Why isn't there a Lenny Bruce holiday?  President Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., the Queen of England, Jesus Christ and other people not even remotely as funny or thought provoking as Lenny have government recognized holidays.

In an obituary by Ralph J. Gleason, he describes some of Lenny's historical significance.  It is especially important to the study of free speech in America because Lenny crusaded for a broader interpretation of free speech than many local laws allowed.  "Lenny was called a sick comic, though he insisted that society was sick, not him.  He was called a dirty comic, though he never used a word you and I have not heard since childhood." 

    Lenny Bruce helped to create a venue for satirical and subversive performance.  He made sure to not just push the envelope of what was acceptable material but also shed light on current events and natural phenomenon.   

The cover of one of Lenny's comedy albums after his arrests.  Even though Lenny sold many thousands of records, he died a court sanction pauper because of an upheld conviction and court fees.  Two years after his death, the obscenity charge he was convicted of was overturned.  

Some of the comics that were inspired by Lenny are Chris Rock, George Carlin, Eddie Murphy, and  Roseanne, and Richard Pryor.  He opened the door for performers to have a greater freedom in the language and subject matter that they used in their acts.  Richard Pryor even took some of Lenny's situations and added them to his act.  In his book, Pryor Convictions, He pays tribute to Lenny and his ideas about trying to make the world less hypocritical by exposing some of the oxymoronic behavior and beliefs still prevalent in society.

George Carlin

Chris Rock

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Meredith Hebenstreit
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Revised: 03 Sep 2001 12:06:25 -0500