Furious Cool
Richard Pryor and The World That Made Him
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Dion Graham
-
By:
-
David Henry
-
Joe Henry
About this listen
Audie Award, Non-Fiction, 2015
Richard Pryor was arguably the single most influential performer of the second half of the twentieth century, and certainly he was the most successful black actor/comedian ever. Controversial and somewhat enigmatic in his lifetime, Pryor's performances opened up a new world of possibilities, merging fantasy with angry reality in a way that wasn't just new - it was heretofore unthinkable.
His childhood in Peoria, Illinois, was spent just trying to survive. Yet the culture into which Richard Pryor was born - his mother was a prostitute; his grandmother ran the whorehouse - helped him evolve into one of the most innovative and outspoken performers ever, a man who attracted admiration and anger in equal parts. Both a brilliant comedian and a very astute judge of what he could get away with, Pryor was always pushing the envelope, combining anger and pathos, outrage and humor, into an art form, laying the groundwork for the generations of comedians who followed, including such outstanding performers as Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, and Louis C.K.
Now, in this groundbreaking and revelatory work, David and Joe Henry bring him to life both as a man and as an artist, providing an in-depth appreciation of his talent and his lasting influence, as well as an insightful examination of the world he lived in and the influences that shaped both his persona and his art.
©2013 David Henry and Joe Henry (P)2013 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
Pryor Convictions
- And Other Life Sentences
- By: Richard Pryor
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Richard Pryor journeys from his childhood in a family that worked in whore-houses and bars, through to his years in Hollywood - the money, the women, the drugs - and the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
-
-
Powerful and painful
- By Fritz Mason on 04-19-18
By: Richard Pryor
-
Leslie F*cking Jones
- By: Leslie Jones, Chris Rock - foreword
- Narrated by: Leslie Jones, Chris Rock
- Length: 16 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hey you guys, it’s Leslie. I’m excited to share my story with you. Now, I’m gonna be honest: Some of the details might be vague because a b*tch is fifty-five and she’s smoked a ton of weed. But while bits might be a touch hazy, I can promise you the underlying truth is REAL.
-
-
she's the f*cking BEST
- By Audible Anon on 09-20-23
By: Leslie Jones, and others
-
Dream Team
- How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Changed the Game of Basketball Forever
- By: Jack McCallum
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Dream Team, acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic men's basketball team that captivated the world, kindled the hoop dreams of countless children around the planet, and remade the NBA into a global sensation. As a senior staff writer for Sports Illustrated, McCallum enjoyed a courtside seat for the most exciting basketball spectacle on earth, covering the Dream Team from its inception to the gold medal ceremony in Barcelona.
-
-
Great insight into the great basketball team ever.
- By James O'Brien on 09-04-12
By: Jack McCallum
-
Heaven and Hell
- My Life in the Eagles
- By: Don Felder
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Eagles are the best-selling, and arguably the tightest-lipped, American group ever. Now band member and guitarist Don Felder finally breaks the Eagles’ years of public silence to take fans behind the scenes. He shares every part of the band’s wild ride, from the pressure-packed recording studios and trashed hotel rooms to the tension-filled courtrooms and from the joy of writing powerful new songs to the magic of performing in huge arenas packed with roaring fans.
-
-
The "Real" Story Behind The Eagles
- By Peter on 05-27-21
By: Don Felder
-
Black Is the New White
- By: Paul Mooney, Dave Chappelle - foreword
- Narrated by: Tony Isabella
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For more than 40 years—whether writing for Richard Pryor and Saturday Night Live or performing stand-up to sold-out crowds around the country—Paul Mooney has been provocative, incisive...and absolutely hilarious. His comedy has always been indisputably real and raw, reflecting race issues in America, and this fascinating, fearless new memoir continues that unapologetically candid tradition.
-
-
Master Piece!! I loved every moment.
- By Amazon Customer on 04-27-21
By: Paul Mooney, and others
-
Marilyn Monroe
- The Biography
- By: Donald Spoto
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 22 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifty years after her death, Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe still beguiles the world, her image enthralling millions. Many books have attempted to explain her allure and tell her story, but none has succeeded as well as this work by acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto. Spoto’s exhaustive research uncovers a conspiracy of silence, allowing him to present the facts, free from often-repeated myths and speculation. Granted access to more than thirty-five thousand pages of formerly sealed files containing letters, diaries, appointment books, and other intimate papers, he also interviewed nearly two hundred people who had never before spoken on record.
