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 ...

as himself.

Overview

Despite a reputation for profanity from Richard Pryor, ''Pryor's Place'' was aimed at children. Like ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

'', ''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. Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song to the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters''. Previously, Parker achieved a US top-10 h ...

of ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, thr ...

'' fame, who also appeared in the show's opening credits. The show was also fitted with a

laugh track A laugh track (or laughter track) is a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...

. An uncredited

Rick Dees Rigdon Osmond Dees III (born March 14, 1950), best known as Rick Dees, is an American entertainer, radio personality, comedian, actor, and voice artist, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show '' The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Coun ...

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. Four VHS videotapes were released between September 1997 and June 1998 by

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was originall ...

, each containing one episode of the series.

Episodes

Cast

as Himself *Akili Prince as Little Richie *Cliffy Magee as Wallace "Wally" Walker *Michael Sheehan as Puppeteer

Guest Stars

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

as himself (episode: "Too Old Too Soon, Too Smart Too Late") *

Ron Cey Ronald Charles Cey (; born February 15, 1948), nicknamed "Penguin", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from through , most notably as an integral member of the Los Angeles Do ...

as himself (episode: "Sax Education") *

Scatman Crothers Benjamin Sherman Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986), known professionally as Scatman Crothers, was an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show '' Chico and the Man'', and Dick Hal ...

as Uncle Mose (episode: "Too Old Too Soon, Too Smart Too Late") *

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

as Smooth Sam (episode: "To Catch a Little Thief") *

Kim Fields Kim Victoria Fields-Morgan ( Fields, formerly Freeman; born May 12, 1969) is an American actress and director. Fields is best known for her roles as Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey on the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' (1979–1988), and as Regine H ...

as Rita (episode: "Cousin Rita") *

Shirley Hemphill Shirley Ann Hemphill (July 1, 1947 – December 10, 1999) was an American stand-up comedian and actress. A native of Asheville, North Carolina, Hemphill moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s to pursue a career as a stand-up comedian. After work ...

as the Shopkeeper (episode: "Sax Education") * Pat McCormick as King Empty-Head (episode: "Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb") *

Jeremy Miller Jeremy James Miller (born October 21, 1976) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Ben Seaver on ''Growing Pains'' and its two reunion movies. He also voiced Linus van Pelt in ''Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!''. Career Miller ...

(episode: "Sax Education") *

Pat Morita Noriyuki "Pat" Morita (June 28, 1932 – November 24, 2005) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his roles as Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on '' Happy Days'', Mr. Miyagi in ''The Karate Kid'' film series, Captain Sam Pak on the sitc ...

as Joe (episode: "Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb") *

John Ritter Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor. Ritter was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is known for playing Jack Tripper on the ...

(episode: "The Showoff") *

Rip Taylor Charles Elmer "Rip" Taylor Jr. (January 13, 1931 – October 6, 2019) was an American actor and comedian, known for his exuberance and flamboyant personality, including his wild moustache, toupee, and his habit of showering himself (and others ...

(episode: "Sax Education") *

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the vari ...

(episode: "Cousin Rita") *

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

as Gabby (episode: "Sax Education") * Henry Winkler as himself (episode: "Home Free")

Recurring Cast

Marla Gibbs Marla Gibbs (born Margaret Theresa Bradley; June 14, 1931) is an American actress, singer, comedian, writer and television producer, whose career spans six decades. Gibbs is known for her role as George Jefferson's maid, Florence Johnston, in th ...

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 Daniel Nucci (born September 15, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in blockbuster films, including his roles as Danny Rivetti in ''Crimson Tide'' (1995), Lieutenant Shepard in ''The Rock'' (1996), Deputy Monr ...

as Freddy (episode: Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb) *Angela Lee as Sheri (episode: Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb) *

Patty Maloney Patricia Anne Maloney (born March 17, 1936) is an American actress. Early life She was born in Perkinsville, New York. She stands and weighs . Career Maloney is best known as Honk from '' Far Out Space Nuts'', as Lumpy from the ''Star War ...

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 Lily Mariye (born September 25, 1964) is an American television director, filmmaker and actress. Early life Mariye was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and graduated from UCLA with a BA in theater arts. Career From 1994 to 2009 she had a regular role ...

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 Milt Kogan (born April 10, 1936) is an American actor. He made well over 100 guest appearances on American network television shows. He is perhaps best known for playing Desk Sergeant Kogan on six episodes of the sitcom television series ''Barne ...

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

External links

*
Pryor's Place at Toonarific Cartoons

Writer Mark Evanier on working on the show
{{Children's programming on CBS in the 1980s Richard Pryor 1984 American television series debuts 1984 American television series endings 1980s American children's comedy television series American children's education television series American television shows featuring puppetry CBS original programming English-language television shows Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by Sid and Marty Krofft Television Productions