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Richard Pryor’s funeral was ‘a travesty of a mockery of a sham,’ according to his daughter.

‘If Ikea did funerals,’ she said, ‘this would be it. Cold and sterile and monstrously hollow.’

Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor has spent the 20 years since the mercurial, ground-breaking comedian’s death trying to make sense of their complicated relationship.

Now she has opened up about what it was really like living with her famous, often intoxicated parent, the revolving door of wives, girlfriends, and prostitutes and the truth about what happened when her father famously set himself on fire while freebasing cocaine.

In her new memoir, Something We Said, she also reveals her shock at being largely cut out of her father’s will at the 11th hour: ‘I knew in my heart that was not what he wanted,’ she said.

Richard Pryor had a total of seven children with six different women – Stordeur Pryor was his third.

Her mother Maxine – who Pryor lovingly called ‘Macky’ – met the comedian in New York in 1965, when they were both in their early 20s, and he was yet to become famous for films like Blazing Saddles, Stir Crazy, and Harlem Nights.

But as his fame grew, writes his daughter, their relationship became more volatile, sometimes violent. And Pryor was an inveterate cheater.

The history professor has spent the 20 years since her father’s death trying to make sense of their complicated relationship

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‘On the night I was born in 1967,’ she writes, ‘things had gotten so bad between them that he was hundreds of miles away, partying in Tijuana, and ended up in a Mexican jail on a marijuana charge.

‘She went into labor alone in Los Angeles and drove herself to the hospital.’

Not long after, they broke up, and Stordeur Pryor didn’t meet her father until she was six years old.

She was in awe of the man who was, by now, making a name for himself on the comedy circuit, and she was desperate to please – despite his often erratic behavior.

‘The more well-known my father became, the more drugs and alcohol began to take over his life,’ she writes, ‘and his drug-fueled behavior began to make the national news.’

On one occasion, he got into a drunken argument with his then wife Deboragh, and shot at her car as she attempted to drive away.

On another occasion, he set himself on fire by pouring 151-proof rum on his shirt and lighting it ablaze. He ran for a mile down the road before police were able to stop him and take him to hospital, where he was treated for burns on more than 50 percent of his body.

‘He couldn’t stop messing up,’ writes Stordeur Pryor. ‘He always had a glass of Courvoisier in his hand and mounds of cocaine all around the house.

‘Every night, Mercy [his housekeeper] put a wastepaper basket by the side of his bed so he wouldn’t throw up on the floor.

‘He passed out all the time. Waking him was nearly impossible.’

As a professor of history, Stordeur Pryor also uses her book to examine the evolution of the n-word – the racial slur her father reclaimed in his comedy during the 1970s and later disavowed after a transformational trip to Africa. 

The word – allegedly hurled at her during a passionate fight with her White, Jewish mother – was so offensive, it drove a wedge through the family that was never fully repaired.

Maxine ‘told everyone she was Richard Pryor’s ex-wife. She called herself Maxine Pryor. It was the name she had on her checks and her stationery,’ writes the author.

The reality was – like so much of Pryor’s life – much more complicated.

‘I was never married to your mother,’ Pryor told his daughter one night in anger when she was just 12. ‘Ask her about it. She’s always playing games.’

‘The more well-known my father became, the more drugs and alcohol began to take over his life,’ she writes

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Richard Pryor became famous for films including Brewster’s Millions

The comedian in Silver Streak with Gene Wilder – the pair starred in four movies together

In fact, he had been married to someone else when Stordeur Pryor was born. And when she confronted her mom about the lie, they fought bitterly – ending with her mother allegedly delivering the most appalling racial slur.

‘I was waiting for you to be old enough to understand,’ her mother beseeched her.

But Stordeur Pryor was confused and frustrated, and lashed out at the woman who had been her rock.

‘“I hate you!” I screamed, bending my body forward as if I were pumping the words out of my stomach.

‘She cackled like she’d lost her mind. “You’re exactly like him, Elizabeth.” She walked toward me and stared into my face.

‘“I am!” I shouted.

‘The words hit my mom like a slap. She stumbled backward.

‘She looked beautiful, even though she was angrier than I’d ever seen her in my life. Then her face turned ugly, and she put her hands on her hips.

‘“You’re a n***er!” she said, like she meant it.’

When she told Pryor about the fight, he never spoke to her mom again. And Liz never forgave herself for causing the rift.

But, as she grew more distant from her mother for a time, she became much closer to her father. So much so that one night, in a moment of vulnerability, a now-sober Pryor confessed the truth about the fire that had left him permanently scarred.