-
-
The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe
- By bookbug on 12-24-12
By: Donald Spoto
-
Pryor Convictions
- And Other Life Sentences
- By: Richard Pryor
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Richard Pryor journeys from his childhood in a family that worked in whore-houses and bars, through to his years in Hollywood - the money, the women, the drugs - and the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
-
-
Powerful and painful
- By Fritz Mason on 04-19-18
By: Richard Pryor
-
Leslie F*cking Jones
- By: Leslie Jones, Chris Rock - foreword
- Narrated by: Leslie Jones, Chris Rock
- Length: 16 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hey you guys, it’s Leslie. I’m excited to share my story with you. Now, I’m gonna be honest: Some of the details might be vague because a b*tch is fifty-five and she’s smoked a ton of weed. But while bits might be a touch hazy, I can promise you the underlying truth is REAL.
-
-
she's the f*cking BEST
- By Audible Anon on 09-20-23
By: Leslie Jones, and others
-
Dream Team
- How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Changed the Game of Basketball Forever
- By: Jack McCallum
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Dream Team, acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic men's basketball team that captivated the world, kindled the hoop dreams of countless children around the planet, and remade the NBA into a global sensation. As a senior staff writer for Sports Illustrated, McCallum enjoyed a courtside seat for the most exciting basketball spectacle on earth, covering the Dream Team from its inception to the gold medal ceremony in Barcelona.
-
-
Great insight into the great basketball team ever.
- By James O'Brien on 09-04-12
By: Jack McCallum
-
Heaven and Hell
- My Life in the Eagles
- By: Don Felder
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Eagles are the best-selling, and arguably the tightest-lipped, American group ever. Now band member and guitarist Don Felder finally breaks the Eagles’ years of public silence to take fans behind the scenes. He shares every part of the band’s wild ride, from the pressure-packed recording studios and trashed hotel rooms to the tension-filled courtrooms and from the joy of writing powerful new songs to the magic of performing in huge arenas packed with roaring fans.
-
-
The "Real" Story Behind The Eagles
- By Peter on 05-27-21
By: Don Felder
-
Black Is the New White
- By: Paul Mooney, Dave Chappelle - foreword
- Narrated by: Tony Isabella
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For more than 40 years—whether writing for Richard Pryor and Saturday Night Live or performing stand-up to sold-out crowds around the country—Paul Mooney has been provocative, incisive...and absolutely hilarious. His comedy has always been indisputably real and raw, reflecting race issues in America, and this fascinating, fearless new memoir continues that unapologetically candid tradition.
-
-
Master Piece!! I loved every moment.
- By Amazon Customer on 04-27-21
By: Paul Mooney, and others
-
Marilyn Monroe
- The Biography
- By: Donald Spoto
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 22 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifty years after her death, Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe still beguiles the world, her image enthralling millions. Many books have attempted to explain her allure and tell her story, but none has succeeded as well as this work by acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto. Spoto’s exhaustive research uncovers a conspiracy of silence, allowing him to present the facts, free from often-repeated myths and speculation. Granted access to more than thirty-five thousand pages of formerly sealed files containing letters, diaries, appointment books, and other intimate papers, he also interviewed nearly two hundred people who had never before spoken on record.
-
-
The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe
- By bookbug on 12-24-12
By: Donald Spoto
-
Sound Man
- A Life Recording Hits With the Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, the Eagles, Eric Clapton, the Faces…
- By: Glyn Johns
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born just outside London in 1942, Glyn Johns was 16 years old at the dawn of rock and roll. His big break as a producer came on the Steve Miller Band's debut album, Children of the Future. He went on to engineer or produce iconic albums for the best in the business, including Abbey Road with the Beatles. Even more impressive, Johns was perhaps the only person on a given day in the studio who was entirely sober, and so he is one of the most reliable and clear-eyed insiders to tell these stories today.
