Rain Pryor

Rain Pryor
Pryor at Atlanta Jewish Film Festival
Born (1969-07-16) July 16, 1969 (age 55)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
Years active1988–present
Spouses
Kevin Kindlin
​
​
(m. 2002; div. 2006)​
Yale Partlow
​
​
(m. 2007; div. 2012)​
David Vane
​
(m. 2018)​
Children1
Parents
RelativesLudacris (third cousin)

Rain Pryor (born July 16, 1969)[1] is an American actress. Her television credits include sitcoms Head of the Class and Rude Awakening. She is the daughter of comedian Richard Pryor.

Early life

Pryor was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Shelley R. (née Bonus)[2] and comedian Richard Pryor. Rain Pryor's mother was a Jewish go-go dancer and Rain was largely raised with her Jewish maternal grandparents, who taught her about Jewish culture.[3] Her award-winning solo show Fried Chicken and Latkes explores racism in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[4] In regard to her background, Pryor has joked that while growing up she felt "proud, but guilty about it."[5]

Pryor graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1987.[6]

Career

She went on to star in the ABC series Head of the Class in the role of Theola June 'T.J.' Jones. Pryor's role was created from a series of characters she performed at her audition for the producers. Pryor starred for several years as Jackie, the lipstick-lesbian drug addict on the Showtime series Rude Awakening, and has guest-starred on network television series such as The Division and Chicago Hope. She has appeared numerous times on both The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as well as The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and The Tavis Smiley Show.

Pryor's stage credits include playing the title role of Billie Holiday in the UK tour of the Billie Holiday Story and the title role of Ella Fitzgerald in the UK premiere of Ella, Meet Marilyn. She performed in the Los Angeles productions of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues with Nora Dunn (of Saturday Night Live fame) and Charlene Tilton; Joan by Linda Chambers, in which she portrayed Joan of Arc; Cookin' With Gas, with the Groundlings improvisation troupe; The Exonerated with critically acclaimed actor Aidan Quinn; and The Who's Tommy at the La Jolla Playhouse.[7]

Pryor has also performed as a jazz/blues vocalist since 1993, having played to sold-out crowds in Los Angeles, DC, Hong Kong, Scotland and London, where she released a performance CD, Rain Pryor Live in London.

Pryor created and toured in the award-winning show based on her life, Fried Chicken and Latkes, in 2004 and 2005. She appeared in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2006.

In 2012, Pryor was named the artistic director of Baltimore's Strand Theater.[8]

In 2015, Pryor received the inaugural British Urban Film Festival honorary award from Ellen Thomas on behalf of her father for his outstanding contribution to film and television. The festival also screened the UK premiere of That Daughter's Crazy, a documentary about her life living in the spotlight of her famous father.

Author

ReganBooks published her memoir Jokes My Father Never Taught Me in 2006.[9]

Personal life

In 2002, Pryor married family therapist Kevin Kindlin;[10] they divorced in 2006.[9]

In 2007, she began dating Yale Partlow, a Baltimore nursing student/meditation teacher[11] who later became a police officer.[12] After many miscarriages,[13] she gave birth to their daughter Lotus Marie on April 1, 2008.[14][15] Partlow and Pryor divorced in 2014. Pryor currently[as of?] resides in Baltimore with daughter Lotus and husband, Dave Vane.[11]

Awards and nominations

  • 2015 British Urban Film Festival honorary award (recipient) – on behalf of Richard Pryor (posthumously)
  • 2008 Marin Services For Women Founders Award (recipient)
  • 2007 NAACP Image Award, Best New Author Biography (nomination) – Jokes My Father Never Taught Me, Life, Love & Loss with Richard Pryor
  • 2007 African American Literary Awards (nomination) – Jokes My Father Never Taught Me:Life, Love & Loss with Richard Pryor
  • 2005 NAACP Theatre Award, Best Female Performer Equity (recipient) – Fried Chicken & Latkes
  • 2005 NAACP Best Original Playwright Equity (nominated) – Fried Chicken & Latkes
  • 2005 Invisible Theatre's Goldie Klein Guest Artist Award (recipient) – Fried Chicken & Latkes
  • 2004 Los Angeles Ovation Awards, Best Solo Performance (nominated)

References

  1. ^ Henry, David; Henry, Joe (2013). Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books. p. 92. ISBN 978-1-61620-078-7.
  2. ^ Wiltz, Teresa (December 6, 2006). "Time to Laugh, Time to Cry". The Washington Post.
  3. ^ Pryor, Rain (October 2, 2012). "Rain Pryor on How Her Jewish Mother and 'Genius' Father Richard Inspired Her Solo Show Fried Chicken and Latkes". Broadway.com.
  4. ^ "Rain Pryor: Pouring The Tea". The BV Entertainment Newswire Blog. November 1, 2006. Archived from the original on January 15, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  5. ^ "Multiracial Celebrities". Blackflix.com. November 6, 1972. Retrieved March 10, 2011.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ "A PRYOR LIFE ; THE DAUGHTER OF THE LATE RICHARD PRYOR TALKS ABOUT HER ROLLER- COASTER RELATIONSHIP WITH HER FAMOUS FATHER_AND THE PEACE THEY FINALLY FOUND: [FINAL Edition]". The Baltimore Sun. November 13, 2006. p. 1C. ProQuest 406139152. Rain Pryor — Age: 37. Birthplace: Los Angeles. Residence: Baltimore. Education: Beverly Hills High, graduated in 1987. Attended Santa Monica Community College and Los Angeles Community College, but left both schools for acting roles before graduating.
  7. ^ "Rain Pryor & Mixed Rain Productions Inc - Home". Rainpryor.com. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
  8. ^ Smith, Tim (February 12, 2012). "A Woman's Touch: The daughter of comic legend Richard Pryor is ready to lead the female-focused Strand Theater". The Baltimore Sun. p. E1. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Wiltz, Teresa (December 31, 2006). "Laughter and Tears: Richard Pryor's Daughter Describes the Peaks and Valleys of Growing Up With Her Complex Dad; 'Jokes My Father Never Taught Me — Author: Rain Pryor. Publisher: ReganBooks. Pages: 224. Price: $24.95.'". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. p. 7C. Retrieved January 1, 2025. "Pryor moved to Charm City a few months ago, to be closer to friends but also to flee the city of her birth, Los Angeles. Too much history, she says. In Los Angeles, she also left behind a home and a husband, separating after four years of marriage."
  10. ^ "Generation next". Us Weekly. February 4, 2002. pp. 50–54. ProQuest 236514806. Even though Pryor and her father, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1986, now have a friendly relationship, she says she will happily shed his name in September, when she weds drug counselor Kevin Kindlin, 37. 'I can't wait to be Mrs. Kevin Kindlin,' she says, because I won't have to be Rain Pryor anymore.'
  11. ^ a b Vozzella, Laura (June 1, 2008). "Big girls find a home here". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  12. ^ Pressley, Nelson (September 20, 2012). "Rain Pryor: Drought buster for Baltimore's Strand Theater?". The Washington Post.
  13. ^ http://www.biography.com/people/rain-pryor-21093215?page=1 After multiple miscarriages, the couple had a daughter, Lotus Marie, on April 1, 2008.[dead link‍]
  14. ^ "Rain Pryor Pregnant with First Baby". Black Celebrity Kids. February 5, 2008.
  15. ^ "Rain Pryor Welcomes Baby Lotus Marie". Black Celebrity Kids. August 7, 2008. Archived from the original on January 7, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2022.