Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was an American comedian, social critic and satirist. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon, the first in New York state history. He was renowned for his open, free-style, dangerous and critical form of comedy which integrated politics, religion, and sex. His tumultuous private life marked by substance abuse, promiscuity, as well as his efforts to prevent his wife from working as a stripper, make him a compelling figure. He paved the way for future outspoken comedians, and his trial for obscenity, in which – after being forced into bankruptcy – he was eventually found not guilty is seen as a landmark trial for freedom of speech.
Read more about Lenny Bruce: Early Life, Career, Personal Life, Last Years, Death and Posthumous Pardon, Legacy, In Popular Culture, Books By or About Bruce, Partial Discography, Audio/video
Famous quotes by lenny bruce:
“All my humor is based upon destruction and despair. If the whole world were tranquil, without disease and violence, I’d be standing on the breadline right in back of J. Edgar Hoover.”
—Lenny Bruce (1925–1966)
“I’ll die young but it’s like kissing God.”
—Lenny Bruce (1925–1966)
“The thing with Catholicism, the same as all religions, is that it teaches what should be, which seems rather incorrect. This is ‘what should be.’ Now, if you’re taught to live up to a ‘what should be’ that never existed—only an occult superstition, no proof of this ‘should be’Mthen you can sit on a jury and indict easily, you can cast the first stone, you can burn Adolf Eichmann, like that!”
—Lenny Bruce (1925–1966)
“The only honest art form is laughter, comedy. You can’t fake it ... try to fake three laughs in an hour—ha ha ha ha ha—they’ll take you away, man. You can’t.”
—Lenny Bruce (1925–1966)