According to the New York Post, Pam Grier met Freddie Prinze (father of Freddie Prinze Jr.) around the time that she was promoting her film, "Coffy." Prinze was making a name for himself as a comedian and had just hit success for his role in "Chico and the Man." As described in Deadline, he was a naïve talent, which prompted Grier to try to convince him to sign with her agent to steer his career in the right direction. Unfortunately, Prinze fell for Hollywood promises with bigger agents who never fulfilled their ends of the bargain.
Prinze had a more serious problem, however: his drug addiction. Grier told the New York Post that he tried to persuade her into doing drugs with him; when she refused, he became suspicious of her and confessed to trying to impregnate her out of fear that she wouldn't marry him. As per Deadline, his addiction only worsened, and Grier ended up being one of the last people to talk to him before he tragically died by suicide. Grier called him when he was going through a tough time and he said, "'I'm so depressed. I have nobody to talk to. I have no friends. I have a gun. And I feel I'm gonna do something, Mommy.' That is what he called me." Prinze shot himself on January 28, 1977, and was taken off life support the following day, as stated in The New York Times.
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