TV Guide Online: What led to this one-woman show?
Pryor: I really wanted to write a book that was positive about my life, but I was turned down by every book publisher because they wanted something tabloidy. I don't know how to write like that.
TVGO: So they wanted Richard Pryor dish? Like Daddy Dearest?
Pryor: Exactly. It's never gonna happen. That's not who I am. I don't have an axe to grind; it takes too much energy to do that. I'd rather forgive and move on and work through it.
TVGO: You plainly discuss your dad's troubled past in Latkes. Is it hard to always be known as his kid?
Pryor: About a year and a half ago, before I got married [to family therapist Kevin Kindlin], I didn't want to be a Pryor anymore. I wanted to be Rain, for once. I just wanted to know what a normal life felt like. What's funny is, because of my husband, I get that normalcy. I can't run away from it — no matter where I go, if someone finds out who my dad is, they're gonna talk about it. What am I gonna do, tell them to be quiet and act like it doesn't exist? No, I might as well embrace it instead of throwing it away. The only way I could do that is by coming to peace with my childhood. I don't want to be jaded and bitter. I want to come from a place that's full of love and gratitude. If I didn't grow up in a crazy household with all the drama, I wouldn't be who I am.
TVGO: What's the biggest assumption people make about you?
Pryor: Just because I'm a Pryor doesn't mean I'm a standup comedian. I'm funny, but I'm not a standup by any means. I sing, I do so many things... I really do consider myself John Leguizamo meets Bette Midler!
TVGO: Do fans still recognize you from Head of the Class?
Pryor: (Laughs) I like to call it Giving [Expletive] to the Class! The show everyone thinks they know me from is The Cosby Show or A Different World. I guess if you've seen one black girl, you've seen them all.
TVGO: That's sad!
Pryor: Or else, people are like, "Hey, weren't you on Saved by the Bell?" (Laughs) I don't know why it's all about Saved by the Bell. Because if there wasn't Head of the Class in the late '80s, there would be no Saved by the Bell, you know?
TVGO: Do you really mean what you say in Latkes about telling yourself "I love you" in the mirror?
Pryor: Yes. I had no self-esteem earlier in my life. I am a codependent — I drank because, if you drank, I drank. I lost everything I owned to a relationship. I lost a house, a fancy car, a bank account, because I was like, "What can I buy in order for you to stay with me?" I really had to learn that I could love myself as I am, that I didn't have to be Halle Berry to be beautiful and feel good about my life.
