An officer tells audience members to take their seats and show identification. He uses the word shit and says the Supreme Court ruled that its not obscene if youre talking about narcotics. He does Barney & the Hecklers, talks to a doctor and his wife in the audience. Bruce does a bit about how his generation of men is terrified of being considered a faggot. He relates his surprise, when at Phil Spectors jamboree rock concert, at seeing 10-year-old kids out without their parents. He does The Best Man in the Tribe (St. Paul). Bruce believes he was framed. Some of the names on the petition included Paul Newman, Bob Dylan, Elizabeth Taylor, James Baldwin, and Woody Allen. Out of prison on bail, soon he would die. He does The Best Man in the Tribe (St. Paul), The Christian God Has a Face, the Jewish God Doesnt, Ive Never Been Inside a Negros House, Men Are Carnal, Las Vegas Tits & Ass and the origin of Obscenity Law, Marijuana, and Airplane Glue. Bruce died in his home in Hollywood Hills in 1966. He refers to a gig he did in Milwaukee, then does his bit about playing at small-town venues. The place is unknown, but is possibly the Off Broadway club in San Francisco. Allen explained to the viewers that Lenny Bruce was going to use a four letter word on television that will shock the viewers to their very core. With the bit We Killed Christ he explains how his arrests are really for talking about Christianity. The second set begins. Originally issues by Fantasy Records (Fantasy 34201) as "Lenny Bruce Live At The Curran Theatre". The Purple Onion was a legendary comedy club in San Francisco. Bruce riffs on what he is doing, testing the Sony Dynamic Microphone, speaks in Spanish, does a riff on a radio talk show called Nightline, does rants as an irate pornographer and as an irate narcotics addict, girlfriend Maury Haydn (Lotus Weinstock), beatniks, a used car salesman, a Senate investigating committee, Steve Allen and Phyllis Diller. Bruce holds up a mens magazine (Rogue), does his bits on King Kong, Entrapment by Cops, We Did it to Their Mothers for Chocolate Bars, Adolf Eichmann, Infidelity and How to Relax Your ColoredFriends at Parties. 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, satirist, and screenwriter. The file ends during the bit. Dec. 23, 2003. (3) Phone letter by Lenny Bruce to Ralph J. Gleason. Once again Bruce was hauled off and arrested. Towards the end of his life, Lenny was constantly caught up in bust ups with the authorities. Class. He does his bit about wanting to give the audience members lie detector tests about infidelity and homosexuality and refers to Tab Hunter's arrest for allegedly beating his dog. Bruce tells Gleason about his arrest the previous night, at his home, for having given obscene performances at the Trolley Ho nightclub in Los Angeles (under California Penal Code 311.6). Bruce performs bits How Negroes and Jews Became Entertainers, Barry Goldwater, Lyndon Johnson, Bobby Kennedy, Jack Ruby & Lee Harvey Oswald, Jackie Kennedy Hauled Ass, Would You Sell Out Your Country (Francis Gary Powers) and I Picked on the Wrong God. He refers to his 1962 obscenity trial in San Francisco, and that he was acquitted. The fifth clip is his bit The Clap and was recorded during Bruces engagement at the Chicago club The Gate of Horn in November-December 1962. Lenny Bruce performance. Conversation between Lenny Bruce and his mother, comic Sally Marr, with some guests, including Frankie Man (real name Frank Schneider). ), Frank Hogan. May be from different sets and may not be in chronological order. Let me tell you the truth. He ends with joking comments, reading from a law book about regulations regarding kosher meat, and then about a law against aiding a suicide. He wonders if the name Pope Pius was, like Rip Torn, dreamed up by Hollywood talent agent Henry Willson. He does the bit Chicks Are Boss. Worn down by the repeated arrests and trials, Bruce turned away from general satire and talked more about his personal battles with the law and society. Bruce says that he was arrested for obscenity for using the word "fressing" (fress in Yiddish means to eat, but its slang use implies oral sex). (1) Bruce does the bit Flashers, then Snot. Politics. He died of an accidental drug overdose. He does Christ & Moses, sings a bit in Yiddish, and closes the set with Ben Hurs mother & sister. He does We Did It to Their Mothers for Chocolate Bars, Unscrew You, Never Cop Out, Custody/Get Even, Stag Film vs. King of Kings, Jimmy Hoffa and Would You Sell Out Your Country (Francis Gary Powers). Bruce was watched closely in New York as well. He does the bit People Dont Talk That Way to Judges. He says an obscenity circus has been going on around him for the past five years. The set ends. He does his bits Custody/Get Even, and Stag Film vs. King of Kings. Remaining free while appealing his Chicago conviction, Bruce attempted to do a show in Britain. 