Trenchant and notoriously vulgar, Richard Pryor’s comedic career is perhaps best described as shocking, but there’s nothing too outrageous about the $3 million mansion in Northridge, California, that his estate has just put up for sale. Unless you count the fact that it’s the place where Pryor famously lit himself on fire in 1980.
The Sherwood Forest-area property is a compound consisting of six buildings—including the main residence, a guesthouse and a dance studio.
Mediterranean adornments abound, with terra cotta roofs and tile prevalent throughout the property and an exposed brick kitchen with tiled counters and a large steel pot rack above the center island. A billiard room includes a stucco fireplace, while hardwood and vaulted ceilings with exposed beams distinguish the large main living room, with two sets of wood-framed French doors opening to the yard.
The property’s greatest appeal, though, may be outdoors. Clay tennis and tetherball courts and a putting green and sandtrap join an outdoor playground, a covered loggia, a barbecue pavilion and the large swimming pool, which includes a waterfall feature and a slide.
Pryor’s illustrious comedy career spanned nearly half a century and included an Emmy in 1973 and five Grammys for best comedic album. Among his film credits is Brewster’s Millions, Silver Streak, Superman III, The Wiz and Lady Sings the Blues. In 1998, he was the first ever recipient of the Mark Twain Humor Prize from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and he was ranked No. 1 on Comedy Central’s list of the greatest comics of all time.