Eddie Murphy to Star in Still Untitled Richard Pryor Biopic
Eddie Murphy, 53, is in talks for a role in director Lee Daniels' still untitled Richard Pryor biopic, according to ET Online. The versatile actor and all-around performer will reportedly play the part of LeRoy "Buck Carter" Pryor, the late comedian's father who was a World War II veteran, a former boxer and bartender.
Daniels, best known as creator of the hit TV series Empire, is attached to direct and write the script for the Richard Pryor biopic. Backed by the Weinstein Company, the project is being produced by Oprah Winfrey, who is also rumored to play a part in the cast, and by Pryor's widow and business manager Jennifer Lee Pryor.
Mike Epps, 44, best known for his role as Day-Day Jones in Next Friday, is signed on to play the central character himself. Also confirmed in the cast is award-winning actress Kate Hudson, 35, who will portray Pryor's wife Jennifer, herself an actress who was active in films during the 1970s.
Pryor was married seven times to five different women. He married Jennifer in August 1981. They divorced in October 1982, but later remarried in June 2001. They remained married until Pryor's death.
Murphy have on a number of occasion admitted to growing up idolizing and impersonating Pryor during the 1970s. He was quoted in one of his interviews saying, "Richard's the one that made me want to do comedy. When I was little I used to sneak into my basement and put his albums on."
Pryor's body of work includes the concert movies and recordings: Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin (1971), That Nigger's Crazy (1974), ...Is It Something I Said (1975), Bicentennial Nigger (1976), Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979), Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982), and Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983). In addition to his stand-up stage performances, Pryor also appeared in a number of films, both comedy and drama like Superman III, Blue Collar, and Silver Streak. He died at age 65 following a heart attack inside his home. His widow Jennifer was quoted as saying, "At the end, there was a smile on his face."