Lenny Bruce: the "Old-School" Trailblazer of Comedy
When once asked to describe jazz, trumpet legend Miles Davis sarcastically but saliently replied, "You can sweat it down to four words: Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker." Now trying to apply that same old-school, new-school trailblazer to comedy is somewhat more a problem. There are a number of great early comics could stand in for the "Louis Armstrong" entry, among them Charlie Chaplin, Jack Benny, Groucho Marx and George Burns. But in choosing the "Charlie Parker" of comedy, by that meaning the one who blazed the modern-day trail, influencing all that came after him, the answer is simple and irrefutable: Lenny Bruce. He was the genre's reckless visionary, the one who defied conventions, the law, and the system, and - like most visionaries - was taken down by it all in the end.
Lenny Bruce Changed the Whole Ball Game
Tearing down the conventional walls of comedy
Bruce changed the whole ball game, no longer would comics have to come out in a cute little suit and tell cute little mother-in-law jokes or feel like they were "working dirty" if they talked openly about sex and other taboo subjects. The shoot-from-the-hip and tell-the-truth work of Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Richard Lewis, and myriad other modern-day comics could never have existed without Bruce first storming the gates and tearing down the conventional walls of comedy presentation back in the 1950s.
Lenny Was the Original Rebel
Who Continued To Test The Boundaries of Free Speech
Lenny Bruce was the original rebel testing the boundaries of free speech, taking his "borscht belt" and strip-joint background and turning it to a hipster enlightenment. His style took previously taboo subjects and not only dumped them all in the audience's lap, but did it with a creative verve that made him
the wildest, the hippest, the most controversial, and simply the best comic trotting the boards. Those lucky enough to have caught Bruce on an inspired night said it was like a
roller coaster ride inside a person's head, free-association ramblings streaming out in a virtual torrent of ideas. Jumping from '50s jazz hipster slang to a liberal dosage of Yiddish vernacular that sounded like code to the uninitiated to sometimes impish little-boy charm letting you in on a big, dark secret, no comic created intimacy with an audience in almost any environment - conclusively proven in his amazing performance at Carnegie Hall than Lenny Bruce.
the wildest, the hippest, the most controversial, and simply the best comic trotting the boards. Those lucky enough to have caught Bruce on an inspired night said it was like a
roller coaster ride inside a person's head, free-association ramblings streaming out in a virtual torrent of ideas. Jumping from '50s jazz hipster slang to a liberal dosage of Yiddish vernacular that sounded like code to the uninitiated to sometimes impish little-boy charm letting you in on a big, dark secret, no comic created intimacy with an audience in almost any environment - conclusively proven in his amazing performance at Carnegie Hall than Lenny Bruce.
Lenny Bruce Carnegie Hall Performance
Albert Goldman Liner Notes From Album Set
On February 3, 1961, in the midst of a severe blizzard, he gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall in New York. It was recorded and later released as a three album set, "the Carnegie Hall Concert". In the liner notes, critic Albert Goldman described it as follows:This was the moment that an obscure yet rapidly rising young comedian named Lenny Bruce chose to give one of the greatest performances of his career. ... The performance contained in this album is that of a child of the jazz age. Lenny worshipped the gods of Spontaneity, Candor and Free Association. He fancied himself an oral jazzman. His ideal was to walk out there like Charlie Parker, take that mike in his hand like a horn and blow, blow, blow everything that came into his head just as it came into his head with nothing censored, nothing translated, nothing mediated, until he was pure mind, pure head sending out brainwaves like radio waves into the heads of every man and woman seated in that vast hall. Sending, sending, sending, he would finally reach a point of clairvoyance where he was no longer a performer but rather a medium transmitting messages that just came to him from out there -- from recall, fantasy, prophecy. A point at which, like the practitioners of automatic writing, his tongue would outrun his mind and he would be saying things he didn't plan to say, things that surprised, delighted him, cracked him up -- as if he were a spectator at his own performance
Albert Goldmans' Book
Ladies and Gentlemen, Lenny Bruce:
I am Not A Comedian ..........,
I'm Lenny Bruce
Although Lenny Bruce e rode in on the crest of that late-'50s wave known as the "sick comics," Bruce distanced himself from the pack, both in ideas, outlook, and demeanor, quickly proving that he had much more to offer philosophically than some tasteless one-liners whose comedic value was usually based on shock value alone. Not that in the early days Bruce wasn't above drawing on items in the news to pull a "quickie sickie" observation to get a fast laugh, but the simple fact that Bruce quickly outgrew the medium that launched him was already apparent by the live recorded performances he was laying down that were appearing on albums by 1959 and 1960. While Mort Sahl the most popular and digestible of the new comics would take aim at political sacred cows, Lenny came from a hipster's background and - fueled by endless nights of honing his craft in California strip joints, where the audience couldn't have cared less what he said or did - was out to violate the night club taboos by dealing with sex, race, and religion, using words that had seldom been uttered on cabaret stages up to that point. Lenny Bruce Was a Brilliant Satirist........
