Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 68

26D THE DETROIT NEWS SATURDAY, MAY 27, 1995 BOOHS Tears of a clown Richard Pry or sheds little light on his heart in his just-the-facts life story Pryor Convictions and Other Life Sentences By Richard Pryor with Todd Gold Pantheon Books, $23 257 pages Richard Pryor's career didn 't take off until he resolved that his "days of pretending to be as slick and colorless as Cosby were finished. I had thoughts of my own to dispense. There was a world of junkies and winos, pool hustlers and prostitutes, women and family screaming in my head, trying to be heard, and I wouldn't let them out." yWJiJlJJ.IM.LI 'V 11 I i i By Curt Schleier Richard Pryor was one of the foremost comedians of his generation, among the first to cross over to white audiences with jokes about the black experience. His routines invariably were off-color, but on target social commentaries that provoked thought as well as laughter. Pryor also had a successful film career, appearing in a number of motion pictures ranging from Lady Sings The Blues to Silver Streak and Stir Crazy. Despite his many achievements, however, there was always a cloud over his head. It always seemed there was a tragedy waiting to happen. He's been a lifelong substance abuser. He's had numerous run-ins with the law regarding drugs and weapons and wife beating. There was that infamous incident where he set himself on fire while free-basing cocaine. He's had heart problems and now suffers the ravages of multiple sclerosis. His life was never easy. And Pryor (with the assistance of Todd Gold) sets out all the details. But that's all you get, details, in this Dragnet-like just-the-facts ma'am kind of autobiography. I had expected more. Even when he was doing things (apparently) for money (the film Car Wash comes to mind), I always thought there was a soulful quality about him. But that's missing here. It's as though Gold did most of the writing from clips. Certainly large portions of Pryor's life are already well known. He was born in Peoria in 1940 to a largely dys- functional family involved in the local rackets. It was a painful childhood: His regularly drunken mother deserted him, his father physically abused him, and the grandmother who raised him wasn't much better. He was also sexually abused by a priest and an older child in the neighborhood. Makingpeople laugh was one of the few opportunities he had to feel good, so after serving in the military (he was discharged after stabbing another soldier during a fight) and playing black nightclubs throughout the Midwest, he came to New York and decided he wanted to be just like Bill Cosby. He enjoyed a modicum of success, but his career didn't take off until he resolved that his "days of pretending to be as slick and colorless as Cosby were finished. I had thoughts of my own to dispense. There was a world of junkies and winos, pool hustlers and prostitutes, women and family screaming in my head, trying to be heard, and I wouldn't let them out." Still, the storm clouds hovered. There were a total of six marriages (some take place in a haze of drugs) and as many children. Wives disappear and reappear in his life without seeming wont or reason. And certainly without, explanation. How does a man raised in a dysfunctional environment feel about imposing the same on his children? This is an autobiography almost totally devoid of introspection. Perhaps it's because he lived so much of his life in a haze. But whatever the reason, it's disappointing especially since on those few occasions when he gives Paging all readers You can hear excerpts from great books past and present mm I through our News Now telephone filfclb (r infrmation service. Dial the Cus- IIOW0 tuiiiiyuiuietjbiiuiiiuei lurjruui neighborhood, then choose one of the extensions below. The information's free and it's a local call: north his feelings away, the moments are powerful. For example, on a trip to Africa he has an epiphany: "There was no doubt I had experienced an enlightenment. Moved to tears at times, I finally understood the wretchedness of the word 'n It was evil. Every utterance of it was like a punch to the gut, a little prick in the skin that sapped the soul of self-respect." Also missing from this book is humor. Oh, Pryor attempts to laugh at himself. But in the context of this sad, sad, life, the jokes seem hollow and unfunny. At bottom, Pryor Convictions is guilty of being just another celebrity bio. Curt Schleier is a New Jersey-based free-lance writer and critic. Oakland; 333-8333; Detroit, 252-2200; north Woodward area, 433-4800; eastarea, 795-2200; downriver, 246-8400; west-northwest, 458-1444; Ann Arbor, 994-4469, 0968: Contemporary (recently published) books. 0970: Editors' choice: Books worth rediscovering. One scores and one snores volume. It better deliver because the audio only offers story and dialogue, and the verdict on that is Johnny Moronic. It's a cliched future of glittery corporate evil and scrappy underground cyberbuccaneers. Johnny, a courier with a data storage chip in his head, is bursting with heavy information that everyone wants. He spends the entire time escaping credibility by besting baddies who are smarter and better equipped. This might work on the big screen but only incites yawns out of the small speaker. Reader Noseworthy has energy to spare and next time should get something worthy of his talents. Jon W. Sparks is arts and entertainment editor at the Commercial Appeal in Memphis. Borneo to count orangutans. But poachers involved in a dizzying conspiracy kill one daughter and hunt Allison around the world. The tale is manic and energetic, but of special note are the twin psychopaths Orion and Rayon. Hall has created two of the most magnificently damaged creeps of the year. And the A-plus reading by D'Angelo, with her simmering, menacing performance, completes the thrill. Way over on the other end is Johnny Mnemonic by Terry Bisson, based on the short story and screenplay by William ibson, read by Jack Noseworthy (Simon Schuster, two cassettes, two hours, $16). This is an audio novelization of the movie out this week. Ads for the flick promise massive action and high By Jon W. Sparks Weirdly bent killers and reckless heroes are the stuff of thrillers, and there are plenty in new books on audiotape. Some really are heart-pounders, while others scarcely raise a pulse. The best of the recent crop is Gone Wild by James W. Hall, read by Beverly D' Angelo (Bantam Doubleday Dell, two cassettes, three hours, 16.99) Allison Farleigh is a good-hearted mother and save-all-the-animals activist who takes her two daughters to