Description
The most controversial comedian of his day, Lenny Bruce used humor as a form of confrontation, shocking audiences with his caustic social commentary. He was known as the "hipster comic" and the "sickest of the sick," frequently hounded by the police for obscene language and for his satires of religion and the justice system. Bruce studied acting under the GI Bill, and he got his start performing in burlesque clubs in New York City, developing a loyal following among younger audiences. His free-form, often rambling act set the standard for a new outlaw style of comedy. Yet his irreverence toward authority had real-life consequences. At times nightclubs refused to book him, and in 1963 he was banned from entering Great Britain. Bruce died in 1966 at the age of forty from a heroin overdose. Fellow comedian Dick Gregory once said of his influence: "he’s to show business what Einstein was to science."
Image
Gelatin Silver Print
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
