Redd Foxx is best known for his starring role in the TV sitcom Sanford and Son, but the raunchy comedian also owned the comedy club where Richard Pryor got his start. Former 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan is currently in talks to portray Foxx in the forthcoming Pryor biopic directed by Lee Daniels, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Morgan, who knows a thing or two about brash comedy, recently returned to Saturday Night Live after being injured in a horrific multi-vehicle accident in 2014. It seems as if he’s slowly making his way back to the spotlight, as he’ll also be featured alongside Ice Cube and Charlie Day in the upcoming New Line comedy Fist Fight.
“Mr. Foxx, I hope I do you justice,” Morgan said in a statement. “It will be an honor to portray an icon.”
He’ll be in good company, too. The as-yet-unnamed Weinstein Company Project also features Mike Epps as the iconic comedian, Kate Hudson as his wife Jennifer, and Eddie Murphy as his abusive father. Oprah Winfrey will star as Pryor’s grandmother, working with Daniels for the first time since 2013’s The Butler.
As for Morgan, he’s also slated to embark on a stand-up tour in early 2016, so it’s safe to say that we’ll be seeing a lot more of him next year. Aptly titled Picking Up the Pieces, the tour will mark the latest stage of his triumphant comeback to comedy.
