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. Talks about Elizabeth Taylor, a picture of Fidel Castro and Vice-President Richard Nixon in the New York Times; about going on the Steve Allen show, integration, religious leaders, civil rights, capital punishment. He refers to a gig he did in Milwaukee, then does his bit about playing at small-town venues. The Purple Onion originally opened in 1952 under the management of Keith Rockwell. He does the bit Chicks Are Boss. The file ends during the bit. Lenny Bruce, the pioneering, ribald comedian who died of a drug overdose in 1966, was given a posthumous gubernatorial pardon today for the obscenity conviction that some supporters . Bruce reads from transcripts of the preliminary hearing and the trial. Bruce does Christ & Moses before being arrested, as was audience member George Carlin, who refused to show police his ID. The man brought a civil suit against him. The place is unknown, but is possibly the Off Broadway club in San Francisco. George Wallaces reaction to Pygmies. After Lennys death, never would a comedian stand trial for the use of obscene language. A new set begins. The recording ends in the midst of his bit White Collar Drunk. Bruce performs various bits and speaks of: J.J. Johnson, the magazine Downbeat, Copacabana owner Jules Podell, Mafia-connected club owners, his manager Jack Sobel, Jackie Paris, Mort Sahl, Burt Boyar, How to Relax Your Colored Friends at Parties, Sophie Tucker, Ted Shapiro, Bill Stern, the Paramount in Brooklyn, Miles Davis, Leopold and Loeb, Don Winslow, scenario of a Jewish boy visiting home from military school, George Washington interviewed by Mike Wallace. Allmusic critic Ken Dryden notes that while "fans of Lenny Breau are likely to be interested in all of his previously unreleased recordings, . I speak of a personal experience. Judaism. He talks about his fans and obscenity. He does the bit The Origin of Bestiality Laws. He explains again that words are only offensive because society makes it that way, and it shouldnt be the case at all. 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 King, "From the Editor: How to Lose Customers," Gay Scene 5, no. A community dedicated to those who are passionate about film. The next section is a performance from 1964. Back in California, Bruce was again arrested, as well as ordered to go into rehab for drug addiction. He does The Romans Segregated Christians with Lions. He says he was hip to the Bay of Pigs before most people. He does Black Black Woman White White Woman. A new set begins. He talks about the prosecution witnesses at his recent New York obscenity trial, and does Art With a Little Piece of Shit in It. But you already knew that, didnt you? The recording begins with the show in progress. However, that episode of the Steve Allen Show was eventually shelved by the censors, it was never aired. He uses the word shit and says the Supreme Court ruled that its not obscene if youre talking about narcotics. He does his bits Shelley Berman & Chicago Shtarkers and Barney & the Hecklers, then talks about homosexuals on trial in Miami. Another bit described men as oversexed beings willing to have sex with anything that moved, including a chicken. Sex from the philosophical viewpoint. Bruce is known to have had engagements at The Den in April and during the fall of 1959. He does the bit We Killed Christ. Joey Hollingsworth, Tap Dancing & Vocals) 1:43. With the bit We Killed Christ he explains how his arrests are really for talking about Christianity. Then, as is the case today, you had to network, deal with the power-brokers, hold meaningless jobs and share . He does Ive Never Been Inside a Negros House, Dick Gregory and Goldwater Talks to Negroes, Las Vegas Tits & Ass, The Best Man in the Tribe (St. Paul), Schmuck, Flashers, Custody/Get Even and Deny It, and The Reason We Left England. He uncharacteristically tells a joke with a punchline, and inserts JFK into it. He then refers to Shelley Berman, Alan King, George Gobel, Pinky Lee, Bert Parks and Alexander King. John L. White, who made the arrest and Robert Coogan, Jr., who owned the Grand Prix Hobby Shop and sold drugs there. 50 years ago, Lenny Bruce was found dead on his bathroom floor, up in the Hollywood Hills. November 16, 2004 10 Songs, 1 hour, 7 minutes 2004 Art of Life Records. Bars and theatres were either cancelling his gigs or not booking him at all, out of fear that the police will storm in, arrest Lenny and close the location down indefinitelyhe had no income, and whatever money he did have, was spent towards his legal fees obsessively defending his basic right to freedom of speech. Free-form bits recorded by Bruce in the days before his death on August 3, 1966. Bendich tries to ascertain whether the precedent of Gascon v. Superior Court 1959, an unlawful search and seizure case, could apply here. Bruce continues the bits Deny It and Hotels Are Dirty. Men's voices can be heard--it's the police. He does his bit on blind pianist George Shearing. The file ends during Shelley Berman & the Chicago Shtarkers. Immediately, Bruce defused the stigma and obscenity of the word shit, and transferred it to another harmless four letter word beginning with an S and ending with a T. Bruce says he is in Saranac, New York, convalescing (from pleurisy). The