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LOS ANGELES - Richard Pryor, the caustic yet perceptive actor-comedian wh o lived dangerously close to the edge both on stage and off, has died. Pryor died shortly before 8 am of a heart attack at a hospital in the S an Fernando Valley, according to his business manager of 14 years Karen Finch. When contacted Saturday afternoon, Pryor's ex-wife also confirmed the com edian's death. Regarded early in his career as one of the most foul-mouthed comics in th e business, Pryor gained a wide following for his expletive-filled but u niversal and frequently personal insights into modern life and race rela tions. Among those most influenced by his comedy were fellow black artists such as Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall and Damon Wayans, as well as Robin William s, David Letterman and others. Pryor's pioneering success made their roa ds to stardom all the smoother. A series of hit comedies in the '70s and '80s, as well as filmed versions of his concert performances, helped make him one of the highest paid st ars in Hollywood. He was one of the first black performers to have enoug h leverage to cut his own Hollywood deals. In 1983, he signed a $40 mill ion, five-year contract with Columbia Pictures. Pryor once marveled that I live in racist America and I'm uneducated, y et a lot of people love me and like what I do, and I can make a living f rom it. An admitted junkie'' at the time, Pryor spent six weeks recovering from the burns a nd much longer from drug and alcohol dependence. In his last movie, the 1991 bomb Another You,'' Pryor's poor health was clearly evident. Pryor made a comeback attempt the following year, retu rning to standup comedy in clubs and on television while looking thin an d frail, and with noticeable speech and movement difficulties. To be diagnosed was the hardest thing because I didn't know what they w ere talking about,'' he said. Pryor was fired by one hotel in Las Vegas for obscenities'' directed at the audience. In his 1977 NBC televi sion series The Richard Pryor Show,'' he threatened to cancel his cont ract with the network. NBC's censors objected to a skit in which Pryor a ppeared naked save for a flesh-colored loincloth to suggest he was emasc ulated. In his later years Pryor mellowed considerably, and his film roles looked more like easy paychecks than artistic endeavors. His first profe ssional performance came at age 7, when he played drums at a night club. Following high school and two years of Army service, he launched his perf orming career. He eventually played dives and bars throughout the United States, honing his comedy skills. By the mid-'60s, he was appearing in Las Vegas clubs and on the televisio n shows of Ed Sullivan, Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson. Jo Jo Dancer, You r Life is Calling,'' was an autobiographical account of a popular comedi an re-examining his life while lying delirious in a hospital burn ward. Pryor directed, co-wrote, co-produced and starred in the film. In 1974, Pryor was sentenced to three years' probation for failing to file federal income tax returns. In 1978, he allegedly fired shots and rammed his car into a car occupied by two of his wife's friends. Previous children included a son, Richard, and daughters Elizabet h, Rain and Renee. In an interview in 2005, she told the Ph iladelphia Inquirer that her father always put his life right out ther e for you to look at. I took that approach because I saw how well audien ces respond to it.
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