Although widely considered to be one of the greatest Blazing Saddles, but he also won a Primetime Emmy as a writer on the 1973 variety show Lily.
After making his screen debut in 1966 via The Wild Wild West TV show, Pryor logged roughly 50 big and small screen credits over the next three decades. In addition to a slew of comedies, Pryor worked with such directors as Wiliam Castle, Penelope Spheeris, Sidney Poitier, Paul Schrader, Sidney Lumet, David Lynch, and more.
Uptown Saturday Night (1974) 6.7/10
Directed by and starring Sidney Poitier, Uptown Saturday Night also features Pryor, Bill Cosby, and Harry Belafonte. The story concerns one epic night of partying going horribly awry when two men lose their winning lottery ticket.
Set for a swinging good time at Madame Zenobia's underground night club, Steve (Poitier) and Wardell (Cosby) are sidetracked when they're robbed on the street. With their wallets taken, they lose their winning lottery ticket and spend the rest of the night doggedly tracking it down with the help of gangster Geechie Beauford (Poitier).
The Mack (1973) 6.7/10
In what's become a blaxploitation cult-classic, The Mack follows Goldie (Max Julien), a low-level hood fresh out of a five-year prison stint. Upon his return to his home in Oakland, Goldie devises a plan to become the most powerful pimp in the land.
While his socially-conscious brother Olinga (Roger E. Mosely) tries to stop him, Goldie enlists the help of his righthand man Slim (Pryor) and chief call-girl Lulu (Carol Speed) on the way to becoming a fast-rising street hustler.
Stir Crazy (1980) 6.8/10
Also directed by Sidney Poitier, Stir Crazy is the first film directed by an African American to gross more than $100 million in North America. The film also marks the second of three collaborations between Pryor and Gene Wilder.
When best friends Skip (Wilder) and Harry (Pryor) are wrongfully convicted of bank robbery, they're sent to prison to serve a 125-year sentence. Not long for prison life, the two men become restless as they befriend fellow inmates and concoct an escape plan through an on-site rodeo competition.
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976) 6.9/10
A decade before he made the baseball movie Brewster's Millions, Pryor starred in John Badham's tale of a Negro League pitcher out to foster systemic change in the 1930s.
Billy Dee Williams stars as Bingo Long, an ace pitcher disgruntled over the abusive treatment of African-American players. Long recruits players from other Negro teams such as Catcher Leon Carter (James Earl Jones) and Right Fielder Charlie Snow (Pryor) and proceed to hit the road and challenge every team in the midwest.
See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) 6.9/10
The third and final Pryor/Wilder collaboration came via the 1989 comedy See No Evil, Hear No Evil, in which Pryor plays a blind man and Wilder plays a deaf man who both witnesses a murder.
Wally (Pryor) fails to see the culprits while Dave (Wilder) fails to hear their voices. The police dismiss their story as pure hysteria, leaving the men to solve the crime on their own. When the killers decide to kill Dave and Wally, the two men must protect one another at all costs.
Silver Streak (1976) 6.9/10
Silver Streak marks the first cinematic partnership between Pryor and Gene Wilder. The Arthur Hiller film concerns a loopy book editor (Wilder) witnessing a murder on a cross-country train trip from Chicago to Los Angeles.
The satirical Hitchcockian thriller picks up when George (Wilder) believes he sees a man thrown from his train in cold blood. George's paranoia escalates when nobody will believe his story. As he begins to snoop around on his own, George becomes the chief target of the killer aboard the train. Along the way, George finds help from an incarcerated thief named Grover (Pryor).
Lady Sings The Blues (1972) 7.1/10
In the Billie Holiday musical biopic Lady Sings The Blues, Diana Ross won a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer. Her debut performance was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Directed by Sidney J. Furie, the cradle-to-grave of one of the greatest jazz singers of all time features Pryor as Piano Man, Holiday's closest musical collaborator. Holiday remains professionally faithful to Piano Man as she climbs the charts and rises to meteoric success.
Blue Collar (1978) 7.5/10
In Paul Schrader's directorial debut Blue Collar, a trio of Detroit autoworkers plot to rob their local union bosses. However, upon doing so, Zeke (Pryor), Jerry (Harvey Keitel), and Smokey (Yaphet Kotto) unearth a conspiratorial coverup in the factory the work in.
When the three men obtain sensitive material in the union bureau's safe, they decide to blackmail the union. Of course, their plans backfire at every turn, leading to a series of infighting and finger-pointing. Despite the natural chemistry exhibited onscreen, the three actors famously hated working with each other.
The Muppet Movie (1979) 7.6/10
In the first theatrical film to feature the lovable Muppets, Pryor ed the likes of Jim Henson, Mel Brooks, Bob Hope, Steve Martin, Orson Welles, and many others. The film Oscar nods for Best Original Song and Best Original Score.
Directed by James Frawley, the story finds Kermit the Frog on a cross-country journey to realize his dreams when offered a chance to audition in Hollywood. On his epic road trip, Kermit encounters one crazy character after another, many of whom help him get to Hollywood and ward off the evil Doc Hopper (Charles During) who wants Kermit to be a mascot for his restaurants.
Lost Highway (1997) 7.6/10
According to IMDB, the last movie Pryor appeared in ranks as his all-time best. In David Lynch's surreal nightmare Lost Highway, Pryor plays against type as a wheelchair-bound auto mechanic named Arnie.
The film boasts an indescribable plot in which a musician named Fred Madison (Bill Pullman) is accused of murder, only to inexplicably transform into a young man named Pete Dayton (Balthazar Getty) while on Death Row. Pete works in a strange auto garage where he encounters the equally bizarre Arnie.