next clip is a few seconds of a bit about how Englishmen can say crap and it sounds classy. He talks about critics and is asked about the recent Congressional hearings about rigged quiz shows. He does his bit Custody/Get Even, inserts a little of King Kong, and goes into Stag Film vs. King of Kings. Lenny Bruce died in August of 1966, but you can still hear his voice online. In the words of Professor Lou Gottlieb of the Purple Onion, himself no slight satirist of our cultural mores, "Lenny Bruce is a verbal Hieronymus Bosch." For the jazz fan there is the same. As comedy relief, Bruce tells an anecdote, using a W.C. Fields voice, about the judge. There is an unknown third man present who makes a comment and asks some questions. He refers to his bust at the Gate of Horn (during the early hours of December 5). His performance at Carnegie Hall took place two years before his 3rd appearance on The Steve Allen Show. Bruce riffs that he was late because hed been kidnapped. Bruce discusses women's breasts, lipstick and powder, dating advice, does No Guy Ever Cheated on His Wife/Guys Detach, Custody/Get Even, Divorce, Deny It, and a bit about Alaska. When I heard them use the word, I took it in a light hearted way and asked Whoa! "A Gentile Sings the Blues" is a gag that runs a bit too long at 21 minutes, though the instrumental interlude gives the listener a better chance to hear Breau and Henstridge in something other than a background role. The ninth and tenth clips are variations on Airplane Glue, with the kid who sniffs glue appearing on Paul Coates tabloid TV show. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. Begins with the final 16 minutes of the show on December 4, 1962, known as The Bust Show (it was the midnight performance, therefore technically during the early hours of December 5). From Indecency, he goes into the bits Custody/Get Even and Stag Film vs. King of Kings. He was 40 years old. He gave zero fucks. He challenged the status quo, the hypocrisy and corruption of his own government. Looking at the camera, Bruce talks very briefly about his reputation and the first amendment, the freedom of speech and how a law abiding citizen gets offended by his freedom of speech, but the irony is that he is within his own constitutional right to say whatever he likes, and that there is no law saying that he can not do so. The recording ends in the midst of his bit To Is a Preposition, Come Is a Verb. Below is a famous segment that was recorded in an underground bar, Bruce performs his Are there any niggers here tonight? skit. This collection contains sixty-five recordings on reel-to-reel audio and compact cassette tapes, all of which have been restored and digitized thanks to a grant from The GRAMMY Foundation Grant Program. Bruce speaks of the mine explosion at Green County, Pennsylvania a few days prior. "I go away back with Rosie and that's not the Rosie I know," Allen, 65, told reporters Thursday at the Television Critics Association's press tour when asked about Roseanne's firing from ABC in May over her racist tweet comparing Valerie Jarrett to an ape. 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). "Oscar's Blues" is a dazzling display of his tap dancing backed by Breau, while "Joey's Solo" finds the dancer accompanied only by the cadence of the audience's clapping. Bruce performs his bit about the history of obscenity law and Entrapment by Cops. He performs the bit How Negroes and Jews Became Entertainers, then talks about Hugh Hefner's strategy in putting out Playboy. In addition to other bits, Bruce comments on what he's looking at in a newspaper (or possibly a magazine). He does a bit on mothers of different ethnicities. Reading law books and other commentaries on free speech now took up most of Bruces time. The recording ends abruptly before the end of the set. He does Flashers, then Midgets, wonders whether Pygmies are midgets, and imagines Gov. Bruce does his bit Christ & Moses. Joey's Solo (Feat. Were happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. He makes the first of several comments on a woman in the audiences meshuggener laugh. He does Transvestites Posing as Policemen. What is possibly a different set has Bruce doing bit with Santa Claus as the subject of Edward R. Murrows show Person to Person. A third section begins. The next section is a montage of very short clips of bits involving drug use. Bruce died in his home in Hollywood Hills in 1966. Words such as; shit, fuck, piss, cu I could go oneven the word schmuck was labelled as obscene and landed him in jail, but Lenny Bruce didnt care. Bruce contends that he was framed, and that the heroin reputed to belong to him was planted by White. He points out that the California statute 288a calls criminal many sex acts that he assumes the audience has practiced. He does How Negroes and Jews Became Entertainers and talks about his scenario for a movie about Christ and the Good Thief. He refers to his 1962 obscenity trial in San Francisco, and that he was acquitted. He does Religions, Inc., and starts Father Flotsky. The defense brought in media critics, psychiatrists, and religious figures that supported Bruces right to speak. He refers to Tab Hunter's arrest for allegedly beating his dog. 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