Lily Tomlin, LaWanda Page, Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor --- first four literary/performance influences on my mushy little baby brain, and damn if they didn't help build the best parts. I may not have all those parts (or any of the truly productive parts, honestly) anymore (long story), but I'll never forget how much joy, learning, exposure to the outside world, and moral compasses that they gave me. None were or are infallible, but damn, they were GOOD!
I will always miss him, too. And Carlin, Bill Hicks, Jim Henson, Heavy D, Etta, so many of the luminaries that we've lost recently... I know that I'm leaving out some severely-precious people, true natural resources that we should have done a helluva lot better job of preserving, but I R dain-bread right now and doing the best that I can. When I can remember all the rest, I'll try again.
But bless yer heart for remembering the Man. Eerie as fuck that they just aired THE. WORST. MOVIE. EVER. MADE. just the other day, starring Mr. Pryor at a time when he really MUST have needed the money (alongside Jackie Gleason, who hadda have had a GUN to his skull to do that shit!) --- and on that piece-of-shit sub-channel "Bounce," which is about as uplifting to African-Americans as Amos & Andy...
(Is it weird that my super-secret magic-decoder-ring word is "MEN SCROM"??? Sooooo many jokes, but so few brain cells to make 'em come out right... Would someone be so kind as to do the honors?)
Amen.
ReplyDeleteLily Tomlin, LaWanda Page, Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor --- first four literary/performance influences on my mushy little baby brain, and damn if they didn't help build the best parts. I may not have all those parts (or any of the truly productive parts, honestly) anymore (long story), but I'll never forget how much joy, learning, exposure to the outside world, and moral compasses that they gave me. None were or are infallible, but damn, they were GOOD!
I will always miss him, too. And Carlin, Bill Hicks, Jim Henson, Heavy D, Etta, so many of the luminaries that we've lost recently... I know that I'm leaving out some severely-precious people, true natural resources that we should have done a helluva lot better job of preserving, but I R dain-bread right now and doing the best that I can. When I can remember all the rest, I'll try again.
But bless yer heart for remembering the Man. Eerie as fuck that they just aired THE. WORST. MOVIE. EVER. MADE. just the other day, starring Mr. Pryor at a time when he really MUST have needed the money (alongside Jackie Gleason, who hadda have had a GUN to his skull to do that shit!) --- and on that piece-of-shit sub-channel "Bounce," which is about as uplifting to African-Americans as Amos & Andy...
(Is it weird that my super-secret magic-decoder-ring word is "MEN SCROM"??? Sooooo many jokes, but so few brain cells to make 'em come out right... Would someone be so kind as to do the honors?)
I miss him too. Badly!
ReplyDeleteThanks for remembering,
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