Who Kept Testing the Boundaries
Lenny Bruce was a brilliant satirist and the object of his early pieces was quite often show business itself, clearly a signal that he was more than willing to bite the hand that was feeding him. Exposing the seediness, pomposity, and insensitivity that existed then - as now - in show business via brilliant routines like "The Palladium," "Hitler and the M.C.A.," "The Tribunal," and "Religions, Inc.," it was obvious that Bruce was going places that no comic had dared to go in front of an audience. Exposing racism and bigotry in routines like "White Collar Drunks," "How to Relax Your Colored Friends at Parties," and his brilliant satire of the movie "The Defiant Ones" was another bold step, paving the way for message comedians like Dick Gregory and later, Richard Pryor and George Carlin to find their voice and audience.Lenny's work went through three basic phases of development, starting with the bits and routines that lampooned show business conventions and often caused audiences to walk out. Tiring of the sheer drudgery of regurgitating the same material on a nightly basis, Bruce entered his second phase, abandoning all format on-stage, free-forming his entire performance. His final phase at the end of his career was slow-moving, obsessive shows centered around the contradictions in the American legal system. As Bruce kept testing the boundaries of what could be talked about on a stage, other comics heard his basic message and rethought their entire game plan. In effect, he invented modern-day comedy as we know it.
The concept of a comedy concert back then was unthinkable. Up to that time, comics worked in clubs bars, saloons, and strip joints or as part of a stage show. Putting a comedian in a theater all by their lonesome for an entire evening seemed like a crazy idea until Bruce's work justified such a gamble, now a presentation format common to any comedian popular enough to fill a large building.
But with the trailblazing came the heat
But with the trailblazing came the heat. The police busted Lenny at the Jazz Workshop in 1961 for violating the California Obscenity Code. As Paul Krassner said, "Lenny fought for the right to say on a nightclub stage what he felt free to say in his own living room."Bruce's drug use was widely known throughout the business, and after his acquittal on obscenity charges, he was deported from Britain, barred from performing in Australia,
busted for either narcotics possession or obscenity in Los Angeles, Chicago, Hollywood, New York, and San Francisco.
In 1964 he had himself declared a legally bankrupt pauper, virtually unable to work anywhere. By this time, Lenny had a lone benefactor keeping him afloat, who was rock & roll producer Phil Spector. Spector was the last person to record Lenny for public consumption.
On August 3, 1966, with his career and finances in tatters, Lenny Bruce died of a heroin overdose at age 40. Lenny Bruce's visionary work changed the world of comedy forever. His life story became a 1974 film "Lenny" by Bob Fosse, starring Dustin Hoffman.
Lenny Bruce on the Steve Allen Show 1959
A real finger snapper
Lenny Bruce first burst upon the national consciousness in the spring of 1959 with two riotous appearances on the Steve Allen Show. There had never been a comedian like him before: He was handsome, smart and as hip as they come; A real finger snapping, urban bon vivant; A combination sage rabbi and verbal kamikaze, Lenny Bruce was the real thing. The facets of his psychological make up, including his all-too-obvious personal vulnerabilities were there, for all the world to behold, bravely exhibited on the nightclub stage. That he was a troubled, tormented soul, there can be no doubt. Unhappiness and insecurity dogged him his entire life. Close friends would remember him as a basically sad and lonely man. But, damn! When he walked on stage he was funny, Screamingly funny!
