By George Alexander

When I heard the news last month that the producers of a forthcoming biopic on the late legendary comedian Richard Pryor had chosen Marlon Wayans for the leading role, I cracked up. Not because Wayans had landed a role that many thought would go to mega star Eddie Murphy, but because Richard Pryor has always made me laugh. Uncontrollably.

I was a kid in the mid-to-late seventies when I first heard of Pryor. My older brother had brought home from college a bootleg cassette tape of an uncensored live Pryor performance. It was uproarious. I’d never quite heard anything like it in my life. Once I got my hands on that tape, it was over. Unbeknownst to my parents and my brother, I would hide in the dark under the dining room table with my portable cassette player night after night and listen. Just listen. And laugh my little head off at characters like “Mudbone” and “Miss Rudolph.” My ears were on fire. I was mesmerized. It was a whole new world for me. And for a boy going through puberty, a tad eye-opening, to say the least.

I would lie captivated as Pryor painted vivid pictures of folks who sounded and looked familiar to my African-American world. You could just see them. He could take you to the barbershop, to the shoeshine stand, to the speakeasy even if you’d never had a drink in your life. Yet, it all rang true. It was real.

Growing up in the seventies, of course, I got to see Redd Foxx on “Sanford & Son” and Flip Wilson in his variety show. They were inarguably hilarious. And my parents talked about Moms Mabley. There may have been album around the house. But I’d never heard a storyteller quite like Richard Pryor. He was the master.

I think the genius of Pryor was his seductive way of weaving a tale. The brother told some stories. What made Pryor’s tales so compelling was his deft knowledge of the worlds he created. He had a gift for understanding the nuance, the specs, the grains of color in black life like few storytellers in any discipline. Most of all, he understood and respected the people he talked about even if they were considered marginal by the mainstream. He was able to find the griot and the soul in the shoeshine man and even the drunk for that matter. Embracing hyperbole yet spouting out the truth. It was a truth that could only come out of someone who had, in fact, lived authenticity.

Pryor simply knew the world of which he spoke. His mother, a prostitute, had abandoned him at a young age. The grandmother who reared him was a madam. He had worked in bars, billiard halls, as a janitor. All of that world came to the stage and screen when Pryor stepped up. A man of race consciousness who dropped the N-word from his routines following a trip to Africa, Pryor was the real deal. I am hopeful Hollywood will be able to bring his story to life as honestly and colorfully as he lived his life.

Thankfully, Hollywood has done a pretty decent job when it comes to making biopics of notable blacks: “Ray,” “X,” “Lady Sings the Blues” (in which Pryor starred) and “Bird” are all exceptional classics, collectively winning awards and respectable box office results. The Pryor pic has the same potential. And with Bill Condon, who directed “Dreamgirls” and won an Oscar for writing “Gods and Monsters,” writing and directing, I’m expecting big things. Plus, Chris Rock is a producer on the film, so I’m really optimistic.

Which brings us back to Marlon Wayans. Wayans, the youngest of ten children from the famous comedy clan, is mostly known for outrageous comedic fare in movies like “Dance Flick,” “White Chicks” and the “Scary Movie” franchise. Not exactly a resume of deep dramatic content. But if he is able to tap not only his talents in the comedy department but also the strains of his own life dramas (we all have them), if he can extract the truth from his world and capture the essence of Pryor’s inner life without falling into indefensible caricature, he will soar in this role. Yes, Richard Pryor was funny. We all know that. But he certainly whatn’t no joke. Wayans will have to come correct with this one. I’m sure he will.

George Alexander is the author of “Why We Make Movies” and “Queens: Portraits of Black Women and their Fabulous Hair.” He is also the supervising producer of the Centric series “Leading Women.”