We look forward to seeing you on your next visit to the library. Find a location near you.

Jokes My Father Never Taught Me: Life, Love, and Loss with Richard Pryor
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Published:
HarperCollins 2009
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description
The loving, witty, yet brutally honest memoir of the daughter of comedy legend Richard Pryor.
Rain Pryor was born in the idealistic, free-love 1960s. Her mother was a Jewish go-go dancer who wanted a tribe of rainbow children. Rain's father was Richard Pryor, perhaps the most compelling and brilliant comedian of his era, a man whose self-destructiveness was as legendary as his groundbreaking comedy.
Jokes My Father Never Taught Me is an intimate, harrowing, poignant, and often hilarious memoir that explores the divided heritage and the forces that shaped a wildly schizophrenic childhood. It is the story of a girl who grew up adoring her father even as she feared him—and feared for him, as his drug problems got worse. Both lovingly told and painfully frank, it is an unprecedented look at the life of a comedy icon, told by a daughter who both understood the genius and knew the tortured man within.
Praise for Jokes My Father Never Taught Me
"Rain Pryor pulls no punches . . . Using the same profanity-laced wit her father perfected, she unspools darkly comic stories . . . but never devolves into self-pity or bitterness." —Entertainment Weekly
"Vital, entertaining and appalling, Pryor has fleshed out a familiar dysfunctional family refrain—"It was a lot easier to love him if you didn't know him"—with bravery and wit." —Publishers Weekly
Also in This Series
Formats
Adobe EPUB eBook
Works on all eReaders (except Kindles), desktop computers and mobile devices with reading apps installed.
Kindle Book
Works on Kindles and devices with a Kindle app installed.
OverDrive Read
Need Help?
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
More Like This
More Copies In LINK+
Loading LINK+ Copies...
More Details
Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
10/13/2009
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780061745966
ASIN:
B000MAH78G
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Rain Pryor. (2009). Jokes My Father Never Taught Me: Life, Love, and Loss with Richard Pryor. HarperCollins.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Rain Pryor. 2009. Jokes My Father Never Taught Me: Life, Love, and Loss With Richard Pryor. HarperCollins.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Rain Pryor, Jokes My Father Never Taught Me: Life, Love, and Loss With Richard Pryor. HarperCollins, 2009.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Rain Pryor. Jokes My Father Never Taught Me: Life, Love, and Loss With Richard Pryor. HarperCollins, 2009.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
LibraryOwnedAvailable
Shared Digital Collection11
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
da83bafc-81d9-838a-7407-a595d75020bf
Go To Grouped Work
Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Jun 12, 2018 18:31:51
Date Updated:
Nov 23, 2023 17:23:21
Last Metadata Check:
Apr 14, 2024 10:13:11
Last Metadata Change:
Jan 30, 2024 06:30:05
Last Availability Check:
Apr 14, 2024 10:13:13
Last Availability Change:
Feb 21, 2024 21:08:22
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Apr 19, 2024 02:10:42

OverDrive Product Record

images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/2363-1/{42E75323-712B-4047-92DE-A1B615ED9AAD}IMG100.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/2363-1/{42E75323-712B-4047-92DE-A1B615ED9AAD}IMG200.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/2363-1/{42E75323-712B-4047-92DE-A1B615ED9AAD}IMG150.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/2363-1/{42E75323-712B-4047-92DE-A1B615ED9AAD}IMG400.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
formats
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780061745966
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • identifiers:
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B000MAH78G
      • name: Kindle Book
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780061745966
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • id: ebook-overdrive
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9780061350979
mediaType
eBook
primaryCreator
    • role: Author
    • name: Rain Pryor
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
Jokes My Father Never Taught Me
dateAdded
2006-11-29T01:43:03.68Z
contentDetails
      • href: https://link.overdrive.com?websiteID=141&titleID=116498
      • type: text/html
      • account:
          • name: Sacramento Public Library (CA)
          • id: 1151
sortTitle
Jokes My Father Never Taught Me Life Love and Loss with Richard Pryor
crossRefId
116498
subtitle
Life, Love, and Loss with Richard Pryor
id
42E75323-712B-4047-92DE-A1B615ED9AAD
starRating
4.4