LENNY BRUCE - Thank You Mask Man
Animated Short Based on Lenny Bruce's bit "Thank You Mask Man".
Thank You Maskman - Lenny Bruce
This is an old animation based on Lenny Bruce's standup routine. He actually does all the voices in it. Apparently the animation came later on with his consent. Hilarious stuff.
Runtime: 7:20
124812 views
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Lenny Bruce and His Attorney Ready Performance Tape
Trial in San Francisco, March 8 1962
Lenny Bruce certainly paved the way for every taboo-breaking comic working today. His sad life and early death have made him a fitting martyr to the cause of free speech. Legal scholars have called Bruce a "Quintessential American", in his passionate defense of the First Amendment, the right to free speech. Of his rights, he claimed, "These are mine", "I will not relinquish them unto anybody". The man who had blown fresh air into comic language spent his last years lost in a quagmire of legal transcripts, often reading them on stage to humor-less effect. All this legal wrangling led his friend, Phil Spector, to say that Bruce "may have died of an overdose of police". The Trials of Lenny Bruce
by Ronald K. L. Collins and David M. Skover
The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall and Rise of An American Icon
One of the most incendiary entertainers in American stand-up comedy, Lenny Bruce was never one to shy away from controversy or a legal fight. Written by a First Amendment scholar and law professor, this is the story of the series of obscenity cases that Bruce had leveled against him and how they played out. Many details from the trials are included here, making the book a literal walking tour of his time in court. An outstanding feature is the accompanying audio CD, the contents of which are all keyed to passages in the book. Narrated by Nat Hentoff and containing performances by Bruce and interviews with other entertainment notables, including George Carlin, the CD gives the text another dimension and allows for a truly different reading experience. The book is best read in tandem with Bruce's How To Talk Dirty and Influence People: An Autobiography and William Karl Thomas's Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. A fine retelling of Bruce's career as well as one of the only books in print to detail his free-speech legal troubles.
Purchase this Book
The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall and Rise of An American Icon
Petition Protesting the Arrest of Lenny Bruce
June 13 1964
Petition Protesting the Arrest of Lenny Bruce
June 13, 1964
We the undersigned are agreed that the recent arrests of night-club entertainer Lenny Bruce by the New York police department on charges of indecent performance constitutes a violation of civil liberties as guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution.
Lenny Bruce is a popular and controversial performer in the field of social satire in the tradition of Swift, Rabelais, and Twain. Although Bruce makes use of the vernacular in his night-club performances, he does so within the context of his satirical intent and not to arouse the prurient interests of his listeners. It is up to the audience to determine what is offensive to them; it is not a function of the police department of New York or any other city to decide what adult private citizens may or may not hear.
Whether we regard Bruce as a moral spokesman or simply as an entertainer, we believe he should be allowed to perform free from censorship or harassment.
The signators included theologian Reinhold Neibuhr; psychoanalyst Theodor Reik; Arnold Beichman, chairman of the American Committee for Cultural Freedom; entertainers Woody Allen, Theodore Bikel, Richard Burton, Godfrey Cambridge, Bob Dylan, Herb Gardner, Ben Gazzara, Dick Gregory, Tommy Leonetti, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, Rip Tom, Rudy Vallee; novelists and playwrights Nelson Algren, James Baldwin, Saul Bellow, Kay Boyle, Jack Gelber, Joseph Heller, Lillian Helman, James Jones, Norman Mailer, Arthur Miller, Henry Miller, John Rechy, Jack Richardson, Susan Sontag, Terry Southern, William Styron, John Updike, Gore Vidal, Arnold Weinstein; artists Jules Feiffer, Walt Kelly and Ben Shabo; poets Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Leroi Jones, Peter Orlovsky, Louis Untermeyer; critics Eric Bentley, Robert Brustein, Malcom
Cowley, Les Crane, Harry Golden, Michael Harrington, Nat Hentoff, Granville Hicks, Alfred Kazin, Alexander King, Max Lerner, Dwight Macdonald, Jonathan Miller, Philip Rahv, Mark Schorer, Harvey Swados, Jerry Tallmer, Lionel Trilling, Dan Wakefield, Richard Gilman; editors and publishers Ira Gitler (Down Beat), Robert Gottlieb (Simon-& Schuster), Irving Howe (Dissent), Peter Israel (Putnam's), William Phillips (Partisan Review), George Plimpton (Paris Review), Norman Podhoretz (Commentary), Barney Rossett (Grove Press).
