Bowling for charity

A ceramic bowl painted by Richard Pryor raised US$7,099 ($11,522.48) 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 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 December 10.

The actor-comedian, who was 65, died of a heart attack. He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis.