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Lenny Bruce

Comedian

Name at birth: Leonard Alfred Schneider

An American counter-culture icon from the 1960s, Lenny Bruce's obscenity-laced social satire paved the way for modern stand-up comedy. Bruce served in the navy during World War II (1942-45) and began performing stand-up comedy in 1946. As he gained popularity in New York night clubs, his brand of comedy shifted from impersonations to free-wheeling monologues satirizing religion and politics. He released several comedy albums and appeared occasionally on TV, especially as a guest of Steve Allen and Hugh Hefner. In 1961 he was arrested after a performance in San Francisco and charged with obscenity. Bruce was acquitted, but for the next few years he was frequently in trouble with the law for using raw language on stage -- a no-no back then. In 1964 he was convicted of obscenity in New York and jailed for a few months (in 2003 Governor George Pataki posthumously pardoned him). As his legal troubles mounted, he performed less and less and used drugs more and more. He died of a drug overdose (probably either heroin or morphine) at the age of 40, but his style went on to influence the next generation of comedians, from George Carlin and Richard Pryor to Robin Williams and Chris Rock.

Other counter-culture figures include Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac.

Four Good Links

The Complete Lenny Bruce

Loaded fan tribute, including a chronology with one man's memories of Lenny

The Lenny Bruce F.B.I. File

Includes a biography and a recommended reading/listening list

Comedian Can Still Sting

October 2004 news story about the release of a CD set

Ladies and Gentlemen, Lenny Bruce

Tribute that includes sound files and liner notes from albums

Vital Stats

Birth

13 October 1925

Birthplace

Mineola, New York

Death

3 August 1966
(drug overdose, age 40)

Best Known As

Edgy, arrest-prone 1960's comedian