-
-
No tell all ... not at all
- By MeDC on 07-04-15
By: Glyn Johns
-
12 Notes
- On Life and Creativity
- By: Quincy Jones
- Narrated by: JD Jackson, Quincy Jones
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wisdom and musings on creativity and life from one of the world’s most beloved musicians, producers, and mentors, Quincy Jones. 12 Notes is a self-development guide that will affirm that creativity is a calling that can and should be answered, no matter your age or experience.
-
-
I lived these notes with Quincy
- By Thomas Bähler on 04-29-22
By: Quincy Jones
-
Homey Don't Play That!
- The Story of In Living Color and the Black Comedy Revolution
- By: David Peisner
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few television shows revolutionized comedy as profoundly or have had such an enormous and continued impact on our culture as In Living Color. Inspired by Richard Pryor, Carol Burnett, and Eddie Murphy, Keenen Ivory Wayans created a television series unlike any that had come before it. In Living Color shaped American culture in ways both seen and unseen. Now, Homey Don't Play That! reveals the complete, captivating story of how In Living Color overcame enormous odds to become a major, zeitgeist-seizing hit.
-
-
Wow, that sucked......
- By Just W on 10-11-18
By: David Peisner
-
The Wright Brothers
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: David McCullough
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize David McCullough tells the dramatic story behind the story about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly: Wilbur and Orville Wright.
On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville Wright's Wright Flyer became the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled, sustained flight with a pilot aboard. The Age of Flight had begun. How did they do it? And why?
-
-
Disappointing
- By Sara on 07-10-16
By: David McCullough
-
Is This Anything?
- By: Jerry Seinfeld
- Narrated by: Jerry Seinfeld
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since his first performance at the legendary New York nightclub “Catch a Rising Star” as a 21-year-old college student in fall of 1975, Jerry Seinfeld has written his own material and saved everything. “Whenever I came up with a funny bit, whether it happened on a stage, in a conversation, or working it out on my preferred canvas, the big yellow legal pad, I kept it in one of those old school accordion folders,” Seinfeld writes. “So I have everything I thought was worth saving from 45 years of hacking away at this for all I was worth.”
-
-
Joke, joke, joke. Boring, boring, boring.
- By ECMILLER on 10-11-20
By: Jerry Seinfeld
-
You Are Not So Smart
- Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself
- By: David McRaney
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An entertaining illumination of the stupid beliefs that make us feel wise. You believe you are a rational, logical being who sees the world as it really is, but journalist David McRaney is here to tell you that you're as deluded as the rest of us. But that's OK - delusions keep us sane. You Are Not So Smart is a celebration of self-delusion. It's like a psychology class, with all the boring parts taken out, and with no homework. Based on the popular blog of the same name, You Are Not So Smart collects more than 46 of the lies we tell ourselves everyday.
-
-
Covers a lot of old territory
- By Sarah Dumoulin on 07-19-12
By: David McRaney
-
Whatever You Do, Don't Run
- True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide
- By: Peter Allison
- Narrated by: Antony Ferguson
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whatever You Do, Don't Run is a hilarious collection of true tales from top safari guide Peter Allison. In a place where the wrong behavior could get you eaten, Allison has survived face-to-face encounters with big cats, angry elephants, and the world's most unpredictable animals: herds of untamed tourists and foolhardy guides whose outrageous antics sometimes make them even more dangerous than a pride of hungry lions!
-
-
Drivers May Laugh Too Hard to Drive!
- By D. in Dallas on 09-21-12
By: Peter Allison
-
Unsuccessful Thug
- One Comedian's Journey from Naptown to Tinseltown
- By: Mike Epps
- Narrated by: J.D. Jackson
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mike Epps is one of America’s favorite and funniest people, but the path to fame was paved with opportunities to mess it up. And mess it up he did. Growing up in “Naptown” - what people who live there really call rough-around-the-edges Indianapolis - Epps was drawn to a life of crime, but as he quickly discovered, stealing and dealing didn’t really fit his sweet sensibilities. Not to mention he wasn’t very good at it - take, for example, the day he had to call the cops on himself when a dog wouldn’t let him leave a house he was burgling.