Richard Pryor in conversation with Barbara Walters in 1980, after he had set himself on fire

When Stordeur Pryor told her father that Maxine had called her the n-word, he never spoke to her mom again

Stordeur Pryor (center) with her famous father and mom, Maxine

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‘That night, I was so tired,’ he told her. ‘I kept trying to stop doing the drugs and no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn’t. After a while, I just gave up.’

She writes: ‘He looked me right in the eyes. Tears welled up before I even understood what he was saying.

‘“It wasn’t an accident,” he said. “I lit myself on fire on purpose. I tried to kill myself.”’

In 1986, when Pryor was 41, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The degenerative disease gradually stole his body and his health.

The last time Stordeur Pryor saw him, she writes: ‘He could no longer walk or use his hands, he could barely see, he was in and out of hospitals, and he needed around-the-clock care.

‘He couldn’t even speak anymore, except for a few sputtered words that took excruciating effort to get out.’

He lived alone, with a complicated schedule of carers who, towards the end of his life, she claims, barred his children from visiting for more than 45 minutes once a month, saying it caused him too much stress.

On her final visit, she alleges that a security guard even forbade her from kissing her father.

Two days later – on December 10, 2005 – she received a phone call telling her he had died of a heart attack. He was just 65.

His funeral – held at the Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries in the Hollywood Hills – was, she writes, bizarrely white for the Black father she had known and loved.

‘Plain white pews, plain white walls, plain pine casket, plain glass windows,’ she writes. ‘If Ikea did funerals, this would be it.

‘Where were all the Black people? The wailing women? The cries of “Lord” and “amen”? If it weren’t for some familiar faces – my six siblings, a few of our mothers, a couple of well-known actors and comedians – I would have sworn I was in the wrong place.’

Things got even stranger, she says, when the celebrant – who was white – made such a clumsy attempt at Black humor, she was convinced she heard Pryor’s ghost laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Richard Pryor with (left to right) daughter Rain, ex-wife Jennifer Lee, son-in-law Jerry Stordeur, and Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor when he was honored by the Kennedy Center in 1998

Pryor’s health declined in the cruel grip of multiple sclerosis and, latterly, he could no longer walk or use his hands, and he could barely see

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‘Richard Pryor,’ she boomed, ‘was a funny motherf***er.’

She may not have said the n-word, but Stordeur Pryor says it felt as jarring as if she had.

‘Just as the impulse to stand up and walk out nearly overtook me, I heard my dad’s throaty chuckle: “This sh*t is funny.”

‘I looked around to make sure the voice was in my head, and almost laughed out loud. It felt like he was letting me know this whole event was a joke, the one about a dead Black comedian who accidentally ends up in white heaven (or maybe Black hell) and finds himself headlining a New Age, non-denominational funeral. Ba-dum-bum.’

Her mother agreed.

‘That funeral had no soul,’ she said afterwards, adding: ‘Imagine: A White woman calling Richard Pryor a motherf****r at his own funeral!’

Stordeur Pryor writes: ‘Even my white, Jewish mother knew that was totally out of line.’

A few days later, she received a copy of her father’s will. The details shocked her to the core.

‘None of his creative legacy went to his kids. I knew in my heart that was not what he wanted.

‘I hired a lawyer and fought in court and lost. I appealed and lost again.

‘Soon after, I was removed completely as a beneficiary. Disinherited. Cut out of the family photo album.’

The one thing she did have of her father’s was a battered briefcase, given to her by her mother on the day of his funeral.

‘Elizabeth,’ she’d said, ‘this will explain everything.’

She’d stashed it out of sight for 15 years. But when she finally examined the notebooks inside; the letters, unfinished jokes and journals, they told her who her father really was.

‘Every time I opened the notebook, I got to know him better,’ she writes.

‘It was the last breadcrumb leading me back to my father. It took me 15 years to understand it held the key to the connection we’d had all along. The briefcase was a priceless heirloom. It was my inheritance.’

Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word, and Me by Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor is published by 37 Ink, an imprint of Simon & Schuster

Neill’s Event Horizon co-star Sean Pertwee said: “Devastated to learn my friend Sam Neill has passed away. A supreme talent, elegant, intelligent, hilarious, a truly splendid human. Also a major proponent why I married my wife for which I am eternally grateful. Love you Sam.”

“Any form of child sexual abuse is confronting and horrific, even more so when the alleged perpetrator is an individual trusted with the care of our youth,” Australian Federal Police (AFP) Acting Commander Luke Needham said.

Tait worked at or attended 62 early childhood education facilities in Sydney between 2009 and 2025, although police say he primarily worked in the city’s north-west.

