Lenny Bruce

Lenny Bruce
Bruce in 1961
Born
Leonard Alfred Schneider

(1925-10-13)October 13, 1925
Mineola, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 3, 1966(1966-08-03) (aged 40)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeEden Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • satirist
  • social critic
Years active1947–1966
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1951; div. 1957)​
[1]
Children1
RelativesSally Marr (mother)
Comedy career
MediumStand-up, television, books
Genres
Subject(s)
  • American culture
  • American politics
  • race relations
  • religion
  • sexuality
  • obscenity
Notable works and rolesThe Lenny Bruce Originals
The Carnegie Hall Concert
Let the Buyer Beware
How to Talk Dirty and Influence People
Signature

Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy that combined satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity.[2] His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003.[3]

Bruce forged new paths in comedy and counterculture. His trial for obscenity was a landmark of freedom of speech in the United States.[4][5][6] In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.[7]

  1. ^ August, Melissa (September 5, 2005). "Died". Time. Archived from the original on April 8, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2008. 78, ex-stripper who in 1951 married the soon-to-be-famous comedian Lenny Bruce; in Honolulu. Though the pair split in 1957 (they had a daughter, Kitty), the sometime actress who called herself "Lenny's Shady Lady" helped successfully lobby New York Governor George Pataki to pardon Bruce
  2. ^ "Let There Be Laughter – Jewish Humor Around the World". Beit Hatfutsot. June 14, 2018.
  3. ^ Kifner, John (December 24, 2003). "No Joke! 37 Years After Death Lenny Bruce Receives Pardon". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  4. ^ Kifner, John (December 24, 2003). "No Joke! 37 Years After Death Lenny Bruce Receives Pardon". The New York Times. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Obituary was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Watkins, Mel; Weber, Bruce (June 24, 2008). "George Carlin, Comic Who Chafed at Society and Its Constraints, Dies at 71". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Matthew Love, The 50 Best Stand-up Comics of All Time, Rolling Stone, February 14, 2017. Archived December 11, 2017, at the Wayback Machine.