Greased Lightning
Richard Pryor and Pam Grier met on the set of this movie. They fell in love, were involved for several years, and almost married. Richard's drug use almost ended their relationship. The day before they were to be married, Richard eloped with someone else, breaking Miss Grier's heart.,In many of the in-car shots during the races you can hear that they are manual transmissions being double clutched, but the drivers never take their hands off the wheel to shift.,[searching for car parts in a scrap yard]
Peewee: What'chyou looking for, Wendell?
Wendell Scott: Some of this, some of that, some of everything. A universal joint.
Peewee: Hmph. I wouldn't know a universal joint if it bit me.
Wendell Scott: Well, one's about to bite you.,Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Rich Little/Richard Pryor/David Sayh/David Horowitz (1977),Maybe Tomorrow
Written by Fred Karlin & Bradford Craig
Performed by Roberta Flack,Whenever you think about influencial people in African-American sports history, you mostly think of Jackie Robinson, but during the Civil Rights movement of the late 1950's and early 1960's, a young racer from Danville, VA quietly broke NASCAR's color barrier and that was Wendell Scott. I think Richard Pryor did an excellent job of portraying Wendell Scott in this film and showed what is was like to race in the South at that time (1950's-1960's). This film shows that anyone can do anything, regardless of their ethnic background. The real Wendell Scott's racing career was cut short due to a serious accident during a race in Talladega, Alabama in 1973. Where would some of today's African-American racing drivers be if Wendell Scott did not open the door? A must-see for racing fans in general.,