OverDrive MetaData

isPublicDomain
False
formats
      • fileName: JokesMyFatherNeverTa_9780061745966_116498
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 2353592
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780061745966
      • rights:
            • type: Copying
            • value: 0
            • type: Printing
            • value: 0
            • type: Lending
            • value: 0
            • type: ReadAloud
            • value: 1
            • type: ExpirationRights
            • value: 0
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • onSaleDate: 11/21/2023
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-epub-adobe
            • url: https://excerpts.cdn.overdrive.com/FormatType-410/0293-1/42E/753/23/JokesMyFatherNeverTaughtMe0061247243.epub
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=42E75323-712B-4047-92DE-A1B615ED9AAD&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: JokesMyFatherNeverTa_116498
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B000MAH78G
      • name: Kindle Book
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • onSaleDate: 11/21/2023
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-epub-adobe
            • url: https://excerpts.cdn.overdrive.com/FormatType-410/0293-1/42E/753/23/JokesMyFatherNeverTaughtMe0061247243.epub
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=42E75323-712B-4047-92DE-A1B615ED9AAD&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: JokesMyFatherNeverTa_9780061745966_116498
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780061745966
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-overdrive
      • onSaleDate: 11/21/2023
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-epub-adobe
            • url: https://excerpts.cdn.overdrive.com/FormatType-410/0293-1/42E/753/23/JokesMyFatherNeverTaughtMe0061247243.epub
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=42E75323-712B-4047-92DE-A1B615ED9AAD&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
keywords
      • value: Film & Video
      • value: Personal Memoirs
creators
      • role: Author
      • fileAs: Pryor, Rain
      • name: Rain Pryor
      • role: Author
      • fileAs: Crimmins, Cathy
      • name: Cathy Crimmins
imprint
HarperCollins e-books
publishDate
2009-10-13T00:00:00-04:00
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
Jokes My Father Never Taught Me
fullDescription
The loving, witty, yet brutally honest memoir of the daughter of comedy legend Richard Pryor.
Rain Pryor was born in the idealistic, free-love 1960s. Her mother was a Jewish go-go dancer who wanted a tribe of rainbow children. Rain's father was Richard Pryor, perhaps the most compelling and brilliant comedian of his era, a man whose self-destructiveness was as legendary as his groundbreaking comedy.
Jokes My Father Never Taught Me is an intimate, harrowing, poignant, and often hilarious memoir that explores the divided heritage and the forces that shaped a wildly schizophrenic childhood. It is the story of a girl who grew up adoring her father even as she feared him—and feared for him, as his drug problems got worse. Both lovingly told and painfully frank, it is an unprecedented look at the life of a comedy icon, told by a daughter who both understood the genius and knew the tortured man within.
Praise for Jokes My Father Never Taught Me
"Rain Pryor pulls no punches . . . Using the same profanity-laced wit her father perfected, she unspools darkly comic stories . . . but never devolves into self-pity or bitterness." —Entertainment Weekly
"Vital, entertaining and appalling, Pryor has fleshed out a familiar dysfunctional family refrain—"It was a lot easier to love him if you didn't know him"—with bravery and wit." —Publishers Weekly
reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        October 30, 2006
        Here's a rambling, warts-and-all look at life with Richard Pryor, the beloved comedy iconoclast whose public success masked a private life brimming with alcohol, drugs, violence and paranoia. Written by his 37-year-old daughter, this family biography chronicles her first meeting with her father at age four, Richard's role as a wayward family man (he had seven children by a number of different women), his struggle with MS, and his 2005 death. Amid less interesting snapshots of her own life-including her work as an actress-Pryor offers a bold but sympathetic portrait of her "misogynistic, mercurial, unpredictable, and violent" father that's as fascinating as it is conflicted: "That was life with Richard Pryor. Sex and violence, punctuated by rare moments of family happiness." In addition, Pryor takes readers behind the scenes of Richard's career; into the "weird sort of Richard Pryor Fan Club" made up of ex-wives, ex-girlfriends and their children; and down Richard's frightening path to debilitating illness. Vital, entertaining and appalling, Pryor has fleshed out a familiar dysfunctional family refrain-"It was a lot easier to love him if you didn't know him"-with bravery and wit.

