One careless owner...

The house where Richard Pryor set himself alight after days of freebasing cocaine has sold for $2.5million (£1.95million)

According to the Wall Street Journal,  it was bought by Rashard Mendenhall, a former NFL player for the Pittsburgh Steelers who now writes on the HBO sports comedy Ballers.

The six-bedroom Spanish-style home in California’s San Fernando Valley, boasts  2.2 acres of 'lush manicured grounds’ and was described by estate agents as an ‘oasis of calm and luxury living’ and ‘a home of dreams,’

On June 9, 1980, in a drug-induced psychotic incident, Pryor poured cognac over himself and lit it. While ablaze, he leapt out of the window and ran through the neighbourhood staggering around for several minutes while his clothes melted into his skin and his flesh bubbled and blistered, until two policemen subdued him. 

The ‘oasis of calm' went for $250,000 less than its original asking price.

Published: 10 May 2017