Mixed Race Studies

Between Two Worlds – A conversation with Rain Pryor

Connecticut Jewish Ledger
2016-11-22

Cindy Mindell

Rain Pryor was born and raised in Los Angeles, the daughter of comedian Richard Pryor and Shelley Bonis (later changed to Bonus), a Jewish go-go dancer. After her parents divorced, Pryor spent time with both grandmothers and in both cultures, forging a unique identity that combined elements from her Black and Jewish legacies.

In 2004, Pryor created and toured in “Fried Chicken and Latkes,” an award-winning solo show based on her life that played to sold-out crowds and standing ovations across the country and in the UK. In 2005, the show won an NAACP Theatre Award for Best Female Performer Equity, and the Invisible Theatre’s Goldie Klein Guest Artist Award. The 2012 New York Times review of the “effervescent” show described Pryor as “a robust, ebullient performer.”…

…Recently, she spoke with the Ledger about the evolution of her “Fried Chicken and Latkes” and the influences that shaped it…

…Q: How do you express your dual identity today?

A: For High Holidays, my mom and I go to the Pico Union [formerly Sinai Temple], the oldest synagogue building in Los Angeles. They do a lot of outreach. I also embrace my Black African-centric heritage and practice Ifá, an ancient and mystical Yoruba tradition honoring the ancestors, which to me went beautifully with the High Holiday services. I embrace culture and tradition and I would say I’m a spiritual being more than I’ll ever be a religious being…

Read the entire interview here.

Richard Pryor’s Daughter Opens Up About The Racism Her Family Faced In Beverly Hills

The Huffington Post
2016-08-18

Lisa Capretto
The Oprah Winfrey Network

“I’m a product of this thing that everyone was against.”

When Rain Pryor was born in 1969, her father, Richard Pryor, had already begun transitioning from a relatively mild joke-telling comedian to a fearless, outspoken comic whose routines doubled as raw social commentary. As Pryor’s comedy was shifting, so was the country, moving toward more progressive values. But, as his daughter Rain points out, blatant racism still affected countless families, including her own.

Speaking with “Oprah: Where Are They Now?”, the 47-year-old actress opened up about her childhood, setting the scene for what her interracial family faced during that time in their Beverly Hills community.

“My dad’s Richard Pryor. My mother, Shelley, was a poor Jewish woman,” Rain says. “Imagine, if you will, Beverly Hills in the early ‘70s. Here I am, this mixed-race child [with] my golden skin, my big poufy hair ― because Mom knew nothing about a pressing comb ― [and] my mom’s blond-haired, blue-eyed, looking like Cher, wearing dashikis.”…

Read the entire article here.

New ‘Hysterical’ Web Series Explores Single Life for 40-Something Women of Color

Chic Rebellion
2015-10-01

Elayne Fluker, Chief Executive Officer

“You know, marriage is hard. I’m not always happy–the shit gets hard.” So goes a line by Rain Pryor to actress Esther Friedman in Friedman’s new web series, Hysterical Historical Hillary–which screens at the Bushwick Film Festival on Saturday, October 3, 2015 in Brooklyn, New York. Friedman plays Hillary, a 40-something woman longing for love in New York City. Having had a successful web series on FunnyorDie.com in 2008 and a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014 that raised $8430, the New York native teamed up with her sixteen-year-old brother Sam Friedman, already an award winning filmmaker, to tell stories of what they call “the not-so-hot topics of human experiences.” And as any singleton in New York knows that if dating in the Big Apple is anything it is certainly an experience!

ChicRebellion.TV caught up with Friedman to chat about meaning of the phrase “hysterical historical, her personal connection to Hillary, if web series have helped even the playing field for women of color who have a story to tell, and why she chose the path less traveled when deciding how to distribute her work…

Read the entire interview here.

Press Release for That Daughter’s Crazy

Paradox Smoke Productions
2014

Some apples don’t fall far from the tree. Paradox Smoke Productions is proud to announce the launch of their new documentary, That Daughter’s Crazy, starring Rain Pryor. That Daughter’s Crazy is directed by Elzbieta Szoka, and produced by Sam Adelman and Daryl Sledge, and will be ready for film festivals in early 2014.

Carrying on a career as an actor/singer/comedian, beyond the shadow of her legendary father, Rain Pryor is an original, bold, and energetic voice, who brings us influences of her upbringing with a deep love and respect for her father. Her quest for individuality is exemplified in her award-winning one-woman show, Fried Chicken and Latkes, which dramatizes growing up in Beverly Hills in a bi-racial, half Jewish/half black household.

The film features footage, photos, press clippings of Rain’s life and career, as well as various interviews. A social commentary, the film explores themes of diversity, relationships between parents and children and a profound perspective of one entertainer’s journey.

Paradox Smoke Productions is devoted to developing unique and provocative stories; a fusion of narrative of films, documentaries, and theater pieces.  Other credits include the Academy Award nominated short documentary film, Salim Baba, as well as Screen Door Jesus, Welcome to Academia and Beautiful People.

“What attracted me to our project at first was an electrifying performance of Rain Pryor in her highly acclaimed one woman show. As an “intellectual/artistic globetrotter” from what is still called “Eastern Europe,” I was curious what hid beneath her evocative title. The religious and performance ritual at its best! Axé, Rain! Shalom, my brother,” said Elzbieta Szoka, Director.

All media inquiries in reference to That Daughter’s Crazy, please contact Sam Adelman, tel: 212.600.5920 or email: sam@paradoxsmoke.com.

Richard Pryor’s Daughter on Growing Up Biracial

WNYC Radio
New York, New York
WNYC News
2013-04-07

Soterios Johnson

April 7, 2013 – Richard Pryor, one of the most influential comedians of all-time, gained pop star status in the 1970’s with his incisive storytelling about issues including race.  Now, his daughter Rain is sharing her take on growing up biracial in ’70s and ’80s Los Angeles, the child of the African-American comic genius and a Jewish go-go dancer.

In her one-woman show, “Fried Chicken and Latkes,” Pryor brings to life the family members, societal pressures and personal experiences that forged her identity at a time when attitudes about race in the U.S. were rapidly changing.

“I really wanted to tell a story about me, so people would get to know who I am,” Pryor said.  “But at the same time really talk about things that were important to me.  And, race was always such a big issue for me, and still is, especially in our country.”…

Read the entire article here. Download the interview here.