Richard Pryor, who had been ill with multiple sclerosis, died at Encino Hospital near Los Angeles at 7:58 a.m. Jennifer Lee Pryor tried to revive him at their home before paramedics arrived and took him to the hospital, she said.

"He enjoyed life right up until the end," she said, adding that Pryor had been laughing a lot and was in good spirits in the two weeks preceding his death. "At the end, there was a smile on his face."

Richard Pryor was a genius, what else needs to be said? Actually alot still needs to be said. Unfortunately, I don't have the verbal skills to express my grief the way he was able to express my joy.

He wasn't just a funny guy who cursed alot. His deepest fears and pains were given to us wrapped in a present that somehow gave us hope. He was able to look into the soul of hatred and still see humanity, even under the veil of prejudice.

He's one of the only people who's death actually hurt me. It made me sad, but at the same time I can never explain the happiness this man's life has given me.

Thank you Richard having the nerve to conquer the world...

you made it a better place...