(CNN) -- Just days after his 65th birthday, groundbreaking comedian
Richard Pryor died Saturday of a heart attack, his wife told CNN.
Pryor, who had been ill with multiple sclerosis, died at Encino
Hospital near Los Angeles at 7:58 a.m. PT. Jennifer Lee Pryor tried
to revive him at their home before paramedics arrived and took him to
the hospital, she said.
"He enjoyed life right up until the end," she said, adding that Pryor
had been laughing a lot and was in good spirits in the two weeks
preceding his death. "At the end there was a smile on his face."
Jennifer Lee and Richard remarried in June 2001, 19 years after they
divorced. (Watch an interview with his wife -- 6:07)
Pryor was born in Peoria, Illinois, on December 1, 1940, and at the
time of his death had long suffered from health problems. In addition
to his multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 1986, he suffered a massive
heart attack and underwent triple-bypass surgery in 1990.
Pryor was known for his raunchy stand-up comedy and a variety of
acting roles, including in "Superman III," "The Toy" and "Harlem
Nights," in which he starred with his comedic predecessor, Redd Foxx,
and his heir apparent, Eddie Murphy.
Though he was known as a comic, Oscar-nominated director Spike Lee
said Pryor also was capable of serious roles, such as in 1972's "Lady
Sings the Blues," a movie that earned five Academy Award nominations.
Lee also noted that it was Pryor who gave several entertainers
license to inject social commentary into their comedy, acting or art.
Lee, best known for his socially charged "Do the Right Thing," said
he was "definitely" one of those entertainers.
"For me, Richard was a great. He was an innovator. He was a
trailblazer, and the way he showed social commentary in his humor
opened up a universe for other comics to follow in his footsteps," Lee said.
Pryor was arguably the biggest name in stand-up comedy during the
1970s, earning Grammy Awards for his comedy albums.
In addition to appearances in almost 40 films, Pryor also was part of
the team that created the script for the Mel Brooks comedy, "Blazing Saddles."
He also directed himself in a semi-autobiographical film, "Jo Jo
Dancer Your Life is Calling," in the mid-1980s, a film he says
refused to be written as a comedy.
But despite his achievements on the screen and on stage, Pryor is
often remembered for seriously burning over half his body while
freebasing cocaine -- an incident he later dubbed a suicide attempt.
Even that made its way into his comedy, which his wife said was a
common theme in his life -- being able to turn crisis into comedy --
and one that scored big with audiences at his stand-up shows.
As his disease became more and more debilitating, Pryor refused to
abandon his career. He continued to do stand-up -- sitting down. Many
have called it remarkable that he was so determined to keep
performing despite his illness.
One is director Martin Scorsese, who said Pryor's resilience was inspiring.
"It's a very savage kind of humor, it comes out of a great deal of
pain," Scorsese said.
Jennifer Lee Pryor said her husband inspired many people by being
candid about his own strife.
"He was able to turn pain into comedy," she said. "He let the world
see it, and that was his inspiration, too.
"People said, 'If he can do it, I can do it.' "
Pryor was married seven times to five different women and also leaves
three children.
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