Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Remembrance of Videos Past #13: Pryor's Place Theme

"Despite a reputation for working blue, Richard Pryor briefly hosted a children's show on CBS called Pryor's Place. Like Sesame Street, Pryor's Place featured a cast of puppets, hanging out and having fun in a surprisingly friendly inner city environment along with several children and characters portrayed by Pryor himself. However, Pryor's Place frequently dealt with more sobering issues than the series it so closely resembled. This could be why the show was cancelled shortly after its debut."

One episode of "Pryor's Place" haunted me for life. It was an episode about child abuse. Pryor and his puppet pals warned kids of the dangers of an adult's touch. They were already on thin ice discussing such a grave topic on a Saturday morning puppet show, which could be why they didn't explain what they meant by an "adult's touch." Or maybe they did delve into it deeper and I was too horrified to notice. Regardless, when adults touched me I screamed. To this day I flinch when my mom puts her hand on my shoulder.

Need evidence that Sid and Marty Krofft were tripping the light fantastic? Not only were they involved in this but the only puppets you see in the intro are two tweaked out rats.

But the theme song was Ray Parker Jr.'s last great hit. Oh Richard, when it came to comedy, you were untouchable.




(courtesy ov vhslives2678)

BONUS: You thought that was scary? Try the original Richard Pryor show.


(courtesy of bladerunner78)

1 comment:

Mo Diggs said...

Well I disagree with your tastes but Pryor's Place brings us together.

Where did you hear of my blog?