Comedian Richard Pryor dies

U.S. comedian Richard Pryor died on Saturday at age 65. Pryor's wife, Jennifer Pryor said he suffered a heart attack on Saturday morning and died at a hospital in the Los Angeles suburb of Encino. Pryor had also been suffering from multiple sclerosis for almost 20 years.

Widely considered to have been one of the most influential comedians in the United States, Pryor broke many barriers for African Americans in the business during his heyday in the 1960s and 1970s writes CBC news. He was one of the first black performers to have enough clout to negotiate his own Hollywood deals.

"He was my treasure," Jennifer said. "His comedy is unparalleled. They say that you are not a comic unless you imitate Richard Pryor. ... He was able to turn his pain into comedy."

"He was an extraordinary man, as you know," his wife told CNN. "He enjoyed life right up until the end. He did not suffer, he went quickly, at the end there was a smile on his face ... he's a very, very, very amazing man and he opened doors to so many people."

Born in Peoria, Ill. in December 1940, Pryor had a grandmother who owned a string of brothels and his mother was a prostitute. He was renowned as a gifted storyteller known for his blunt, often raunchy examinations of race and modern life. He used vulgarities as well as racial epithets in his desire to reflect real life.

"You can do anything you want and you can say anything that comes to mind, just so long as it's funny," said Pryor.

In 1980, Richard nearly lost his life when he suffered severe burns over 50 percent of his body while freebasing cocaine at his home. An admitted "junkie" at the time, Pryor spent six weeks recovering from the burns and much longer from drug and alcohol dependence.

Among those most said to have been influenced by his comedy were black artists such as Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall and Damon Wayans, as well as Robin Williams, David Letterman and others reports BBC