The actress was on the set of "Fort Apache, The Bronx" in 1980. She was notified by a production officer that the comic's friend Jim Brown was on the phone and urgently needed to speak with her.
The 73-year-old remembered to Fox News Digital, "He tells me, 'Richard was in an accident. "Oh my God, I said out loud right away, but I knew. I was not aware of the specifics of the event, but I was aware that a drug-related accident was imminent. We may have broken up a few years prior, but I just had a feeling that something was about to happen. Richard wants to see you, he said at that point. He might not survive the evening. Before he passes away, he wants to see all of his closest friends.
"No, I'm not coming, I told him. She said, "I'm not going to serve as his crutch. I simply didn't know what to say to him. I was enraged. He was saved by sobriety, I knew. And he had a tonne of chances. He was merely wasting it. I simply didn't think it was appropriate for me to go since I didn't want to condemn or humiliate him when he was weak.
In "Here Comes Pam," the "Foxy Brown" legend reflects on her decades-long career and all of the highs and lows that went along with it. Ben Mankiewicz is the host of the TCM podcast "The Plot Thickens," which debuted on October 25. The New York Times said that Mankiewicz spent 20 hours interviewing Grier and following her around her ranch in New Mexico, where she currently lives with her rescued horses and dogs. She reflects on her recollections of Pryor, whose addiction negatively impacted their relationship, in it.
In 1975, the couple started dating. He "went off the waggon" in 1976, which led to the breakdown of the partnership. Grier claimed that she had previously received panic calls regarding the actor's drug use. But this time was distinct.
Pryor apparently consumed copious amounts of cocaine over several days before dousing himself in 151 proof rum. Then, after setting himself on fire, he fled from his Los Angeles house down the street. The actor was discovered by the fire service in a trance with third-degree burns all over his upper torso.
Grier claimed that despite his recovery, she refused to go see him in the hospital.
Grier remembered, "He appreciated me for my choice. Richard had a means of determining whether he could trust the folks in his immediate environment. It was a sign that you were only there for the money and celebrity if you were frequently around him. He didn't respect you then. "I don't need your fame or your light," I would reply. I have no need of you. "
I told him before I left that I would never speak to him again," she stated. "I had no justification. As difficult as it was for me, I felt like he was getting all of these possibilities that, as a woman in Hollywood, I would never be able to. So go ahead and let yourself be a victim. You go ahead and waste all these amazing possibilities that Hollywood wants to give you that I'll never receive by being weak and foolish... It's difficult to break the news to a loved one. He had to control his addiction, though. He had to control his ability. I simply couldn't put myself in that predicament... I observed him torturing himself and destroying his life.
She continued, "I didn't know if I was going to stay in this field for long. But there are a lot of stories to tell and things to make. And I simply felt that I had to give myself a chance rather than rely on someone who might give you anything and then take it away at their discretion. I desired to be in charge and have that power.
