Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx: three generations of Black comedy - the movie Harlem Nights

Ebony, Jan, 1990 by Walter Leavy

Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx Three Generations of Black Comedy

IF--as it is often said--laughter is the best medicine, then the humor of Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy has been among the best prescriptions for more than 50 years.

This trio of funnymen represents three generations of side-splitting comedy, beginning with the uninhibited antics of Foxx, continuing with the unique talents of Pryor and rounding out with the renowned comedic versatility of Murphy--who studied his mentors, combined a bit of their styles with his own vivid imagination and quickly became the world's No. 1 box office star. So, naturally, somebody was bound to come up with the idea of putting together their talents. And when they recently shared the same marquee, Murphy finally realized a dream he'd had since he was 15.

When you take into account the similar styles of the three, it is somewhat surprising that their combined skills hadn't been showcased until the recent release of Paramount Pictures' Harlem Nights, a movie that was written, produced and directed by Murphy. Why did it take so long for such a vehicle to come along? Foxx and Pryor say no one in Hollywood was trying to link them, and they agree that such a union might never have taken place had Murphy not "found us" and taken the initiative. "This whole thing didn't happen until we all got together and cooked this up," Murphy says. "Hollywood wasn't trying to hook us up. But I think it's just historic that I get to work with these brothers. The privilege of working with Richard and Redd has been the greatest reward of my career."

Much of his career--perhaps even today to a degree--Eddie has studied Foxx and Pryor like a book. He listened to their material, learned the importance of timing and picked up some of their movements. But, from the beginning, he was particularly fascinated with the work of Pryor. And Pryor, during his formative years, was just as fascinated with the work of Foxx. So despite the differences in age (67, 49 and 28), these three are cut from the same laugh-producing cloth. "We are similar," Murphy says, "but we're similar in a different kind of way. And that's what makes us unique."

THE movie, an action-comedy set in 1938, centers around Club Sugar Ray's, the most popular after-hours nightclub in New York City. Murphy stars as the adopted son of the club's owner, Sugar Ray, who is played by Pryor, and Foxx plays Bennie (Snake Eye) Wilson, the club's nearsighted head croupier.

For Foxx, the filming of Harlem Nights brought back memories of real-life experiences in the late '30s and early '40s in New York. As a teenager, he ran away from his Chicago home and ended up in Harlem on July 5, 1939, seeking fame as a member of a washtub band call the Bon-Bons. "In 1939 Harlem, you could sleep with your doors open and your windows raised," he says, "that is, if you wanted to get your throat choked."

When the Bon-Bons broke up, Foxx headed to Baltimore to develop his skills as a stand-up comic at a club called Gamby's, where he polished the rapier-like wit and perfect timing that have made him a master of the risque story, rather than a mere teller of dirty jokes. By the end of the '50s, his no-holds-barred routine, liberally sprinkled with four-letter expletives, was so popular he was being called "the dean of Black humorists."

One of Foxx's biggest breaks was his role as Fred Sanford in TV's Sanford and Son, which premiered in January 1972, and, 18 years later, is still one of the most popular shows in syndication. But he has always seemed most comfortable in Las Vegas nightclubs, where he continues to showcase his hilarious routine called "The XXX Rated Show."

During his long career, the man with the gruff and gravelly voice has seen one comedian after another come and go. Sure, the faces change, he says, but thematerial has remained pretty much the same. "As far as I'm conconcerned, comedy today is the same as it was years ago. There are no new jokes," he says. "It's just that some speak a little broader like I did when I was young. I said what was on my mind. What I was doing then, everybody's doing it now. They're geniuses, and I'm dirty."

At one time, Foxx not only performed in clubs, he owned one in Los Angeles and hired a struggling, ambitious comedian named Richard Pryor. The young comic had begun working professionally at Harold's Club in his hometown, Peoria, Ill., and then hopscotched across the country to perform in other small clubs. When he arrived in Los Angeles, Foxx took him under his wing. "I learned a whole lot working at Redd's club," Pryor says. "I got to watch him work every night, and he gave me inspiration and encouragement so I could be more me and do what I like to do in my act."

Pryor's risque humor quickly gained attention and a formidable following, and he proved not to be the traditional joke-a-minute comic, but more of a one-man theatre, complete with miming, mugging and spastic movements. By 1969, his stage act, which included one obscenity-riddled story after another, won him wide acclaim and led to his first album, Richard Pryor. A string of award-winning albums followed, all including his brilliant characterizations based on people he has known--from know-it-all winos to hillbillies to jackleg preachers to the tobacco-chewing, snuff-dipping Mudbone.