June 13, 1964
We the undersigned are agreed that the recent arrests of night-club entertainer Lenny Bruce by the New York police department on charges of indecent performance constitutes a violation of civil liberties as guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution.
Lenny Bruce is a popular and controversial performer in the field of social satire in the tradition of Swift, Rabelais, and Twain. Although Bruce makes use of the vernacular in his night-club performances, he does so within the context of his satirical intent and not to arouse the prurient interests of his listeners. It is up to the audience to determine what is offensive to them; it is not a function of the police department of New York or any other city to decide what adult private citizens may or may not hear.
Whether we regard Bruce as a moral spokesman or simply as an entertainer, we believe he should be allowed to perform free from censorship or harassment.
The signators included theologian Reinhold Neibuhr; psychoanalyst Theodor Reik; Arnold Beichman, chairman of the American Committee for Cultural Freedom; entertainers Woody Allen, Theodore Bikel, Richard Burton, Godfrey Cambridge, Bob Dylan, Herb Gardner, Ben Gazzara, Dick Gregory, Tommy Leonetti, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, Rip Tom, Rudy Vallee; novelists and playwrights Nelson Algren, James Baldwin, Saul Bellow, Kay Boyle, Jack Gelber, Joseph Heller, Lillian Helman, James Jones, Norman Mailer, Arthur Miller, Henry Miller, John Rechy, Jack Richardson, Susan Sontag, Terry Southern, William Styron, John Updike, Gore Vidal, Arnold Weinstein; artists Jules Feiffer, Walt Kelly and Ben Shabo; poets Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Leroi Jones, Peter Orlovsky, Louis Untermeyer; critics Eric Bentley, Robert Brustein, Malcom
Cowley, Les Crane, Harry Golden, Michael Harrington, Nat Hentoff, Granville Hicks, Alfred Kazin, Alexander King, Max Lerner, Dwight Macdonald, Jonathan Miller, Philip Rahv, Mark Schorer, Harvey Swados, Jerry Tallmer, Lionel Trilling, Dan Wakefield, Richard Gilman; editors and publishers Ira Gitler (Down Beat), Robert Gottlieb (Simon-& Schuster), Irving Howe (Dissent), Peter Israel (Putnam's), William Phillips (Partisan Review), George Plimpton (Paris Review), Norman Podhoretz (Commentary), Barney Rossett (Grove Press).
37 Years After His Death, Lenny Bruce Receives a Pardon
By Kirk Semple: Published: December 23, 2003 New York Times
37 Years After His Death, Lenny Bruce Receives a Pardon
Lenny Bruce, the pioneering, ribald comedian who died of a drug overdose in 1966, was given a posthumous gubernatorial pardon today for the obscenity conviction that some supporters believe hastened his demise.
Gov. George A. Pataki of New York said his decision to pardon Bruce nearly four decades after the fact was "a declaration of New York's commitment to upholding the First Amendment."
Read More (New York Times Article)
Please Sign the Guest Book........
Let Us Know You Were Here Too!!
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.
_
charlino wrote...
Lenny Bruce - One of the first great stand-ups to push the edge. Excellent tribute to a great artist.
Posted April 02, 2009
drifter0658 wrote...