1961 October 4 Lenny Bruce, Pioneering Comedian, Arrested for Obscenity in San Francisco Comedian Lenny Bruce was arrested on this day at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco on obscenity charges for saying the word "cocksucker." The show is known as The Berkeley Concert. Scary goyish.. Conversation among Lenny Bruce, Phil Spector and Allen Ginsberg. He does the bit Divorce & Motels. He refers to his 1962 obscenity trial in San Francisco, and that he was acquitted. Bruce reads from documents associated with his February 1962 arrest for obscenity in San Francisco. At the time of recording the episode, he was restricted by the authorities for using obscene language during his acts. Bruce refers to his attire, reads from the transcript of his trial for obscenity in San Francisco earlier that year, talks about the hostility in the audience. He was renowned for his open, free-style and critical form of comedy which integrated satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. The recorder is shut off, then turned on again and Ginsberg identifies the time and date of the conversation at the embattled, barbed wire household of Lenny Bruce.. Bruce is in the midst of recounting the incident for which he was accused of assault and battery on a TV cameraman in Los Angeles. Two years later, on February 3rd 1961, New York city was midway through its worst blizzard in its history, successfully halting the city to a stand still the city wouldnt be hit by such a blizzard until 2011. Drummer Buddy Rich, and singer Eileen Barton are in the audience. The show is known as The Berkeley Concert. Interview by journalist Gary Shenfer of Lenny Bruce in Miami (or Miami Beach) at the El Patio club. The recording abruptly switches to a different performance, in progress, that most likely takes place in 1964, because he mentions Lyndon Johnson and Barry Goldwater. Bruce reads from transcripts of the preliminary hearing and the trial. Bruce talks about doctors and says hes done a lot of hospital time in the last couple of years. On that day, Lenny Bruce was making his debut appearance at Carnegie Hall, a sold out performance. Bruce is known to have had engagements at The Den in April and during the fall of 1959. Bruce continues his Norman Thomas bit with a rundown of persecuted groups: the Irish, the Filipinos and midgets. He does Ten Thousand Asses (Tigers & Lions), then Shelley Berman & Chicago Shtarkers. He does Religions, Inc., and starts Father Flotsky. Bruce speaks of the mine explosion at Green County, Pennsylvania a few days prior. In 1964, a city license inspector attended one of Bruces shows. He says hes noticed that most of his audiences are male. Twice after shows in Los Angeles, Bruce was charged with obscenity violations. On Capitol Hill, there are 20,000 mostly young men and women who have tremendous influence but are rarely seen, they work in the background, without recognition and often for long hours with low pay. Bruce does his bit Custody/Get Even, inserts a little of King Kong, and goes into Stag Film vs. King of Kings. The next section is a performance from 1964. He loses his place, then continues to Custody/Get Even, Divorce, and Deny It. (3) The set is in progress. The date is not known but most likely took place after Bruces sentencing in June of 1963 for narcotics possession. He talks about his San Francisco obscenity trial. The tape ends abruptly during the conversation. He refers to the fact that the previous Sunday hed only sold 500 tickets for a show at the Curran Theater in San Francisco, leaving 1100 empty seats. President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy arrive at Love Field, Dallas, Texas. Speaks of daughter Kitty, James Joyces Ulysses, Judge Murtagh. However, the appeal was never completed. http://kully.tv. The sixth section is Tim Hardins song Lennys Tune, a.k.a. He talks about the Romans treatment of Christians and anti-Semitism. Race. Lenny Bruce - The Legendary Lenny Bruce The Famous 1961 Performance Live From The Curran Theater In San Francisco More images Tracklist Notes Originally issues by Fantasy Records (Fantasy 34201) as "Lenny Bruce Live At The Curran Theatre" Murray Hill re-issue produced by arrangement with Fantasy Records. Bruce says he is in Saranac, New York, convalescing (from pleurisy). (1) Final 16 minutes of the show on the night of December 4-5, 1962, known as The Bust Show (midnight performance). He notes that because the charge was contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor, since a minor was present at the show, he has lost bookings in New York. In the first section, Bruce riffs on what he is doing, testing the Sony Dynamic Microphone. The Purple Onion is a nightclub in San Francisco, opened in 1952. Bruce holds up a magazine with a picture of a nude or scantily clad woman and asks, how can that chick be indecent? He does some of his bit on Leopold and Loeb, then interacts with the audience. Men's voices can be heard--it's the police. It was a small, basement club that had its heyday in the 1950s and 60s -and helped launch the careers of Phyllis Diller, The Smothers Brothers, Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, and Richard Pryor. Since a tape of the performance was played at the trial, its in the public record and he plans to release it as an album, but with a warning that whoever sells it may be subject to the obscenity laws of his locality. Bruce in 1963, after having been arrested in San Francisco. He does Goldwater Talks to Negroes, talks about prejudice and Lee Harvey Oswald. The truth is, New York was almost as impossible then as it is now. "A New Electric Chair" is a stream-of-consciousness narrative about a warden deliberating a purchase. He begins a bit about a "chick singer.". He challenged the status quo, the hypocrisy and corruption of his own government. (3) Bruce does his bit on Barry Goldwater and his Jewish roots, People Dont Talk That Way to Judges. For example, the word nigger, represents a time of slavery, extreme racism and social injustice at a basic human rights level. He flips through a magazine with stories about celebrities and lady-kinda ads. He reads the ad for the Mark Eden Method Bust Developer. He does Las Vegas Tits & Ass, then Would You Sell Out Your Country (Francis Gary Powers), Doing It Is Dirty and We Did It to Their Mothers for Chocolate Bars. Menu. Kennedy was assassinated later in the day.