The alleged offending occurred at five facilities including four childcare centres and his own private business.

Police have published a website, external identifying the centres where he worked and offering support for families.

The charges also include 22 counts of aggravated use of a child under 14 years for the production of child abuse material and 18 counts of intentionally sexually touching a child under 10 years.

Police said they first linked Tait to illegal online activity in June last year. They then found child abuse material on electronic devices seized during a raid on a property in Glossodia, just outside Sydney.

Australians have been shaken by a string of cases of alleged child abuse at daycare centres in recent years.

They include the case of Ashley Paul Griffith who in 2024 confessed to 307 offences committed at childcare centres in Queensland and overseas over a 20-year period.

And last year police urged that more than 1,200 children in Victoria be tested for sexually transmitted diseases after Joshua Dale Brown was charged with dozens of child abuse offences allegedly committed at four daycare centres.

The fire broke out at the Saddleworth beauty spot at around 8.30pm on Saturday, July 11, with residents across Greater Manchester continuing to report smelling smoke from the fire.

The woman remains in custody for questioning as part of an ongoing investigation.

Detective Inspector Andrew Day of Oldham CID said: “We are aware of social media posts circulating regarding this incident and would like to stress that this is a live police investigation.

“We would encourage people to stop speculating regarding this and if you do have information, please report it to ourselves.”

Saddleworth neighbourhood sergeant Andy Holian added: “Officers would like to thank all emergency services who have dealt with and continue to deal with this incident. In particular, our colleagues at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.

“Firefighters have been working tirelessly in extremely challenging conditions to contain the fire and prevent further spread, with strong winds adding to an already difficult situation.”

Road closures remain in place at Holmfirth Road and Bank Lane with no access to Dovestone Reservoir currently permitted.

Members of the public are being asked to avoid the affected areas to allow emergency services the space to carry out their work safely and effectively.

Anyone with any information regarding the incident is urged to get in touch with Greater Manchester Police by calling 101 or using the LiveChat function at gmp.police.uk quoting log number 3367 12/07/26.

By BRIDIE ADAMS

Published: 00:39 BST, 14 July 2026 | Updated: 02:17 BST, 14 July 2026

The US announced a new round of strikes on Iran on Monday, hours after President Donald Trump said that the United States is ‘reinstating’ a blockade on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.

‘We’re taking out all of their capability for anything having to do with the strait, the Hormuz Strait,’ Trump told CBS News Monday evening. 

‘And I think in the end we will end up just controlling the whole thing.’

In response, Iran attacked Bahrain and two tankers associated with the United Arab Emirates traveling through the strait, killing one mariner and wounding eight others. 

The Emirates threatened to retaliate against Iran, potentially drawing the nation home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai back into fighting with Tehran. 

The attacks come as Iran and the U.S. both vie for control of the strait through which a fifth of all crude oil and natural gas once passed in peacetime. 

This is the third consecutive day with American strikes on Tehran and the fifth in the past week. 

‘At 4:45 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command began launching the third consecutive night of strikes against Iran, at the Commander in Chief’s direction,’ CENTCOM said in a statement. 

‘These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.’

Iran has insisted it controls the critical waterway, as another exchange of fire threatened a return to all-out war.

The US had until now said the strait should remain open to all without tolls, as it was before the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. 

Central Command posts file footage of US Navy ships and aircraft operating in the Middle East

Any attempt by the US or Iran to charge fees would violate global norms on freedom of navigation and raise tensions, likely causing further economic disruption far beyond the region.

The new round of attacks followed Trump telling conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, ‘We’re going to hit them very hard tonight and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow – and there’s not a damn thing they can do about it.’

‘They have nothing,’ Trump added. ‘They have nothing going, other than they have big mouths.’

The price of benchmark Brent crude oil rose 7.8% to $81.92 a barrel, still well below the nearly $120 reached at the height of the war but threatening to make costs everywhere higher. 

The President also claimed the US would be paid a 20 percent tariff for securing safe passage for commercial vessels through the Persian Gulf. The details of Trump’s demand were not immediately clear.  

Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US ‘will be, from this point forward, known as “The Guardian of the Hormuz Strait.”‘

He added: ‘The process and formation will begin immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’ 

The blockade will not take effect immediately: shipowners must be given 24 hours’ notice under maritime law.

Oil prices spiked by 5 percent, with Brent crude, the global benchmark, hitting $79.93 – its highest price since June 19. 

