Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor Sparred on ‘The Tonight Show’

Late-night talk shows have done away with one custom of Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show — the tradition of guests sticking around on the couch to steal attention from whoever’s being interviewed. Makes sense, but we lost the uncomfortable interactions that happen when two comics like Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase share the same stage.

It was Pryor’s turn for the spotlight when he came out to promote a comedy special. But Chase, sitting next to him after plugging his own special airing on the same night, couldn’t keep to himself. When Pryor did a bit about bringing slides to view with Carson, Chase kept sticking his head into the frame — and into the joke. 

As for Pryor’s special? He was in the middle of telling Carson all about it (“We had a beautiful time — it was 9,000 Black people here at NBC, and only three white people died”) when Chase interrupted him mid-joke. 

“May I say that I have seen Richard’s special?” he asked.

“No, you may not say that,” Pryor replied, comically (or actually) annoyed. 

“I’m very sorry,” Chase said before pressing on. “In fact, though, I have seen it, and it’s hilarious. It’s not quite as funny as mine, but it’s really funny.” 

Carson asked Pryor if he’d seen Chase’s special. “I don’t like Chevy,” Pryor deadpanned before an awkward Carson cut to a commercial.

Pryor probably wasn’t kidding, and Chase knew it. When Pryor hosted Saturday Night Live, his friend and writer Paul Mooney says Chase followed him around like a lamb after Bo Peep, according to Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him. “‘Richard hates me, doesn’t he?’ Chevy asks me. ‘He doesn’t hate you,’ I say, even though I know Richard does indeed despise Chevy.”

Mooney is the writer who penned the classic Chase/Pryor SNL sketch “Word Association,” although Chase claims the bit was his idea, according to Becoming Richard Pryor. Per Mooney, the sketch wasn’t only a shot at the bigoted behavior of NBC executives but also a way for Pryor to express his dislike of his co-star: “Chevy Chase was the doll-baby ... the darling of the discotheque with straight teeth, and Richard wanted to knock them out.”

That enmity comes across in the joint Tonight Show appearance as Chase continued to interrupt Pryor’s jokes. In the middle of Pryor’s bit about his son’s performance in a talent show, Chase steps on Pryor’s punchline and says the kid “is a hooker.” 

Pryor stops cold. “Huh? What was it you said?”

Chase retreats quickly. “I didn’t say nothing, man. Nothing.”

Pryor sharpens the knives. “I was going to ask you — why didn’t you tell Johnny you’re going to take over his show?”

“I knew you were going to bring that up,” Chase replies as the two continue a prickly exchange. The audience goes quiet as the animosity starts to feel real. 

Finally, Carson swoops in to save the day. “You guys better be big hits tomorrow night,” he warns. “I already got mine.”