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Lenny Bruce
A brilliant satirist, Lenny Bruce aroused much controversy in his time because of his use of so-called "dirty words" in his nightclub comedy act. The satire and black humor of Bruce's largely improvised shows often overstepped the bounds of what was considered respectable in the 50s and 60s. But Bruce co-ushered in a new kind of stand-up. His influences are still felt today.With his parents divorcing when he was five, Leonard Alfred Schneider (Lenny Bruce) was raised by his relatives. During World War II he served in the Navy and was discharged in 1946. After spending some time in odd jobs he moved to Hollywood to study acting. He worked as a nightclub performer in Brooklyn and Baltimore, where he married Honey Harlow, a striptease dancer. Their marriage ended in 1957.
The fifties was the breakthrough decade for Bruce and such comedians as Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Mort Sahl, who were all Jewish, with their own version of ethnicity. Their humor evoked a response among young Bohemians and college-educated people. Bruce appeared on the Arthur Godfrey Show and drew national attention with his daring style of satire, in which he probed taboo subjects such as racial fears, sexual fantasies, Jewish-Christian tensions and presidents. Bruce imagined Hitler in show business and stewardesses jettisoning infants from overloaded airliners, betraying at the same time a schooling in Catskills resorts. Bruce played to intellectuals, wearing jeans, not tuxedo. His wit and... [MORE]
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