Source: Rich & Johnny

Source: NBC: The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson- Richard Pryor in 1977

Remember my advice about marriage and divorce, I’ll tell you again anyway. Don’t get married if you don’t want to get divorced. Especially don’t get married rich, because you may be poor or middle class by the time you’re divorced. And if you’re dumb or crazy enough to get married rich, but you don’t want to get divorced, at least be smart and sane enough to get married while you’re sober at the same time. So if you’re going to get married, make sure you know who you’re marrying. Make sure you’re intelligent and sane at the time. But this one might also be as important, make you’re also sober.

As far as censorship, imagine had Richard (I’m not Little Dick Pryor) had made it big ten-years later after he did. Why I say that, because by 1977 cable was basically an infant if that. If you had cable back then, probably only shopaholics and movie junkies had it, like wives of rich men to use as an example. Because back then you were looking at maybe the home shopping channels and movie channels as far as what was on cable. Basically Home Box Office and the Home Shopping Channel. Unemployed people who watch too many morning and afternoon movies. And shopaholics, like wives married to rich men.

But lets say Pryor makes it big in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Now if NBC, ABC, CBS or even PBS back then said, “you know what Richard, your act is too radical and your language is too foul for our Ozzie and Harriet Leave it To Beaver trapped in the 1950s audience. We can’t let you do your routine on our network”. Richard could tell the networks, the hell with you! (Or something much stronger) “I’m taking my act (or something stronger) to HBO or Showtime”. Or what have you. But again the smart entertainers know about censorship. And the great ones don’t need TV to be successful anyway.