Today I discovered Lenny Bruce. He is part of my introduction to essential comedians. I've also made it through Richard Pryor and Sam Kinison. Lenny Bruce sent the whole comedy genre in a direction far from the family fresh content of Johnny Carson or Frank Sinatra in the 50's and 60's. He used forbidden words like "Fuck" and "Goddamned" while ranting on stage about the injustice in Vietnam or getting rid of hard drugs with the reintroduction of pot. Bruce made good points to a generation sheltered and unwilling to take the rapid introduction to change. He spent most of his career in litigation, banned from England and Australia and blackballed from leading U.S. clubs. Bruce never agreed to edit his material to save his career. He fought valiantly in courts even as his money dwindled to mere pennies.
Lenny Bruce had exciting beginnings to this not so funny life of comedy. He gained popularity in New York City performing at nightclubs before taking the trip to none other than Baltimore. He performed at The Charles theater, now lost and forgotten. This club was an upscale supper club on Charles St. where couples went in expensive clothes and ate expensive food. The clientel had seen Dean Martin and Jackie Gleason as well as big bands from all over. I only imagine the Lenny Bruce, not yet notorious for his law breaking obsenities, but having performed shows in nothing but shoes and black socks and hanging signs from his penis enter the smokey supper club filled with Baltimore's upper crust. I'm still working out the historical detais, but we can pretty much assume that I would have come across that story by now had it been true.
What is a great claim you can now make is that Lenny hooked up with his wife downtown at the all night Mayflower Cafe. You can rest assured I will have more information regarding this hook up and the cafe in due time. BUT while my husband sighs at my nostalgia I find this whole situation exciting because I strongly believe that Baltimore is a city of understatements. We don't need to bring in the big acts that everyone has covered. Instead the city brings in world famous burlesk stars and Lenny Bruce the obscene comic genius that forever influenced the face of comedy. I've said it before but sometimes it needs reminding, it's the little things that really count so eat it up!
When you watch this Lenny Bruce clip please remember this is him 50 pounds heavier than when he started. This is also after many many years of arrests and litigation. It is still a good example of his style, but his younger stuff is also fascinating!