-
-
The performer is not good
- By Sgamble on 04-11-18
By: Mike Epps
-
Shining Star
- Braving the Elements of Earth, Wind & Fire
- By: Philip Bailey, Keith Zimmerman, Kent Zimmerman
- Narrated by: Philip Bailey
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With more than 90 million records sold and eight Grammy Awards throughout its 40-year history, Earth, Wind & Fire has staked its claim as one of the most successful, influential, and beloved acts in music history. Now, for the first time, its dynamic lead singer, Philip Bailey, chronicles the group's meteoric rise to stardom and his own professional and spiritual journey. Never before had a musical act crossed multiple styles and genres with a quixotic blend of astrology, universalism, and Egyptology as Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF) did when it exploded into the public's conscience during the 1970s.
-
-
Great book, but needed pro narrator
- By Wayne on 03-23-16
By: Philip Bailey, and others
-
Face the Music
- A Life Exposed
- By: Paul Stanley
- Narrated by: Paul Stanley
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Face the Music, Paul Stanley - the co-founder and famous "Starchild" frontman of KISS - reveals for the first time the incredible highs and equally incredible lows in his life both inside and outside the band. Face the Music is the shocking, funny, smart, inspirational story of one of rock’s most enduring icons and the group he helped create, define, and immortalize. Stanley mixes compelling personal revelations and gripping, gritty war stories that will surprise even the most steadfast member of the KISS Army.
-
-
Part 6 Could Stand Strongly on Its Own Content
- By J. York on 04-27-14
By: Paul Stanley
-
Put on Your Crown
- Life-Changing Moments on the Path to Queendom
- By: Queen Latifah
- Narrated by: Queen Latifah
- Length: 4 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A US Dept. of Justice survey found that females ages 16-24 are more vulnerable to partner violence than any other group, almost triple the national average. Cases like Chris Brown's assault on pop star Rihanna showed an ugly side of adolescent life. However, Queen Latifah has always been a shining example of a woman happy with herself and unwilling to compromise to fit into the "hollywood ideal" of what a confident beautiful woman should look like.
-
-
Young Ladies Need Motivation Too
- By Chandra on 05-30-10
By: Queen Latifah
-
The Mother of Black Hollywood
- A Memoir
- By: Jenifer Lewis
- Narrated by: Jenifer Lewis
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jenifer Lewis keeps it real in this provocative and touching memoir by a Midwestern girl with a dream whose journey from poverty to Hollywood will move, shock, and inspire listeners. Told in the audacious voice her fans adore, Jenifer describes a road to fame made treacherous by dysfunction and undiagnosed mental illness, including a sex addiction. Yet, supported by loving friends and strengthened by "inner soldiers", Jenifer never stopped entertaining and creating.
-
-
I could barely finish it.
- By Manning Fam on 06-17-18
By: Jenifer Lewis
Critic reviews
Related to this topic
-
In Black and White
- The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.
- By: Wil Haygood
- Narrated by: Kevin Free
- Length: 23 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This biography of entertainment legend Sammy Davis, Jr. is an enthralling portrait of one of the most recognizable figures from the golden age of American show business. Davis, a guarded man who protected his private life with great vigor, lived an extraordinary life in the limelight, while also forging new uncharted paths across racial lines.
-
-
Sammy Plus
- By James Gordon on 07-02-06
By: Wil Haygood
-
I Only Know Who I Am When I Am Somebody Else
- My Life on the Street, on the Stage, and in the Movies
- By: Danny Aiello, Gil Reavill
- Narrated by: Danny Aiello
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beloved stage and screen actor Danny Aiello’s big-hearted memoir reveals a man of passion, integrity, and guts - and lays bare one of the most unlikely success stories ever told. Danny Aiello admits that he backed into his acting career by mistake. That’s easy to see when you begin at the beginning: Raised by his loving and fiercely resilient mother in the tenements of Manhattan and the South Bronx, and forever haunted by the death of his infant brother, Danny struggled early on to define who he was and who he could be.
-
-
I want to give Danny Aiello a big hug.
- By Mari K. on 01-22-15
By: Danny Aiello, and others
-
Dynomite!
