Comedian Paul Mooney, who wrote for Richard Pryor died at 79. He wass well known for his work in ‘Chappelle’s Show.’
Paul was a longtime writing partner for Richard Pryor and became known as an incisive, barrier-breaking comic writer in his own right. He is best known for his characters created by him. His most hit one was the all-seeing Negrodamus on Dave Chappelle’s sketch comedy show.
Mooney died on May 19 at his home in Oakland, Calif. He died at the age of 79. His publicist, Cassandra Williams reports that he died due to heart attack.
In 2006, Comedian Paul Mooney collaborated with the filmmaker Spike Lee, and directed “Bamboozled.” In the early 1960s, Mr. Paul, a onetime circus ringmaster, started his journey as a comedian, after watching Lenny Bruce perform at a bar.
Furthermore, Mooney went on to adopt a similarly profane style, with routines about American politics and racism. He also mocked the stereotypes about Black people and incorporating the n-word into his stand-up in an effort to deprive the term of its power.
In one routine, he excoriated Hollywood movies about race, questioning a premise behind the basketball movie “White Men Can’t Jump.” He said, “White men can’t jump? They don’t have to. They own the team.”
Initially, Mr. Mooney was popular for his backstage partnership with Pryor. Pryor did the biting commentary about American and specifically African American life a central theme of his stand-up.
Notably, with the passage of time, the duo worked together on movies, comedy specials and television shows such as “Saturday Night Live.” In 1975, Pryor agreed to host, after insisting that Mr. Mooney would serve as a guest writer.
In an electric high point of the episode, Pryor played a job applicant who interviews with Chevy Chase, the show’s breakout star. An ensuing word-association test devolved into an increasingly dangerous exchange of racial slurs.