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        December 15, 2006
        Like many tortured geniuses, Richard Pryor (19402005) entertained and enlightened the public but made life miserable for those closest to them. Ask any of his six physically abused wives or his seemingly endless and lifelong retinue of prostitutes; better yet, consider the endearingly bizarre story of Rain Pryor, Richard's third child by the white and Jewish Shelley Bonis. In a deceptively simple and clear style, Rain tells multiple storiesof her brilliant and flawed father and their equally flawed but loving relationship, of her search for identity as a biracial Jew at Beverly Hills High and beyond, and of her artistic and personal development as an actor and healthy adult. While there is very little of the Mommie Dearest expos treatment you might expect (though wife number six, Jennifer Lee, is Pryor's favorite piata and gets whacked often), we do get the full skinny on the 1980s infamous freebasing incident. It won't spoil things for you to know that Rain comes out beautifully on the other side. The story is excellent; Rainflower's life, of which we are given a full-color glimpse, is hopefully even sweeter. Highly recommended for performing arts and memoirs collections.Barry X. Miller, Austin P.L., TX

        Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

popularity
70
links
    • self:
        • href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1BWwAAAA2I/products/42e75323-712b-4047-92de-a1b615ed9aad/metadata
        • type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
id
42e75323-712b-4047-92de-a1b615ed9aad
starRating
4.4
images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/2363-1/{42E75323-712B-4047-92DE-A1B615ED9AAD}IMG100.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/2363-1/{42E75323-712B-4047-92DE-A1B615ED9AAD}IMG200.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/2363-1/{42E75323-712B-4047-92DE-A1B615ED9AAD}IMG150.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/2363-1/{42E75323-712B-4047-92DE-A1B615ED9AAD}IMG400.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
isPublicPerformanceAllowed
False
languages
      • code: en
      • name: English
subjects
      • value: Biography & Autobiography
      • value: Performing Arts
      • value: Nonfiction
      • value: Entertainment
publishDateText
10/13/2009
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9780061350979
mediaType
eBook
shortDescription
The loving, witty, yet brutally honest memoir of the daughter of comedy legend Richard Pryor.
Rain Pryor was born in the idealistic, free-love 1960s. Her mother was a Jewish go-go dancer who wanted a tribe of rainbow children. Rain's father was Richard Pryor, perhaps the most compelling and brilliant comedian of his era, a man whose self-destructiveness was as legendary as his groundbreaking comedy.
Jokes My Father Never Taught Me is an intimate, harrowing, poignant, and often hilarious memoir that explores the divided heritage and the forces that shaped a wildly schizophrenic childhood. It is the story of a girl who grew up adoring her father even as she feared him—and feared for him, as his drug problems got worse. Both lovingly told and painfully frank, it is an unprecedented look at the life of a comedy icon, told by a daughter who both understood the genius and knew the tortured man within.
Praise for Jokes My Father Never Taught...
sortTitle
Jokes My Father Never Taught Me Life Love and Loss with Richard Pryor
crossRefId
116498
subtitle
Life, Love, and Loss with Richard Pryor
publisher
HarperCollins
bisacCodes
      • code: BIO005000
      • description: Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts
      • code: BIO022000
      • description: Biography & Autobiography / Women
      • code: BIO026000
      • description: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Memoirs