Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor made his career as a comedian, but he was discharged from the military when one joke went awry. While watching the film Imitation of Life, there was a racial joke that made one army man fall over with laughter. Richard Pryor and other soldiers attacked and stabbed the man for laughing so hard at the racism, but the beating was not fatal. He went to NYC to do stand-up following this incident.