Fantastic Tribute to one of the great Artists of all time. Self expression sometimes comes with a stiff price, and Bruce's self expression was cutting to the bone of those who held power, for this he paid.
The Mask Video is a classic. I also liked a routine I saw where he talked about the witness in front of the Grand Jury giving a word for word account of Lenny's act, and that Lenny was going to have to in front of the jury and defend himself against himself. Funny sh!t.
I am lensrolling this to 'I Swear; Therefore I Am'
Thanks!
Posted April 02, 2009
papawu wrote...
Fantastic! I've listened to many of his recordings and seen a couple of videos of his shows, but it was always sad to me that he hadn't been born later in life. He should be dubbed a comic icon, but for the controversy he caused in the time period in which performed. He was way ahead of his time and it was Lenny who blazed the trail for comics like Pryor and the Diceman. Lensrolling this to my lens THE FUNNIEST PEOPLE EVER.
Posted November 04, 2008
JamesThomasCalhoun wrote...
A really great lens. Thanks. I have been a fan of Bruce for a long time. His ability to cut through false fronts was amazing. His inability to turn a blind eye to these guises added to his pain.. The life and work of Lenny Bruce still commands our attention.
Posted October 28, 2008
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Lenny Bruce Time Line - the Condensed Version
Birth to 1959
October 13, 1925 Leonard Schneider (known as Lenny Bruce after 1947, when he changed his name) is born in Mineola, New York.1945 Bruce is discharged from the army for wearing women's clothing
1948 Bruce, at the time performing a fairly standard burlesque-comedian routine, appears on the nationally broadcast Arthur Godfrey Show.
1953-1956 Bruce's comedy begins to take on more of an edge as he works southern California strip joints. On one occasion, Bruce does a shoe wearing only black socks.
June 24, 1957 The Supreme Court decides the important obscenity case of Roth v United States. The Roth decision, written by Justice William Brennan, will play a key role in Bruce's later obscenity trials.
April 9, 1959 Bruce appears on the "Steve Allen Show", his first nationally broadcast television appearance.
Lenny Bruce 1961
Bruce Time Line Continued
September 29, 1961 Bruce is arrested in Philadelphia for possession of narcotics.
October 4, 1961 Bruce is arrested on obscenity charges after performing at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco. After booking, he goes back to the club for a late-night show.
November 17, 1961 Bruce's first obscenity trial begins in San Francisco. The judge fails to advise Bruce of his right to counsel at the arraignment.
October 4, 1961 Bruce is arrested on obscenity charges after performing at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco. After booking, he goes back to the club for a late-night show.
November 17, 1961 Bruce's first obscenity trial begins in San Francisco. The judge fails to advise Bruce of his right to counsel at the arraignment.
Lenny Bruce 1962
Bruce Time Line Continued
March 5, 1962 After Bruce's motion for a new trial is granted (based on the failure to inform him of his right to counsel), a second municipal trial opens before Judge Clayton Horn, to whom the case has been reassigned..
March 8, 1962 Bruce is acquitted in his San Francisco obscenity trial, based in large part on the favorable instructions of Judge Horn. Judge Horn's instructions offer a liberal interpretation of the Supreme Court case, Roth v United States.
October 24, 1962 Bruce is arrested on obscenity charges for a performance the night before at
"The Troubadour" in West Hollywood, California.
December 5, 1962 Bruce is arrested on obscenity charges in Chicago after a week of performances at "The Gate of Horn".
December 28, 1962 The Troubadour obscenity trial opens in Beverly Hills, California.
March 8, 1962 Bruce is acquitted in his San Francisco obscenity trial, based in large part on the favorable instructions of Judge Horn. Judge Horn's instructions offer a liberal interpretation of the Supreme Court case, Roth v United States.
October 24, 1962 Bruce is arrested on obscenity charges for a performance the night before at
"The Troubadour" in West Hollywood, California.
December 5, 1962 Bruce is arrested on obscenity charges in Chicago after a week of performances at "The Gate of Horn".
December 28, 1962 The Troubadour obscenity trial opens in Beverly Hills, California.
