Rain Pryor is a loving, hands-on mom, a dynamic jazz singer, an author, and the star of a one-woman show. Oh, yeah, and she inherited her father, comedian Richard Pryor’s, funny-gene.
The 43-year-old, award-winning actress and author of “Jokes My Father Never Taught Me: Life, Love, and Loss with Richard Pryor,” had a rocky road to fame. And her fortune, she hopes, will come in time.
Living in Baltimore, Md., for the past seven years, Pryor has been focusing on her 4-year-old daughter, Lotus Marie, and the mommy experience has been so rewarding, she wants to share it with other parents while speaking candidly from the heart.
New Yorkers who haven’t seen her in action will have an opportunity to enjoy her re-energized, irreverent, and heartfelt one-woman show, “Fried Chicken and Latkes,” when it heads back to Off-Broadway on July 12. Her humorous storytelling performance — filled with original scores and songs — is told from the unique perspective of an African-American woman with a Jewish background, and makes for an extra-special theater experience.
We sat down with Pryor to talk about her family, life lessons, and her re-vamped show.
Tammy Scileppi: What was it like living with your mom?
Rain Pryor: Growing up, my mom and I lived in Beverly Hills but below the tracks, where the poor-rich people lived. My mom is the most dynamic and complicated woman I know. She raised me at a time when the world wasn’t ready for a mixed-race child and she had many obstacles to overcome. She felt like a black woman trapped in a Jewish woman’s body. School was difficult. I was the only child of my type — golden skin, huge hair, and a tiny head. I don’t think I tried to fit in, so theater was my saving grace. With acting, I could be whatever I wanted to be.
TS: Your maternal grandparents taught you about Jewish culture while your black grandmother made sure you knew all about your African-American roots. Was it confusing during the holidays?
RP: Holidays have always been a time for awesome family gatherings. We decorated a tree, lit menorahs, and ate all kinds of foods. I’m not religious, but spiritual — more of a mystic — there’s no doctrine or dogma here. My maternal grandfather passed away last year and it was a devastating blow for me. Herb Bobis was more than my grandpa, he was like a father. My bubbe is almost 91 and is like a mother to me. Mama Ritchie Marie Carter was my father’s grandmother and ran a brothel where my father’s mother was a hooker. “It’s a family business,” she would say. She was an awesome cook and a healer. I learned about truth and soul food from mama.
TS: What was your dad like?
RP: He took me fishing, we took long naps, went to the movies, and went on vacations where we sat in first class. My home life was up and down — a lot of happy and a lot of sad dysfunction. But it was still home. My father’s addiction wasn’t private. I used to tell him off and not speak to him when he was loaded. I would make big, huge charts and do lectures in his bedroom — yep, I was one of “those” kids. But I was never addicted. I’ve smoked pot and tried drugs but I’m not a good drug-taker, so, I don’t do them. Dad was a genius — a true artist. He told the truth on stage and we listened. I did part of my show for my father because I needed his approval. He loved it and said, “Keep on going, baby!”
TS: Can you share you and your partner, Yale’s, miracle baby story with our parents?
RP: We had three miscarriages before Lotus. The hardest loss was when I was on tour in London. We were eight-weeks in when I started to bleed due to a blighted ovum — an egg with no baby growing inside. I had a dilation and curettage procedure. We were pregnant three months later and then came Lotus! LoLo attends preschool and daycare. She’s a daddy’s girl and I’m chopped liver. In her eyes, he’s all that’s safe and alpha and mommy is silly. She loves “High School Musical” and teen movies. It’s like she skipped over the real kiddie stuff.
TS: Why did you name her Lotus?
RP: Yale and I were practicing Buddhism. He had traveled to India and wanted to feel connected to his practice. Also, a Lotus is a beautiful flower that grows in muck. But, like all mothers who celebrate their little miracles, reality starts to set in as joy gradually turns into sleepless nights, dirty diapers, and no alone time.
TS: What is your show’s message?
RP: It’s about accepting both sides of who I am. The message is that there’s no race, just the human race. We are divided by cultures. I talk about Dad’s passing, racism, being a mom, and how I suck at relationships. But none of that defines me. I define me.
“Fried Chicken and Latkes,” at Broadway Temple Actors Theatre [339 W. 47th St. between Eighth and Ninth avenues in Manhattan, (212) 947–3499, actorstempletheatre.com, www.rainpryor.com] Opens July 20.
