Lenny Bruce
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His performances took the form of stories, skits, and commentary, occasionally obscene (he coined the term T & A). This penchant for obscene material caused his career to be plagued by constant trouble with the law. His obscenity trials are now considered to be significant benchmarks in the case for preservation of First Amendment freedoms.
Bruce's comedic mission seemed to be an opening of dirty toilet humor, arguing that, as he said, "If something disgusts you about the human body, complain to the manufacturer."
Lenny Bruce gave an historic performance at Carnegie Hall in 1961, covering the same ground that had made him famous - not only the so-called toilet humor, but also politics, religion, the law, race, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Catholic Church. Less than a year later, Bruce was first arrested for obsenity in San Francisco, California. Although the jury acquitted Bruce, other communities began arresting him when he would appear. As the number of cases mounted, and club owners feared prosecution, Bruce found it harder and harder to find work.
Bruce was especially famous for relating the details of his relationship with the police directly in his comedy routine, and such action helped encourage the police to use any and every pretext to arrest and mistreat him. On the other hand, the oppression worked in the sense that the more he was oppressed, the more he complained, which wasn't always funny.
Bruce was a heavy user of drugs such as heroin. He was found dead in his Hollywood Hills bathroom, with a needle in his arm. By the time of his death due to morphine overdose in 1966 he had been blacklisted by nearly every comedy club in the US (as owners feared prosecution for obscenity), banned outright from several U.S. cities, and not allowed to visit Australia. His latter performances often took the form of a rant about his court battles over obscenity charges and the right to Free speech.
Lenny Bruce is interred in the Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California.
The 1974 film Lenny, starring Dustin Hoffman, presents a fictionalized account of Bruce's life. Eddie Izzard portrayed the comedian in the 1991 stage show Lenny. Similarly, the comedian inspired songs by Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and R.E.M.
