Back in the 1980s everyone in show business did cocaine. Lots of cocaine. Seriously, the set of Brian DePalma’s Scarface was actually the office of the head of children’s programming at NBC.
Because so many people in the television industry did cocaine, and because so many of them had the same dealers, some really bizarre ideas came to fruition.
In 1984 somboedy at CBS thought that Richard Pryor, the cutting-edge, foul-mouthed, brilliant but controversial comedian, would be the perfect guy to have a Saturday morning kid’s program built around him. Pryor used so much cocaine that he blew up one time, really. While they were at it, they hired Sid and Marty Krofft to produce the show, which oddly enough was the least-trippy thing they ever put their name on.
It’s an interesting artifact, if only because you keep expecting Pryor to flip out and start cursing like a stormtrooper. Sadly, he never does. The series only lasted one season. There’s three random episodes above and below this post.
Oh, and yes, that is Ray Parker Jr. singing the theme song. It was the 1980s, after all.
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