If I Stop I'll Die

Download or read book If I Stop I'll Die written by John Alfred Williams and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: IF I STOP I'LL DIE is an incisive examination of the comedian's life and humor which not only reveals details of Pryor's troubled but brilliant career - his infamous "Las Vegas metamorphosis," his friendships with the black intelligentsia of 1960s Berkeley, his little-known contributions to the scripts in which he appeared - but also places these events within the context that shaped Pryor's outlook, personality, and opportunities. And it captures the irony that pervaded his life and career: how he could present brilliantly universal material from such a militantly black perspective; how the powers of Hollywood could force him to portray on film the very racial caricatures that he lampooned on stage; how he could publicly flaunt his private exploits, with embellished comedic versions of his drug use, sexual adventures, and bursts of violence, while fiercely protecting the real facts behind such episodes.