Lenny Bruce 1963
Bruce Time Line Continued
February 12, 1963 Bruce is arrested on obscenity charges following a performance at The Unicorn in Los Angeles.
February 13, 1963 The Troubadour and Unicorn obscenity trials are consolidated and jury selection begins.
February 15, 1963 After listening to tapes of Bruce's Troubadour and Unicorn performances, the jury in his obscenity trial deadlocks 7 to 5 (the majority favoring acquittal). A mistrial is declared.
February 18, 1963 The Gate of Horn obscenity trial opens in Chicago. Bruce acts as his own counsel.
February 23, 1963 Bruce is arrested on a narcotics charge in Los Angeles taxi cab during a recess in his Chicago trial. Facing felony drug charges in California, Bruce is unable to return to Chicago for the rest of his trial, which proceeds in his absence.
February 28, 1963 After one hour of deliberations, the jury in Bruce's Gate of Horn obscenity trial returns a guilty verdict.
March 12, 1963 Bruce sends a telegram to the judge in the Gate of Horn trial, Judge Daniel Ryan, accusing him of "illegal, unconstitutional, and most fascistic...behavior" for trying him in abstentia.
March 19, 1963 After Judge Ryan in Chicago sentences Bruce to one year in jail, Illinois sends a fugitive warrant to California requesting Bruce's extradition.
April 3, 1963 Bruce flies to Chicago where he requests and is granted an appeal bond, allowing him to remain free until his appeals of his conviction are decided.
April 13, 1963 After attempting to perform at The Establishment in London, Bruce is seized by police and taken to the London airport, where he is deported the next day.
June 20, 1963 Bruce is ordered confined at the State Rehabilitation Center at Chico, California for treatment of his drug addiction.
February 13, 1963 The Troubadour and Unicorn obscenity trials are consolidated and jury selection begins.
February 15, 1963 After listening to tapes of Bruce's Troubadour and Unicorn performances, the jury in his obscenity trial deadlocks 7 to 5 (the majority favoring acquittal). A mistrial is declared.
February 18, 1963 The Gate of Horn obscenity trial opens in Chicago. Bruce acts as his own counsel.
February 23, 1963 Bruce is arrested on a narcotics charge in Los Angeles taxi cab during a recess in his Chicago trial. Facing felony drug charges in California, Bruce is unable to return to Chicago for the rest of his trial, which proceeds in his absence.
February 28, 1963 After one hour of deliberations, the jury in Bruce's Gate of Horn obscenity trial returns a guilty verdict.
March 12, 1963 Bruce sends a telegram to the judge in the Gate of Horn trial, Judge Daniel Ryan, accusing him of "illegal, unconstitutional, and most fascistic...behavior" for trying him in abstentia.
March 19, 1963 After Judge Ryan in Chicago sentences Bruce to one year in jail, Illinois sends a fugitive warrant to California requesting Bruce's extradition.
April 3, 1963 Bruce flies to Chicago where he requests and is granted an appeal bond, allowing him to remain free until his appeals of his conviction are decided.
April 13, 1963 After attempting to perform at The Establishment in London, Bruce is seized by police and taken to the London airport, where he is deported the next day.
June 20, 1963 Bruce is ordered confined at the State Rehabilitation Center at Chico, California for treatment of his drug addiction.
Lenny Bruce 1964 - 65
Bruce Time Line Continued
March 19, 1964 Bruce is arrested on obscenity charges for performances given over the previous three weeks at The Talley Ho is Los Angeles. He is released on $500 bail and returns for another show at The Talley Ho.
March 31, 1964 License Department Inspector Herbert Ruhe attends Bruce's performance at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village and later submits a report on the show to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
April 1, 1964 Four vice squad officers attend and record Bruce's 10 P. M. show at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York City.
April 3, 1964 Bruce and Howard Solomon are arrested on obscenity charges in the dressing room of the Cafe Au Go Go shortly before Bruce was to go on stage for his 10 P. M. performance.
April 4, 1964 Bruce pleads not guilty to the obscenity charges and is released on $1000 bail. He returns to the Cafe Au Go Go to perform before a capacity crowd.