- Good Times, Bad Times…Our Times - A Memoir
- By: Jimmie Walker, Sal Manna
- Narrated by: Jimmie Walker
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
>Born into the violence of South Bronx ghetto life, the comic pioneer of TV’s Good Times fame offers a hilarious and politically charged review of his career as one of television’s first hugely successful Black stars. From opening for the Black Panthers and getting his first Tonight Show spot to becoming the first “Black” TV sitcom star, having comedians David Letterman and Jay Leno writing jokes for him, recording number-one comedy albums, and opening for rock n’ roll bands in 50,000 seat stadiums, Walker’s career hit all the highs.
-
-
An transparent story of a socially but funny American icon.
- By John Lucasey on 05-08-21
By: Jimmie Walker, and others
-
The Mother of Black Hollywood
- A Memoir
- By: Jenifer Lewis
- Narrated by: Jenifer Lewis
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jenifer Lewis keeps it real in this provocative and touching memoir by a Midwestern girl with a dream whose journey from poverty to Hollywood will move, shock, and inspire listeners. Told in the audacious voice her fans adore, Jenifer describes a road to fame made treacherous by dysfunction and undiagnosed mental illness, including a sex addiction. Yet, supported by loving friends and strengthened by "inner soldiers", Jenifer never stopped entertaining and creating.
-
-
I could barely finish it.
- By Manning Fam on 06-17-18
By: Jenifer Lewis
-
Black Is the New White
- By: Paul Mooney, Dave Chappelle - foreword
- Narrated by: Tony Isabella
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For more than 40 years—whether writing for Richard Pryor and Saturday Night Live or performing stand-up to sold-out crowds around the country—Paul Mooney has been provocative, incisive...and absolutely hilarious. His comedy has always been indisputably real and raw, reflecting race issues in America, and this fascinating, fearless new memoir continues that unapologetically candid tradition.
-
-
Master Piece!! I loved every moment.
- By Amazon Customer on 04-27-21
By: Paul Mooney, and others
-
Homey Don't Play That!
- The Story of In Living Color and the Black Comedy Revolution
- By: David Peisner
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few television shows revolutionized comedy as profoundly or have had such an enormous and continued impact on our culture as In Living Color. Inspired by Richard Pryor, Carol Burnett, and Eddie Murphy, Keenen Ivory Wayans created a television series unlike any that had come before it. In Living Color shaped American culture in ways both seen and unseen. Now, Homey Don't Play That! reveals the complete, captivating story of how In Living Color overcame enormous odds to become a major, zeitgeist-seizing hit.
-
-
Wow, that sucked......
- By Just W on 10-11-18
By: David Peisner
-
In Black and White
- The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.
- By: Wil Haygood
- Narrated by: Kevin Free
- Length: 23 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This biography of entertainment legend Sammy Davis, Jr. is an enthralling portrait of one of the most recognizable figures from the golden age of American show business. Davis, a guarded man who protected his private life with great vigor, lived an extraordinary life in the limelight, while also forging new uncharted paths across racial lines.
-
-
Sammy Plus
- By James Gordon on 07-02-06
By: Wil Haygood
-
I Only Know Who I Am When I Am Somebody Else
- My Life on the Street, on the Stage, and in the Movies
- By: Danny Aiello, Gil Reavill
- Narrated by: Danny Aiello
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beloved stage and screen actor Danny Aiello’s big-hearted memoir reveals a man of passion, integrity, and guts - and lays bare one of the most unlikely success stories ever told. Danny Aiello admits that he backed into his acting career by mistake. That’s easy to see when you begin at the beginning: Raised by his loving and fiercely resilient mother in the tenements of Manhattan and the South Bronx, and forever haunted by the death of his infant brother, Danny struggled early on to define who he was and who he could be.
-
-
I want to give Danny Aiello a big hug.
- By Mari K. on 01-22-15
By: Danny Aiello, and others
-
Dynomite!
