Truth Sayer
Lenny Bruce — the rst cancelled comic — is on every stage at Net ix Is a Joke Festival
An advertisement for the late stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce’s series of shows in San Francisco ran in Weekly Variety on Feb. , .
In it, legendary Bay Area columnist and critic Ralph J. Gleason worried aloud that Bruce was “making a great contribution to truth and to sanity even though it may be costing him his economic and physical health to have to do so.”
In less than months, those words would prove prophetic, as Bruce died of a heroin overdose in his Hollywood Hills home, economically and physically shattered by his battles with authorities. Record producer Phil Spector wrote in his obituary for Bruce in Billboard magazine: “America’s foremost, and certainly most truthful, philosopher died from an overdose of police.”
Back then, when “they” cancelled you, “they” meant business.
Bruce’s legacy is well-known. It seems nearly every year the legend is renewed.
Bruce the Icon is central to the muchlauded comedy series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and among its Emmys during its run from - was a win for actor Luke Kirby, who portrayed the comedy legend as a beautiful haunted, inspirational figure.
Before that, Robert B. Weide’s documentary film “Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth,” narrated by Robert De Niro, scored an Oscar nom for documentary feature.
Connecting the dots from Bruce to one of the contemporary American comedy’s greatest talents and greatest successes, Oliver Jones said in his Variety review of “Truth,” “Bruce’s material sounds as current today as anything in Chris Rock’s routine.”
But there’s more to Lenny the Man than just Lenny the Martyr.
Yes, Bruce was a fearless artist who was destroyed for saying things that are mild in comparison to the raucous, raw and raunchy patter at the heart of today’s billion-dollar comedy industry. The times they’ve been a changin’. So have the platforms. Comedy is streaming everywhere and now stand-up has its own Golden Globe.
Bruce deserves a toast for chutzpah and a tear for the waste of a vital dynamic artistic voice that turned too silent too soon.
But he also deserves a fresh look and a fresh listen.
A lifelong admirer of the former Leonard Schneider, I’d suggest you go back years and read what began as serialized chapters in Playboy and years later, posthumously became his autobiography, “How to Talk Dirty and Influence People.”
It’s funny as hell and equally heart-breaking, full of hilarious bits and insights and equally affecting in its wistful, heart-on-its-sleeve broken romanticism. It’s also a wild showbiz Odyssey, both antic and epic.
“Dirty’s” swinging combination of exhilarating hilarity and deep humanity is the real reason Lenny Bruce is on every stage at Netflix Is a Joke. He’s that North Star of comedic greatness, the ultimate goal of anyone who’s stepped onstage determined to connect your funny bone to both your heart and your brain.
Once again, Bob Dylan was right. “Lenny Bruce was bad.
He was the brother that you never had.” ●