Mar 20 at 10:30 AM - Sale 2697 -

Sale 2697 - Lot 194

Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900
(ENTERTAINMENT--FILM.) John Ancar and Richard Pryor. Slick Willy: First Draft Screenplay. [2], 114 mimeographed pages. Quarto, 11 x 8½ inches, bound with brads, red covers reading only "Slick Willy"; minimal wear. Los Angeles: Ancar Productions, circa 1970s
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Additional Details

This screenplay was authored by the comedian Richard Pryor in collaboration with John Ancar of Ancar Productions--of whom we can find no whisper of a mention elsewhere. Ancar and Margaret Gordy (Berry Gordy's wife?) are credited as creators. The script is undated and a bit of a mystery; we can find no other reference to the project. We suspect it dates from the early 1970s, when the largely unknown Pryor did some screenwriting for television shows such as Sanford and Son, before his 1974 rise to fame as a standup comedian.

The titular Slick Willy is a naive and hapless small-town gas station attendant who moves to Los Angeles and stumbles into all sorts of mischief. The tone and plot are somewhat similar to the 1979 Steve Martin vehicle "The Jerk." If you picture Pryor reading Willy's lines, you can imagine this script getting some laughs.

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