- Good Times, Bad Times…Our Times - A Memoir
- By: Jimmie Walker, Sal Manna
- Narrated by: Jimmie Walker
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
>Born into the violence of South Bronx ghetto life, the comic pioneer of TV’s Good Times fame offers a hilarious and politically charged review of his career as one of television’s first hugely successful Black stars. From opening for the Black Panthers and getting his first Tonight Show spot to becoming the first “Black” TV sitcom star, having comedians David Letterman and Jay Leno writing jokes for him, recording number-one comedy albums, and opening for rock n’ roll bands in 50,000 seat stadiums, Walker’s career hit all the highs.
-
-
An transparent story of a socially but funny American icon.
- By John Lucasey on 05-08-21
By: Jimmie Walker, and others
-
The Mother of Black Hollywood
- A Memoir
- By: Jenifer Lewis
- Narrated by: Jenifer Lewis
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jenifer Lewis keeps it real in this provocative and touching memoir by a Midwestern girl with a dream whose journey from poverty to Hollywood will move, shock, and inspire listeners. Told in the audacious voice her fans adore, Jenifer describes a road to fame made treacherous by dysfunction and undiagnosed mental illness, including a sex addiction. Yet, supported by loving friends and strengthened by "inner soldiers", Jenifer never stopped entertaining and creating.
-
-
I could barely finish it.
- By Manning Fam on 06-17-18
By: Jenifer Lewis
-
Black Is the New White
- By: Paul Mooney, Dave Chappelle - foreword
- Narrated by: Tony Isabella
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For more than 40 years—whether writing for Richard Pryor and Saturday Night Live or performing stand-up to sold-out crowds around the country—Paul Mooney has been provocative, incisive...and absolutely hilarious. His comedy has always been indisputably real and raw, reflecting race issues in America, and this fascinating, fearless new memoir continues that unapologetically candid tradition.
-
-
Master Piece!! I loved every moment.
- By Amazon Customer on 04-27-21
By: Paul Mooney, and others
-
Homey Don't Play That!
- The Story of In Living Color and the Black Comedy Revolution
- By: David Peisner
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few television shows revolutionized comedy as profoundly or have had such an enormous and continued impact on our culture as In Living Color. Inspired by Richard Pryor, Carol Burnett, and Eddie Murphy, Keenen Ivory Wayans created a television series unlike any that had come before it. In Living Color shaped American culture in ways both seen and unseen. Now, Homey Don't Play That! reveals the complete, captivating story of how In Living Color overcame enormous odds to become a major, zeitgeist-seizing hit.
-
-
Wow, that sucked......
- By Just W on 10-11-18
By: David Peisner
-
You Might Remember Me
- The Life and Times of Phil Hartman
- By: Mike Thomas
- Narrated by: Corey Snow
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Both joyous tribute and serious biography, Mike Thomas' You Might Remember Me is a celebration of Phil Hartman's multi-faceted career and an exhaustively reported, warts-and-all examination of his often intriguing and sometimes complicated life - a powerful, humor-filled and disquieting portrait of a man who was loved by many, admired by millions and taken from them far too early.
-
-
I Will Remember You Phil Hartman
- By Roxanna on 12-19-14
By: Mike Thomas
-
The Comedians
- Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy
- By: Kliph Nesteroff
- Narrated by: Kliph Nesteroff
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Comedians, comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff brings to life a century of American comedy with real-life characters, forgotten stars, mainstream heroes and counterculture iconoclasts. Based on over 200 original interviews and extensive archival research, Nesteroff's groundbreaking work is a narrative exploration of the way comedians have reflected, shaped, and changed American culture over the past 100 years.
-
-
Performance issues
- By E. A. Smith on 09-02-19
By: Kliph Nesteroff
-
Starmaker
- Life as a Hollywood Publicist with Farrah, The Rat Pack, & 600 More Stars Who Fired Me
- By: Jay Bernstein
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Revealingly candid, this Hollywood memoir is the story of Jay Bernstein, an entertainment industry fixture who helped launch and sustain the careers of many celebrities including Farrah Fawcett and Suzanne Somers. From his childhood in Oklahoma City and his first job in a Hollywood mail room to the ownership of his own public relations firm and his work as a television producer, Bernstein’s life is chronicled in his own words.
