Deztin J. Pryor, known professionally as D.J. Pryor, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. In January 2019, Pryor participated in the CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase. He has acted in short films.

Early life

Deztin Pryor is originally from

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...

, slitting some time in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

and later moved to

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is a city in Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tennessee, fifth-most populo ...

due to his father's military service. He is the oldest of 12 children. Pryor was born when his mother was 13 years old. As a child, his grandmother would let him watch

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

and he would secretly watch

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...

(no relation). He began doing stand-up comedy professionally at the age of 15 years.

Career

Pryor performs in a variety of venues from

comedy club A comedy club is a venue where a variety of comedic acts perform to a live audience. Although the term usually refers to establishments that feature stand-up comedy, stand-up comedians, it can also feature other forms of comedy such as improvisati ...

s to churches and colleges. He has performed at the Virginia House of Comedy. Pryor was once the opening act for

Corey Clark Corey Delaney Clark (born July 13, 1980) is an American singer. He is known for his highly publicized disqualification from the second season of ''American Idol'' and later allegations of a sexual relationship with then-''Idol'' judge Paula Ab ...

. In 2012, Pryor's promoter and manager was Kasey Carlton. In 2019, Mechelle Mason took over as Pryor's management team with Javier Salgado. Pryor has trained under Kim Hardin and participated in improvisation classes with Chris Berube. He has performed in commercials for

Allstate The Allstate Corporation is an American insurance company, headquartered in Glenview, Illinois (with a Northbrook, Illinois address) since 2022. Founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., it was spun off in 1993, but was still pa ...

and

Jack Daniel's Jack Daniel's is a brand of Tennessee whiskey produced at Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, which has been owned by the Brown–Forman Corporation since 1956. Packaged in square bottles, Jack Daniel's "Black Label" Tennessee wh ...

. He hosted a radio show, ''The DJ Pryor Show'' in early 2014, that will soon become a watchable series. , he was represented by Dan Talent Group. As of February 2019, he is represented by APA Talent Agency and still based out of Clarksville, TN. In January 2019, Pryor participated in the CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase. He was one of 21 actors and comedians selected out of over 3,000 auditions. Pryor has acted in several short films. In June 2019, Pryor and his son, Kingston, were featured in a

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,400 Restaurant, restaurants in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and several other internationa ...

commercial for

Father's Day Father's Day is a day set aside for honoring one's father, as well as fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. "Father's Day" complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Mother's Day and, in som ...

. The ''Wired'' recognized Pryor as a "dadfluencer." At the close of 2019, DJ Pryor was a guest on Dateline NBC's: A Toast to 2019! and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2020 to commemorate the highlights of 2019. As of September 2021, DJ Pryor performed in commercials for the Tennessee Titans. Pryor has also been featured as a guest on "Titans Blitz" showing Wednesdays on Nashville's MyTV 30 and Nashville's Fox 17. Pryor's segment "All Titan'd Up" on "Titans Blitz" will be featured falling on the week of Titans' home games.

Artistry

Pryor cites

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

Martin Lawrence Martin Fitzgerald LawrenceStated in interview on '' Inside the Actors Studio'' (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor and comedian. Lawrence began his career doing comedy shows, including in '' The Improv''. After his first acting role in t ...

Chris Tucker Christopher Tucker (born August 31, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Tucker made his debut in 1992 as a stand-up performer on the HBO comedy series '' Def Comedy Jam'', where he frequently appeared on the show during the 1990 ...

and

Flip Wilson Clerow "Flip" Wilson Jr. (December 8, 1933 – November 25, 1998) was an American comedian and actor best known for his television appearances during the late 1960s and 1970s. From 1970 to 1974, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series '' The ...

as early influences on his style. Pryor's stand-up routines are based on his real life.

Personal life

Pryor resides in

with his family. He has been married to Shanieke Pryor since 2015. Pryor has two sons, Jabari and Kingston, and a daughter, Zaria. Older son, Jabari was born in 2011 from a previous relationship. Kingston (born 2017) and Zaria (born 2020) with his wife, Shanieke. Pryor is Christian. In 2019, a home video of him "conversing" with then 19-month old Kingston went viral. Author Jenny Anderson and Al Race of the Center on the Developing Child at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

remark that Pryor's interaction with his son demonstrates a social-

feedback loop Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handle ...

called serve-and-return which contributes to

child development Child development involves the Human development (biology), biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence. It is—particularly from birth to five years— a foundation ...

Television

*Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2020'''' *A Toast to 2019!

Filmography

Film

* ''Country Strong'' * ''The Konichiwa Kid '' * ''Message Read ''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pryor, DJ Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American comedians 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Tennessee Comedians from Tennessee People from Petersburg, Virginia People from Clarksville, Tennessee Male actors from Virginia Comedians from Virginia American male comedians African-American male comedians American stand-up comedians African-American stand-up comedians 21st-century African-American people