Another Helping of ‘Fried Chicken and Latkes’

Image by Getty Images
She’s back for more: Singer, actress and comedian Rain Pryor, whom we met back in 2009,, is currently performing her one-woman show, “Fried Chicken and Latkes,” at New York’s Actors Temple Theater. It’s no secret that Pryor is the daughter of outspoken comedian Richard Pryor and Jewish dancer Shirley Bonus, and her dual black-Jewish identity is an essential part of her shtick. In her stand-up show Pryor shares anecdotes from her unusual upbringing peppering her stories with Yiddishisms like “meshugah” and “kibitz amongst yourselves.” She also sings a couple of original songs.
In the run-up to the New York opening of the show on August 6, Pryor and fellow comedian Kelly Carlin (daughter of George) were interviewed together for a New York Times piece about going into the family business. The two women are friends, though Pryor warned: “I don’t trust laughs from other comedians. I trust laughs from audiences.”
But Pryor isn’t too busy telling jokes onstage to take a turn onscreen: She played Sarah Palin’s stylist in the HBO film “Game Change,” based on the Alaska governor’s vice presidential candidacy in the 2008 election. “Sarah Palin is going to be so ticked off to see that her makeup artist is being played by a black Jewish girl,” Pryor told The Baltimore Sun before the film aired in March. “I pass for a white girl. Now that’s acting.”
Palin reportedly said that “Game Change” didn’t bother her in the slightest. (Yeah, right. Maybe Pryor can work that joke into her routine.)
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Fast Forward 5 Jewish senators accuse Trump of using antisemitism as ‘guise’ to attack universities
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.