-
-
Very Entertaining
- By patrick on 09-27-15
By: Jay Bernstein
-
Seven Dirty Words
- The Life and Crimes of George Carlin
- By: James Sullivan
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Seven Dirty Words, journalist and cultural critic James Sullivan tells the story of Alternative America from the 1950s to the present, from the singular vantage point of George Carlin, the Catholic boy for whom nothing was sacred.
-
-
Carlin's CV with no Depth or Insight
- By Dubi on 01-23-14
By: James Sullivan
-
Caddyshack
- The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story
- By: Chris Nashawaty
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Caddyshack is one of the most beloved comedies of all time, a classic snobs vs. slobs story of working-class kids and the white-collar buffoons that make them haul their golf bags in the hot summer sun. It has sex, drugs, and one very memorable candy bar, but the movie we all know and love didn't start out that way, and everyone who made it certainly didn't have the word classic in mind as the cameras were rolling.
-
-
Not Really About Caddyshack Until Hour 5
- By William M. on 07-01-18
By: Chris Nashawaty
-
Shine Bright
- A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop
- By: Danyel Smith
- Narrated by: Danyel Smith
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A weave of biography, criticism, and memoir, Shine Bright is Danyel Smith’s intimate history of Black women’s music as the foundational story of American pop. Smith has been writing this history for more than five years. But as a music fan, and then as an essayist, editor (Vibe, Billboard), and podcast host (Black Girl Songbook), she has been living this history since she was a latchkey kid listening to “Midnight Train to Georgia” on the family stereo.
-
-
Ok might have been better reading the hard copy
- By cde on 06-18-22
By: Danyel Smith
-
Liner Notes
- On Parents & Children, Exes & Excess, Death & Decay, & a Few of My Other Favorite Things
- By: Loudon Wainwright III
- Narrated by: Loudon Wainwright III
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A memoir by the influential Grammy Award-winning singer and actor - son of journalist Loudon Wainwright, former husband of Kate McGarrigle and Suzzy Roche, and father of Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright Roche, and Lexie Kelly Wainwright - a captivating meditation on relationships and creativity from the patriarch of one of America's great musical families. With a career spanning more than four decades, Loudon Wainwright III has established himself as one of the most enduring singer-songwriters who emerged from the late '60s.
-
-
Best ever book for listening
- By Jeff Bernhardt on 10-29-17
-
Tammy Wynette
- Tragic Country Queen
- By: Jimmy McDonough
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling biographer Jimmy McDonough tells the story of the small-town girl who grew up to be the woman behind the microphone, whose meteoric rise led to a decades-long career full of tragedy and triumph. Through a high-profile marriage and divorce, her dreadful battle with addiction and illness, and the struggle to compete in a rapidly evolving Nashville, Tammy Wynette turned a brave smile toward the world and churned out masterful hit songs though her life resembled the most heartbreaking among them.
-
-
Loved It!
- By Eileen on 03-19-10
By: Jimmy McDonough
-
Everybody Thought We Were Crazy
- Dennis Hopper, Brooke Hayward, and 1960s Los Angeles
- By: Mark Rozzo
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Los Angeles in the 1960s: riots in Watts and on the Sunset Strip, wild weekends in Malibu, late nights at The Daisy discotheque, openings at the Ferus Gallery, and the convergence of pop art, rock and roll, and the New Hollywood. At the center of it all, one inspired, improbable, and highly combustible couple—Dennis Hopper and Brooke Hayward—lived out the emblematic love story of ’60s L.A.
-
-
Wonderful!
- By Rob on 06-07-22
By: Mark Rozzo
-
All About Me!
- My Remarkable Life in Show Business
- By: Mel Brooks
- Narrated by: Mel Brooks
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At 95, the legendary Mel Brooks continues to set the standard for comedy across television, film, and the stage. Now, for the first time, this EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner shares his story in his own words.
-
-
Wonderful and nostalgic
- By GAT on 12-07-21
By: Mel Brooks
-
Nevertheless
- A Memoir
- By: Alec Baldwin
- Narrated by: Alec Baldwin
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most accomplished and outspoken actors today chronicles the highs and lows of his life in this beautifully written, candid memoir.