April 7, 1964 Bruce, who continued to perform at the Cafe Au Go Go following his arrest three days earlier, is again arrested on obscenity charges.
April 23, 1964 Bruce is hospitalized for pleurisy and his Cafe Au Go Go trial is postponed.
May 21, 1964 In Los Angeles, Muncipal Court Judge Bernard Selber dismisses Bruce's Talley Ho obscenity charges, citing Roth v United States.
June 13, 1964 Various celebritites (including actors, musicians, authors, journalists, and scientists) sign a petition in defense of Bruce. Signers include Paul Newman, Bob Dylan, Norman Mailer, Susan Sontag, and Elizabeth Taylor.
June 16, 1964 Bruce's Cafe Au Go Go obscenity trial opens in New York Criminal Court before a panel of three judges..
June 17, 1964 Tapes of Bruce's April 1 and April 7 performances at the Cafe Au Go Go are played in court.
June 18, 1964 The Illinois Supreme Court unanimously affirms Bruce's Gate of Horn obscenity conviction in People v Bruce. Bruce is again hospitalized with pleurisy, and his trial is recessed until June 30.
June 30, 1964 The defense moves to dismiss the prosecution against Bruce on constitutional grounds. The defense begins its case, which will include eighteen witnesses (most called to prove Bruce's act had significant redeeming social value)..
July 7, 1964 The Illinois Supreme Court vacates its June decision in People v Bruce, asking for new arguments in view of the U. S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Jacobellis v Ohio.
July 28, 1964 Final day of the Cafe Au Go Go obscenity trial.
November 4, 1964 Bruce is found guilty in the Cafe Au Go Go trial by a 2 to 1 vote of the three-judge panel. Howard Solomon is also found guilty.
November 24, 1964 The Illinois Supreme Court reverses Bruce's obscenity conviction in People v Bruce, the Gate of Horn obscenity case.
December 14, 1964 A New York federal district court rejects Bruce's request for prospective injunctive relief against New York prosecutors and judges in the case of Bruce v Hogan.
December 21, 1964 At his sentencing hearing in the New York Cafe Au Go Go case, Bruce addresses the court for over an hour. Bruce is sentenced to "four months in the workhouse."
February 11, 1965 Bruce files a second civil action for damages against the district attorney's offices in New York for allegedly violating his constitutional rights.
June 1, 1965 The U. S. Supreme Court denies Bruce's request for certiorari in the case of Bruce v Hogan.
October 1965 Bruce is declared bankrupt.
March 31, 1964 License Department Inspector Herbert Ruhe attends Bruce's performance at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village and later submits a report on the show to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
April 1, 1964 Four vice squad officers attend and record Bruce's 10 P. M. show at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York City.
April 3, 1964 Bruce and Howard Solomon are arrested on obscenity charges in the dressing room of the Cafe Au Go Go shortly before Bruce was to go on stage for his 10 P. M. performance.
April 4, 1964 Bruce pleads not guilty to the obscenity charges and is released on $1000 bail. He returns to the Cafe Au Go Go to perform before a capacity crowd.
April 7, 1964 Bruce, who continued to perform at the Cafe Au Go Go following his arrest three days earlier, is again arrested on obscenity charges.
April 23, 1964 Bruce is hospitalized for pleurisy and his Cafe Au Go Go trial is postponed.
May 21, 1964 In Los Angeles, Muncipal Court Judge Bernard Selber dismisses Bruce's Talley Ho obscenity charges, citing Roth v United States.
June 13, 1964 Various celebritites (including actors, musicians, authors, journalists, and scientists) sign a petition in defense of Bruce. Signers include Paul Newman, Bob Dylan, Norman Mailer, Susan Sontag, and Elizabeth Taylor.
June 16, 1964 Bruce's Cafe Au Go Go obscenity trial opens in New York Criminal Court before a panel of three judges..
June 17, 1964 Tapes of Bruce's April 1 and April 7 performances at the Cafe Au Go Go are played in court.
