Comedian Richard Pryor’s former house on Parthenia Street — the site where he set himself on fire after days of freebasing cocaine — has been listed for just shy of $3 million, The Real Deal has learned.
The more than 9,000-square-foot estate, in the San Fernando Valley’s Sherwood Forest, sits on a meticulously maintained 2.2 acres of land. It was referred to as the “Wrigley chewing gum estate” by Barbara Walters, who interviewed Pryor there in 1979.
The compound has six buildings: a main house, a guest home, a pool house, a gym/dance studio, an office and a children’s playhouse. The property also includes a three-car garage and kennel.
Outside, there is a pool with a spa, a waterfall and a slide; a BBQ pavilion; a children’s playground; tennis, tetherball and basketball courts; and a putting green. The gated property is surrounded by gardens.
Some of the grounds at 17267 Parthenia Street (credit: Melissa Di Meglio)
Pryor purchased the property in 1974 and lived there for several years. An incident that occurred at the estate in 1980 is said to have placed Northridge and Parthenia Street on the map. After days of freebasing cocaine, Pryor poured 151-proof rum all over his body and lit himself on fire. While ablaze, he ran down Parthenia Street until the police got to him. Pryor joked about the incident two years later in his comedy show “Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip” and used it as source material in “Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling,” a fictionalized account of his life.
What also put the area on the map was the Northridge earthquake, which happened 14 years later in 1994. The main house was destroyed by the quake, but was rebuilt in the style of the original.
In addition to Comedy, Pryor was also a television writer and movie actor, starring in films like “Stir Crazy” and “Greased Lightning”. In 1986 he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but continued to perform for years. In 2005, he died of a heart attack.
The property has been listed by Jason Peteler and Ben Bacal of Rodeo Realty.