-
-
Embarrassingly petty
- By Stacey Robinson on 09-20-18
By: Alec Baldwin
-
Stories I Only Tell My Friends
- An Autobiography
- By: Rob Lowe
- Narrated by: Rob Lowe
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A teen idol at 15, an international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at 20, and one of Hollywood's top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences. Never mean-spirited or salacious, Lowe delivers unexpected glimpses into his successes, disappointments, relationships, and one-of-a-kind encounters with people who shaped our world over the last 25 years. These stories are as entertaining as they are unforgettable.
-
-
Great Book and Great Story
- By Natalie J. Belle MD on 04-30-11
By: Rob Lowe
What listeners say about Furious Cool
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- John
- 03-28-14
Some insight but thin
Interesting story with some insight into Pryor's life and times but thin in many places. Lots of repetition of Pryor's classic routines. I agree that he was a special talent but the genius term was thrown around ad nauseam throughout the book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Author, Copper Smith
- 12-06-21
Richard at his rawest
This is a brutally insightful look at a troubled man and the stunning art he created.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kristopher KR
- 03-08-23
A Bit Off
Kind of a difficult book to review. On one hand, it’s written by two people (David and Joe Henry) who are obviously huge fans of Richard Pryor and his entire line of work.
The narrator, Dion Graham does a hell of a job with the narration. Doing his absolute best to get Pryor’s delivery and timing and cadence correct without fully going hog wild with an impression. His version of Richard Pryor.
The problem with the book, while it’s well researched and gives an objective narrative with quotes and passages from friends and family….it seemed too much like a book report for The Henry Brother’s favorite stand-up.
I really probably should listen to a book about Pryor by Pryor himself. Perhaps if long time friends and family had written it? Maybe. A good listen nonetheless.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amahra
- 06-24-18
Bravo!
I really enjoyed this biography of Richard Pryor. The authors did a great job of capturing the very essence of Pryor's character. Sometimes, though, the authors' way of presenting this story seemed too over-the-top poetic for the very simple and down-to-earth Stand-up comedian. I thought all of the flowery sentences were unnecessary.
The Narrator performed excellently, at times sounding like you were setting in the audience listening to Pryor doing one of his routines. I could listen to this book over and over. I recommend it, especially to those, like myself, who adored this genius.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 09-30-16
wow
Mind blowing account of the Late Great Richard Pryor life. Wow the movie Joe Joe Dancer your Life's calling was never like this.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nancela
- 11-18-15
A Waste of Genius
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
This story covers an era of great change; change in comedy, relations between races, and U.S. political upheaval. In the midst of it all is the story of one brilliant and tortured soul.
Who was your favorite character and why?
No favorite characters here. Pryor's drug abuse and erratic personality made everyone miserable at some point.
Did Dion Graham do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?
At first I found it annoying to hear the narrator imitate Richard Pryor, but he did a good job of it and eventually I became accustomed to it and felt that there was no other way to convey Pryor's voice than through "Pryor's voice". However, I felt the imitation of the other character's voices were unnecessary and distracting.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I could have listened to it in one sitting, but didn't.
Any additional comments?
I think this is an important book for many reasons, not the least of which is Richard Pryor's ground breaking approach to 'dramady'. He was more than a comedian and a chronicler of a very important era. It wasn't easy to listen to re-live the period of time that Pryor was living in but he and the authors captured his style and his troubled life and put it in the context of the times in which he lived.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Matthew Pluck
- 04-12-16
It's ok.
Ok, not great. Seemed a little too full of itself. Not every joke or story Richard Prior told changed the world. Little too long, never really funny for more than a laugh or two.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- kimmy
- 02-14-16
Unabridged Richard
I have seen a few documentaries oh Richard Pryor and read other books, but this one gets under the skin of it a little more than most. As someone who grew up with Pryor as an idol and having seen a majority of the entertainment discussed, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
There were some things left out- like some of the stuff that Mel brooks said about Pryor writing all of Mongo's lines in Blazing Saddles or how he once was late and called in from Illinois.
Still... A very good book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jennifer Y.
- 12-08-16
Good book
It was interesting to read about the amazing Richard Pryor. The book was a bit dry, but ok.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- LC
- 03-16-16
Good Book
I loved the in depth approach they took but the dude reading it trying to sound like everyone they took a quote from sucked
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!