On May 20, 1981 Richard Pryor appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” where he was asked about what movies he likes to go see.
Without missing a beat Pryor reveals that the movie he’s most looking forward to seeing is “Superman II”. Having seen the previews for the film, Pryor excitedly tells Carson all about the upcoming film.
One of America’s most successful comedians at the time, Pryor’s comments to Johnny Carson caught the attention of the Superman film producers, Ilya and Alexander Salkind, who were eager to cast him in a prominent role in the third Superman movie. It wasn’t long before Pryor signed on for $5 million to play Gus Gorman in “Superman III”.
Those 32 seconds ruined a franchise
Looking back at Superman III, I could see it as two separate films. On the one hand it makes for a pretty funny Richard Pryor film. It could’ve been a film just about a guy down on his luck who gets caught up on a scheme by an evil business man who wants him to build a super computer for his own profit. On the other hand, it could’ve made for a decent Superman film. Superman having to face a evil business man who creates fake Kryptonite to split Superman into two separate people. One good the other bad. And… Read more »