Celebs Who Tried to Commit Suicide and Lived to Tell About It

Richard Pryor

Photo: The Independent
Photo: The Independent

The famed comedian enjoys the ignoble distinction of having perhaps the most famous suicide attempt in Hollywood history, depicted in Jo Jo Dancer, the autobiographical movie about his life.

“Whereas the popular notion is that Pryor accidentally set himself on fire while using cocaine liquefied by a flame (‘freebasing’),” reported the Chicago Tribune, “the accident is depicted as nothing less than a suicide attempt.”

“I did try to kill myself,” Pryor admits freely. “I have only fragments of memory about exactly what happened that night, but I know I tried to kill myself. The pain . . . it had come to that.”

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