Do you remember Lenny Bruce?

[undeterred]

I watched the movie Lenny last night about the comedian Lenny Bruce - with an amazing performance by Dustin Hoffman. Bruce died in 1966, and frankly all I've ever heard about him was that he was a foul mouthed comedian.

I was reading about him while I was watching and was interested to see how he publically raised so many issues regarding freedom of speech and the concept of "obscenity".

"He paved the way for future outspoken comedians, and he paved the way for freedom of speech. His trial for obscenity for saying the word "cocksucker", in which – after being forced into bankruptcy – he was eventually found not guilty is seen as landmark trial for freedom of speech..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenny_Bruce

[wingzeroday]

1. blast from the past

[undeterred]

2. That's excellent.

Some of those jokes were in the film. Great that he actually made this.

[leveymg]

3. Looks like the same animators as The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show, a 60s toon gem.

Bruce's material seems so tame by today's standards, it wouldn't even be bleeped on The Disney Channel. The world has changed, in some ways.

Thanks Lenny.

[dipsydoodle]

4. Yes - he paved the way.

This is an age related response.

[Mc Mike]

5. 'Yadda Yadda, warden!' nt.

[panader0]

6. His obcenity trial was so absurd

that at one point his lawyer asked a witness " At any time did you see Mr Crotch touch his bruce?" True

[Mc Mike]

7. "Dorothy Kilgallen is NOT going to see some crotch-grabbing hoodlum. She just isn't."

[Mc Mike]

8. "Hitler and the MCA";

"George Bernard Shaw and the 'Wharton Incident' "; "How the Jew and the Negro got into show business"; " 'Tract Home Chippie' seeks the same protection as D.H. Lawrence's classic masterpiece 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' "; "He used to beat the shit out of Cubans and turn them into bus-boys - that was his organization of the union"; "LBJ's daughter's Catholic wedding - she looked like a Guatemalan slave girl - set the Catholic Church back 2000 years"; "Undercover cop does 'Lenny Bruce, In Substance' for the Grand Jury - 'Catholics and shit, Jews and shit, and .. in the park, and Catholics and Jews and shit. That's all I have, your honor.' "

Hoffman is very respectable, but the movie's stand-up bits can't hold a candle to Lenny.

[spanone]

9. lenny was a genius.

[aikoaiko]

10. As a historical figure, yes.

[byeya]

11. As a teenager, I saw Lenny Bruce in concert twice.

He came on stage in a Nehru suit - this is 1960 - and Spanish boots and held the audience rapt for 90 minutes.
One of my heroes: During his last years, when Phil Spector managed him, and Lenny died, Phil said it was from
an overdose of police. Bruce was targeted everywhere, it seemed, he performed.
His records were good too.

[undeterred]

14. That's cool.

He must have been quite a character.

[HappyMe]

12. k&r

I will have to look for this film.

[WI_DEM]

13. Great movie with Hoffman.

though I didn't think that Bruce was very funny. He was shocking most of the time (for the time) and socially relevant, but not really all that funny, imo.

[Archae]

15. He did this on the Carson show.

[Octafish]

16. Stamp Help Out

Wish it were still around.

[Bob Dawson]

17. Lenny Bruce, Dylan, Web sheriff

Last edited Sat Sep 1, 2012, 01:05 PM - Edit history (1)

I really don't know if this story is of interest to you, but I am in the process of having an interesting Lenny Bruce encounter, about Dylan's song of that name, and the web sheriff.
http://parkinsonsdance.blogspot.com/2005/08/chapter-43.html
sept.1 UPDATE - WebSheriff put the Lenny Bruce song back up in my Chapter 43. Thank you Websherrif and the Dylan camp in general. Bob Dawson