Pryor bowl nets more than $7,000 for animal group

SOUTH RUSSELL, Ohio (AP) _ A ceramic bowl painted by Richard Pryor raised $7,099 in an online auction benefiting an Ohio animal rights group. <br/><br/>The bowl, in which Pryor painted a self-portrait

Tuesday, March 21st 2006, 12:14 pm

By: News On 6

SOUTH RUSSELL, Ohio (AP) _ A ceramic bowl painted by Richard Pryor raised $7,099 in an online auction benefiting an Ohio animal rights group.

The bowl, in which Pryor painted a self-portrait before he died, was sold to GoldenPalace.com, an Internet-based casino company known for buying items online for charity and publicity.

Pryor sent the bowl to the Geauga Humane Society weeks before his death on Dec. 10. The actor-comedian, who was 65, died of a heart attack. He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis.

The portrait was surrounded by the painted words, ``Little Black Man in Big White World.'' The side of the bowl has Pryor's signature and drawings of a martini glass, lips and a cigarette.

``Richard and I were both there in spirit and I know he did everything he could to help the auction along,'' Pryor's widow, Jennifer, said in a statement. ``I couldn't be more delighted that he's still helping animals.''