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Richard Pryor book covers comedian’s time in Berkeley

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Scott Saul wrote much of "Becoming Richard Pryor" at The Beanery on College Avenue. Here is Saul with his son, Max, at the cafe. Photo: Frances Dinkelspel

Scott Saul, seen here with his son Max, wrote much of “Becoming Richard Pryor” at The Beanery on College Avenue. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel

Scott Saul moved to Berkeley about 12 years ago, and, right before his son Max was born in 2007, he developed a new obsession: Richard Pryor.

The talented but self-destructive comedian had lived in Berkeley decades earlier, a sojourn he credited with politicizing his stand-up routines. Pryor frequently said he re-invented himself in Berkeley, but no experts knew exactly when he lived here. (Pryor died in 2005.)

So Saul, a professor of English at UC Berkeley, whose PhD was in American Studies from Yale, decided to solve the mystery. But he didn’t just pick up a phone and make calls. Instead, he headed to the archives.

Pryor had been given a radio show on KPFA. He only recorded two shows before departing again for Los Angeles, but by looking at the Pacifica Network records in North Hollywood, Saul was able to pinpoint Pryor’s time in Berkeley: February through September 1971. It was information that no other writer had nailed down before.(...)

Read the rest of Richard Pryor book covers comedian’s time in Berkeley (2,185 words)


By Frances Dinkelspiel. | Permalink | One comment |
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