This is the third consecutive day with American strikes on Tehran and the fifth in the past week

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Saudi Arabia launched strikes on Iran’s Houthi proxy terror group in Yemen, opening a new front in the war after Iran launched strikes against five US allies in the region.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels say Saudi warplanes bombarded Sanaa International Airport in Yemen. The group’s spokesman declared an ‘end to the de-escalation phase’ and warned that the ‘aggression will not go unanswered or unpunished.’

The attack reportedly came as an Iranian aircraft attempted to land at the airport. Evacuation orders have been issued for the airport and surrounding areas. 

A Saudi-led military alliance based in Yemen’s south for a decade has been fighting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels based in the north. 

Tehran says the fallout has already reached the negotiating table, with its foreign ministry claiming Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran has entered a ‘crisis phase.’

Asked about the escalating strikes across the region, Trump told Fox News: ‘We’re taking over the strait.’

The Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf chokepoint carrying about a fifth of the world’s oil, has been a central flashpoint since the war began in February, sending markets spiraling with every escalation.

The truce collapsed last week when Iran struck three vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the US retaliated with two rounds of strikes. 

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei speaks at a weekly press conference

Iran has insisted it controls the critical waterway, as another exchange of fire threatened a return to all-out war

Trump pronounced the deal dead from the Nato summit in Ankara: ‘There’s something wrong with them. They’re cuckoo. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.’

US strikes continued this weekend after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth vowed revenge for the Iranian strike and said: ‘Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay.’

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared the strait closed until further notice after the attack, according to a statement cited by CNN. 

Iran targeted various Middle Eastern countries that host US military bases, claiming responsibility for strikes in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. 

Some of the targets attacked by US forces included missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage facilities, communication networks and coastal surveillance locations, US Central Command said.

A spokesman added that President Trump directed the attacks ‘to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels freely transiting the strait.’

Iran had said the strait was being shut down ‘given the precariousness that was caused by this unlawful interference by outside parties.’

The regime added that the waterway’s closure would be ‘until further notice and until regional interference by the US ceases’ and that ‘no vessel or naval craft will be allowed to pass.’

Iran said on Saturday it struck US facilities at Jordan’s Prince Hassan Air Base, claiming it destroyed a command center and drone hangars. 

Washington denied the regime’s claim, with a US official stating no Americans were hurt and no serious damage was done. 

Jordan said it shot down four missiles, and the three that landed caused only minor damage. 

As the third day drew to a close, the moors above Saddleworth were still burning. Yet, the sights of the dried ground violently burning are nothing new. There have already been multiple wildfires in Greater Manchester this year.

Smog and smoke plumes billowed over the site again as fire crews remained on the scene after first being called out on Saturday.

Monday was another challenging day for emergency services. Roads remained closed. Strict avoid area warnings were in place. Local residents were urged to keep windows and doors closed.

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Thick plumes of smoke continued to be blown over parts of Greater Manchester, with the stench smelt again as far south at Stockport and Levenshulme. Unbelievable pictures showed Manchester’s skyline dwarfed by the size of the smoke clouds.

Arson investigation after fireworks videos

Fire crews along with police remained at the scene since it first broke out on Saturday evening (July 11). In a huge update, police then confirmed a 20-year-old woman was detained by detectives in Oldham on Monday morning and remains in custody for questioning on suspicion of arson.

This follows concerns about the use of fireworks being let off in the vicinity on Saturday. It comes after eye-witnesses told the Manchester Evening News they heard a number of loud bangs before the fire broke out. Multiple video clips and images posted to social media also a group of youths setting off fireworks at the beauty spot in Greenfield.

In clips now shared widely online, a firework appears to spark a blaze in dry grasses, before a group of bystanders run over to the smoking section of moorland. In another video recorded shortly afterwards, flames can be seen quickly spreading across a hillside at the Saddleworth beauty spot.

A group had gathered in tribute to a teenager who tragically lost his life in the reservoir on Friday night (June 10). Karl Holland, 18, was lost his life after getting into difficulties in the water, with his body sadly recovered from the scene later.

Police then confirmed to the M.E.N on Monday that the footage is forming part of investigations. A woman remains in custody to be quizzed over the incident, with enquires ongoing. Police are still urging witnesses and anyone with information to come forward.

Detective Inspector Andrew Day of Oldham CID said: “We are aware of social media posts circulating regarding this incident and would like to stress that this is a live police investigation. We would encourage people stop speculating regarding this and if you do have information, please report it to ourselves.”

“I feel like we’re getting used to it”

Nearby residents reported hearing ‘bangs’ so loud they thought they were gunshots shortly before fire crews first arrived at 8:45pm on Saturday. They then saw the sky being lit up by fireworks during what one onlooker described as a ‘Universal Studios style display.’

