This is more like it! Richard Pryor and Gil Scott-Heron!!
Wow!!! What a combination…
I’ve written about Richard Pryor a bit previously in relation to Brewter’s Millions (in the course of focusing on director Walter Hill).
I knew I liked Pryor, but seeing him do stand-up on SNL convinces me in a whole new way.
What a genius!
Pryor relies heavily on the “drunk man” impression, but the real gem of this episode is his imitation of himself on LSD.
But really, this entire episode is good.
The funniest bit is John Belushi in Samurai Hotel. It’s really a classic bit! Belushi knocks it out of the park with his absurdist swordplay.
But the Albert Brooks film…ugh. Man, this one takes the cake as his worst yet. Not sure what the point was. It’s almost like Brooks is going for the high-art humor of Andy Kaufman, but failing miserably at it. It’s not funny. It’s not entertaining. It’s not even sad. It’s just a compete waste of time and resources. Well done, Brooks.
But hey…don’t let the Albert Brooks clunker scare you away. This is one of the finest episodes of Saturday Night Live I’ve yet seen. We’ll see how it measures up against the rest 🙂
-PD
paulydeathwish 
Gil Scott Heron played on SNL?
This world of 1975 makes no sense to me. I like it.
Yeah, unfortunately he didn’t do his more political stuff (though “Johannesburg” is a pretty strong statement). It’s almost like he was in a phase of trying to “make” it (sell records). I guess we all gotta pay the bills. Interestingly, Richard Pryor introduces Scott-Heron by saying that he specifically asked for Gil to be the musical guest. I get the impression (also from a Candice Bergen episode) that the hosts at this time had some actual leverage concerning the selection of musical guests. I’m willing to bet that particular communal aspect of the show is long gone (sacrificed, no doubt, for the chance to be on the air for four decades). –Paul
Sounds right. I’m sympathetic to anyone trying primarily to make a living. Though, it’s true, the result is usually not as interesting when that’s the main motivation.