The year was 1973 and fans couldn’t wait to see The Mack in theaters. The movie is now a classic, but the road to get it filmed was a long, rocky one…according to what The Mack’s lead actor, Max Julien; and the film’s producer/director, Michael Campus, once revealed. The beloved Richard Pryor was at the center of the conflict and the ruckus he reportedly caused on set was in true Pryor form. So we weren’t necessarily shocked when we heard about this, but it’s still entertaining nonetheless.

Pryor Urinated On Female Co-Star?

Pryor almost didn’t make it into “The Mack” cast, until his good friend, Max, pushed for him to be in it. After which, Pryor’s career began to get back on track.

Why were there reservations about hiring Pryor for The Mack? Because word on the old school curb is that he –get this– urinated on his Caucasian co-actress, Shelley Winters, while filming their movie, Wild In The Streets, 5 years earlier. Wild In The Streets was Pryor’s first movie and after that alleged piss fest, not many in Hollywood actually wanted to work with him ever again.

“The Mack” Director Didn’t Want To Cast Pryor…But Max Julien Stepped In

According to Max Julien, The Mack producer, Harvey Bernhard, absolutely did not want to cast Pryor in the film because of Pryor’s untamed behavior and that infamous urinating incident.

The Mack’s director, Michael Campus, also hated the thought of working with Richard Pryor because of his reputation and he actually described his time on the set with Pryor as “difficult.” Campus said that on many occasions while filming, Pryor showed up to the set high as a kite, and sometimes he was a no-show altogether. Campus also admitted that he was shocked at how well Pryor performed in the film, because on camera Pryor came to life like a true professional and you couldn’t even tell that he was high during taping, once the finished product was completed.

The reason why The Mack saved Pryor’s career, is because it was a huge box-office hit and prompted other Hollywood big wigs to want to be in the ‘Pryor business’ again. He was then able to pull his career and reputation out of a declining spiral. Not sure if Pryor and Shelley Winters ever made up though.

As you can see, Richard Pryor had become somewhat of an outcast in Hollywood, following his reported piss-gate incident. Not only was that obviously a disrespectful thing to do to another human being, but there was Pryor – an African American man – peeing on a Caucasian woman’s head during the civil rights era in 1968! Geesh! Richard P. didn’t give a you-know-what.

Here are a few more fun facts  about The Mack movie:

– According to what Max Julien stated on the DVD commentary, Richard Pryor and producer, Harvey Bernhard, had a heated argument during filming. Later that night, Pryor was going to Bernhard’s hotel room to attack him with a sock filled with ball bearings, until Julien calmed Pryor down.

– The infamous Player’s Ball scene was largely Richard Pryor’s idea. Other parts of the story Pryor took directly from people he’d known who were living that lifestyle a the time. That included real life incidents of seeing gangsters put a man in the trunk of a car with rats; and forcing a drug pusher to stab himself at gun point.

– The final draft of the script was written by Max Julien, Richard Pryor, and Michael Campus.

Those were all colorful moments in the ever-so-colorful legacy of the late, great Richard Pryor. We still love the man’s work, but even he, himself, had publicly admitted to just how wild his past endeavors in his professional and personal lives really were.