As smoke continued to billow out across the moors, residents living nearby shared their sadness, bafflement and anger at what had unfolded. “It’s crazy,” one woman, who did not want to be named, said. ”Absolutely baffling. I cannot even begin to fathom or understand it. There are signs everywhere saying ‘no fireworks.’

A woman who also lives in the village said it was ‘very sad for those who lost their friend’ but said those who let off the fireworks ‘had obviously not thought about what they were doing.’

She said residents in the village had been left facing ‘constant sirens and smoke’ from the fire. “I feel like we’re getting used to it. It has happened that often” she said. “But it seems to have gotten worse in the last five years or so. I’m not sure what, or by who, but I feel like more needs to be done.”

Smoke smothers Greater Manchester as lead firefighter says ‘we could be here for days’

Smoke had previously been blown over large swathes of Greater Manchester on Sunday, with the smell of smoke masking areas as far as Eccles as well as Stockport and Sale. The fire service said this was due to windy conditions causing a huge plume of smoke to travel across the region.

These conditions prevailed again on Monday, with large areas of Greater Manchester still becoming masked by the smell of smoke and clouds billowing overhead.

Large avoid area warnings remained in place. Fire crews were to remain on the scene overnight and into Tuesday in an effort to stop the blaze spreading any further, with acres of land already left scorched.

Ben Levy, Head of Response for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue (GMFRS) spoke to the Manchester Evening News on Monday. Detailing the major operation, he explained: “If this weather stays as it is, we’ll keep our efforts to control our fire. But I predict our firefighters will be here for maybe a number of days just yet.

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“You can see the terrain we’ve got behind us. It’s not just open moorland, there’s some, very, very steep moorland. There’s cliffs, there’s steep rocks. It’s very challenging to get in between there to control the fire.

“What our crews are doing is going around the outside of the perimeter of this fire to try and control the fire and we’re seeking aerial assets, including helicopters, to try and control the fire.”

Major incident declared

In their latest statement, the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service confirmed a major incident had been declared due to the scale of the fire. They said crews remained at the scene to ‘prevent further spread’.

Despite warm and sunny temperatures, people are continuing to be urged to avoid the area amid the major response.

“Due to weather conditions, smoke from the fire may be noticeable in parts of Greater Manchester and beyond,” a spokesperson said.

“If smoke is affecting your area, or there is visible smoke nearby, stay indoors where possible and keep windows and doors closed to reduce smoke entering your home.

“During the hot weather, people can help keep cool by drawing curtains to block direct sunlight, using fans to circulate air and keeping hydrated. Once smoke has moved away, consider opening windows and doors to ventilate and cool your home, while continuing to monitor conditions and follow any updated public advice.

“We are also asking people to avoid the Dovestone area to allow emergency services to work safely and allow for access routes to be clear.”

Screengrab taken from video of part of a wildfire in Almeria, Andalucia, that has killed 11 people in southern Spain. Four British people are thought to have died in a Spanish wildfire, after four bodies were found in a burnt-out car which had its steering wheel on the right. Issue date: Friday July 10, 2026.

PA Media

Nicola Sturgeon’s lawyer Aamer Anwar has issued another statement on her behalf insisting the ‘gold-plated’ police probe was enough to provide her innocence.

Nicola Sturgeon’s police statement and interview ‘will not be released’ according to her lawyer, who also slammed the ‘court of media opinion’ in his latest statement. Aamer Anwar made the announcement on Monday amid calls for the former First Minister’s police interview to be released.

Her estranged husband Peter Murrell was jailed for five years and three months last month after admitting embezzling over £400,000 when he was SNP chief executive. She was arrested in June 2023 and questioned by cops for several hours as part of Operation Branchform, but was released without charge the same day.

Sturgeon has continually denied any involvement or knowledge of Murrell’s activity. Now, Anwar has issued another statement on her behalf insisting the ‘gold-plated’ police probe was enough to provide her innocence.

It said: “Ms Sturgeon’s detailed statement produced for Police Scotland was to assist them with their inquiries; not for those who think they could now do a better job than the robust ‘gold-plated’ financial crime investigation.

“Ms Sturgeon is innocent, as evidenced by the fact that she was not charged, prosecuted nor convicted of any crime. Having been exonerated through the proper process, there is no onus on her to now prove her innocence in the court of media opinion.

“Neither Ms Sturgeon’s written statement or her police interview will be released.”

Sturgeon chose to use her right to remain silent during the interview by answering “no comment” when questions were put to her by officers. She later submitted a “detailed” written statement to the Branchform investigation in 2023, but the Record previously learned Police Scotland wanted to put more questions to her.