![RetroNewsNow on Twitter: "On June 9, 1980, after freebasing without interruption for several days in a row, Richard Pryor poured a bottle of cognac over his body and set himself on fire. RetroNewsNow on Twitter: "On June 9, 1980, after freebasing without interruption for several days in a row, Richard Pryor poured a bottle of cognac over his body and set himself on fire.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EaGHfLGWAAE_7kC.jpg:large)
RetroNewsNow on Twitter: "On June 9, 1980, after freebasing without interruption for several days in a row, Richard Pryor poured a bottle of cognac over his body and set himself on fire.
![Wife, exes remember Richard Pryor: 'Like gills on a fish, being on that stage was what mattered to' him - ABC News Wife, exes remember Richard Pryor: 'Like gills on a fish, being on that stage was what mattered to' him - ABC News](https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/PRYOR-01-ABC-EF-200115_hpEmbed_5x4_992.jpg)
Wife, exes remember Richard Pryor: 'Like gills on a fish, being on that stage was what mattered to' him - ABC News
![Richard Pryor's stance was to always admit his imperfections. Bill Cosby took another route" | Salon.com Richard Pryor's stance was to always admit his imperfections. Bill Cosby took another route" | Salon.com](https://mediaproxy.salon.com/width/1200/https://media.salon.com/2015/01/pryor_cosby.jpg)
Richard Pryor's stance was to always admit his imperfections. Bill Cosby took another route" | Salon.com
![Mystery continues to shroud Richard Pryor's act of dousing his body in rum and setting himself on fire in 1980 | MEAWW Mystery continues to shroud Richard Pryor's act of dousing his body in rum and setting himself on fire in 1980 | MEAWW](https://dab57h0r8ahff.cloudfront.net/39726/uploads/b19480f9-b48c-46fc-b762-aa6d807119ca_800_420.png)
Mystery continues to shroud Richard Pryor's act of dousing his body in rum and setting himself on fire in 1980 | MEAWW
![RetroNewsNow on Twitter: "On June 9, 1980, after freebasing without interruption for several days in a row, Richard Pryor poured a bottle of cognac over his body & set himself on fire. RetroNewsNow on Twitter: "On June 9, 1980, after freebasing without interruption for several days in a row, Richard Pryor poured a bottle of cognac over his body & set himself on fire.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DfRh3_EXUAI9sYd.jpg:large)