June 18, 1964 The Illinois Supreme Court unanimously affirms Bruce's Gate of Horn obscenity conviction in People v Bruce. Bruce is again hospitalized with pleurisy, and his trial is recessed until June 30.
June 30, 1964 The defense moves to dismiss the prosecution against Bruce on constitutional grounds. The defense begins its case, which will include eighteen witnesses (most called to prove Bruce's act had significant redeeming social value)..
July 7, 1964 The Illinois Supreme Court vacates its June decision in People v Bruce, asking for new arguments in view of the U. S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Jacobellis v Ohio.
July 28, 1964 Final day of the Cafe Au Go Go obscenity trial.
November 4, 1964 Bruce is found guilty in the Cafe Au Go Go trial by a 2 to 1 vote of the three-judge panel. Howard Solomon is also found guilty.
November 24, 1964 The Illinois Supreme Court reverses Bruce's obscenity conviction in People v Bruce, the Gate of Horn obscenity case.
December 14, 1964 A New York federal district court rejects Bruce's request for prospective injunctive relief against New York prosecutors and judges in the case of Bruce v Hogan.
December 21, 1964 At his sentencing hearing in the New York Cafe Au Go Go case, Bruce addresses the court for over an hour. Bruce is sentenced to "four months in the workhouse."
February 11, 1965 Bruce files a second civil action for damages against the district attorney's offices in New York for allegedly violating his constitutional rights.
June 1, 1965 The U. S. Supreme Court denies Bruce's request for certiorari in the case of Bruce v Hogan.
October 1965 Bruce is declared bankrupt.
August 3, 1966 Lenny Bruce Dies
August 3, 1966 Bruce dies of a morphine overdose in Hollywood Hills, California.
February 19, 1968 In People v Solomon, a New York appeals court reverses the obscenity conviction of Bruce's co-defendant in the Cafe Au Go Go case, Howard Solomon. Lenny Bruce's conviction stands, since he died before his appeal was perfected.
February 19, 1968 In People v Solomon, a New York appeals court reverses the obscenity conviction of Bruce's co-defendant in the Cafe Au Go Go case, Howard Solomon. Lenny Bruce's conviction stands, since he died before his appeal was perfected.
Lenny Bruce at eBay
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What Is A Phonograph Record??
A phonograph record is an analog sound medium that consists of a flat disc record with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the outside edge (lead-in) and ending near the center of the record (lead-out).The audio content of the record is contained within the spiral groove which extends for more than a half mile. The groove itself is actually narrower than the thickness of a human hair yet
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Lenny Bruce the Charlie Parker of Comedy
When once asked to describe jazz, trumpet legend Miles Davis sarcastically but saliently replied, "You can sweat it down to four words: Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker." Now trying to apply that same old-school, new-school trailblazer to comedy is somewhat more a problem.
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Static Electricity and Your Vinyl Records
Because static electricity plays such a major role in the problem of vinyl record cleaning and that we have repeatedly referred to the malice effects of static electricity, we feel an explanation of this phenomenon is in order.
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Audio Rarities
Fox Music is a Indie Record Store Located in the Heart of Watertown Wisconsin in the Downtown Historic District on the corner of First and Main Street. Our online location Fox Music Company - webpages where you can find and search by Artist, Album or Song - Read Reviews, Bios or Listen to Audio Clips of new release and back catalog tiles and a whole lot more......
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Don't Forget To Take The Fox Music Company
Indie Record Store Picture Tour
Hosted on flickr (yahoo images)...and of coarse you must stop and visit with
Tyson and Boogie
the Record Store Mascots or... is it "Mas-Cats"
Sign Up and Create Your Lens Today!!
I Squidoo, Do You??
by FoxMusic
Fox Music Company 24 Hour Store
Shop Over 350,000 Products Including New Releases and Back Catalog, CD's, New Vinyl, DVD's, Video Games and Acce... (more)
Shop Over 350,000 Products Including New Releases and Back Catalog, CD's, New Vinyl, DVD's, Video Games and Acce... (more)
