Richard Pryor’s one-time estate has been picked up by Rashard Mendenhall. The property, which was listed last summer for $3 million, was purchased by the ex-NFL player-turned-television-writer for $2.5 million. Pryor purchased the estate in 1989, for a little under a million, and lived in the house until his death, in 2005.
The Sherwood Forest property incorporates a main residence, a guesthouse, and a pool house in its 2.2 acres. All told, interior living space spans over 9,000 square feet.
The property works a lot of warmth into its design; brick, terra-cotta tile and semicircular roof tiles, and exposed wood are plentiful throughout. Wood is generally left raw, adding to the rustic quality of the home, and hand-painted tile accents embellish the Spanish flair. The property is designed around a courtyard, which is centered by a traditional fountain.
The interior of the main residence works some really nice details into the design: a fieldstone fireplace in the billiards room, set off nicely by Saltillo tile and a brick divider; a nice overall blend of polished and raw wood; murals and painted ceilings; French doors opening from the dining room to a tiled patio, capped with a vine-covered pergola.
The kitchen and family room, which is executed as a double-height space with a second-floor gallery, is nicely finished with raw stone and brick. The interior is a little dated, but its aging well, and still pretty relevant.
The guesthouse and pool house are equally charming, but the property exterior is very pleasant indeed, nicely landscaped with mature flora, and featuring expansive brick patios, and a pool with elevated spa.
Mendenhall was a Steeler, and contributed to the team’s Super Bowl win in 2009; the running back retired in 2014, fostering a desire to write. He is now a writer and editor on the HBO series ‘Ballers’.
Richard Pryor was the most brilliant stand-up comic to emerge in the post-Lenny Bruce era. His acting partnership with Gene Wilder extended to several films, among them the Sidney Poitier-directed ‘Stir Crazy’.
