People flocked from all over the city, and across the snow to see his performance. He talks about race relations and does Dick Gregory, Ive Never Been Inside a Negros House and Goldwater Talks to Negroes. Read another story from us:The Comedian who Passed Away Live on Stage. Tending bar at the Mudd Club never promised visibility. He reads from a letter to Steve Allen, riffs on the Adam and Eve story and tells Gleason not to give anything to Max Weiss. All fans of Lenny Breau will want to check out this previously unreleased CD, though some listeners may feel a bit overwhelmed by the emphasis on Francks' comedic vocals and narratives. In the third section, he plays the roles of the host of a radio talk show called Nightline, and of some callers. Bud Steinhoff managed the Purple Onion until his death in November 1983. Well guess whatpeople who want to offend, theyll use it to cause harm and offence to whoever feeds up to it. He mentions a practice from the time of Christs crucifixion. He talks about when Norman words took over for Anglo-Saxon ones, providing euphemisms (such as mutton for the meat of sheep). Eulogy to Lenny Bruce, written and performed by Hardin after Bruces death. 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. Bruce speaks of the mine explosion at Green County, Pennsylvania a few days prior. He says, Im really paranoid about getting busted so much (he had been arrested for his Gate of Horn show during the early hours of December 5). These recordings are from the personal collection of the Bruce family and some of this material has been previously released in edited form. He says an obscenity circus has been going on around him for the past five years. Bruce does some bits about air travel. We are nothing at all. They performed as a trio called Three. Bruce answers some questions seriously and also does shtik. The file ends during the bit. He says he was hip to the Bay of Pigs before most people. He talks about an article attorney Melvin Belli wrote for Fact magazine and segues into his bit about Jack Ruby (for whom Belli served as defense attorney). The Purple Onion originally opened in 1952 under the management of Keith Rockwell. He went on to influence future comedians such as; Bill Hicks, George Carlin, Jon Stewart, Marc Maron, Louis C.K, Richard Pryor, the list goes on. Bruce starts by joking that hes living on a boat thats outside the three-mile limit. He then 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 introduces Levy to his attorney, Mark Blumenthal. The next section is a performance from 1964. Why did they choose that word?. But guys can have head-on collisions with Greyhound busesand on the way to the hospital, in the ambulance, the guy makes a play for the nurse. Bruce 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. (1) Bruce continues the bit Flashers, then does Midgets, wonders whether Pygmies are midgets, and imagines Gov. Only two years after his Snot act on the Steve Allen show. Religion. An officer tells audience members to take their seats and show identification. He performs the bits Las Vegas Tits & Ass, I Picked on the Wrong God, Would You Sell Out Your Country (Francis Gary Powers), The Clap, Balloons, Never Cop Out, We Did It to Their Mothers for Chocolate Bars, Dykes, Southern Accents, Christ and Moses, Adolf Eichmann (based on the Thomas Merton poem Chant to Be Used in Processions Around a Site with a Furnace) and Ten Thousand Asses (Tigers & Lions). Showing all 3 results. He does the bits Would You Sell Out Your Country (Francis Gary Powers) and Las Vegas Tits & Ass. The series correspondence, writings and transcripts, and news clippings and articles also have materials pertaining to Lenny Bruce previously gathered by a close friend named Ralph J. Gleason, who was a journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle and later, the founding editor for Rolling Stone Magazine. I love them, weve been friends for god knows how long. The show is in progress. He does Goldwater Talks to Negroes, talks about prejudice and Lee Harvey Oswald. He starts his bit The Clap, then has an exchange with an angry man in the audience who wants his money back ($5). He goes on to talk about prejudices about British accents vs. Southern accents, and does his bit on obscenity law. Bruces bit People Dont Talk That Way to Judges is in progress. The Purple Onion was a legendary comedy club in San Francisco. Instant potatoes? He does Flashers, then Midgets, wonders whether Pygmies are midgets, and imagines Gov. Why the four minute introduction? Menu. He does his bit about Jack Ruby and Melvin Belli. The writings and transcripts offer transcripts of his performances as well as showcase screenplays he had written as well as ones written about him. He mentions his obscenity trial in New York (the Caf Au Go Go trial). He does Thank You Masked Man, We Killed Christ and Christ & Moses. (3) Bruce does his bit on Barry Goldwater and his Jewish roots, People Dont Talk That Way to Judges. Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site. Twice after shows in Los Angeles, Bruce was charged with obscenity violations. Bruce speaks about and reads from documents associated with his February 1962 arrest for obscenity in San Francisco, including Bruce's own letter to Judge Clayton Horn and tells how it resulted in his being charged with contempt of court. He explains again that words are only offensive because society makes it that way, and it shouldnt be the case at all. 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. Lenny Bruce Robert Pinsky I saw him in San Francisco at the Purple Onion When I was still at Stanford, a Teaching Assistant Getting the "Ode to a Nightingale" by heart. Bruce is talking about a D.A. A preface to the performance on the tape is the repetition of the recorded voice one gets when calling a phone number to get the time of day. Bruce is in the midst of his King Kong bit. Bruce refers to his legal troubles. Bruce performs several bits and discusses topical matters, Including: his arrest for obscenity, Irv Kup Kupcinet, Will Leonard, Jewish vs. Goyishe, Paul Molloy. Another bit described men as oversexed beings willing to have sex with anything that moved, including a chicken. Bruce talks about how, in light of his recent legal troubles, hes tried to understand the prosecutors. He reads from a letter to Steve Allen; it is unclear whether the letter was written by Bruce. The announcer says, "Ladies and gentlemen, we now have a new star of our show." Lenny Bruce performance. As comedy relief, Bruce tells an anecdote, using a W.C. Fields voice, about the judge. The Air Force is JewishKool Aid? Goyish. He starts to do his bit about a sea monster at Coney Island whos handled by an agent; the bit is known as The Monster or Heshie the Monster, but some people in the audience wont stop talking. The recording begins with the show in progress. Gleason was a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle who was an early fan and supporter of Bruce. He tells a story about having run into bandleader Les Elgart in Detroit. In the '90's things were changed from comedy to music. Lenny Bruce wanted to point out that your interpretation of that word, will be different from another persons. I dont care what they call me because at the end of the day, were there for each other. Mentions Leopold and Loeb. Bruce is in the midst of Shelley Berman & the Chicago Shtarkers. He explained that Bruce is not a comedian who just told dirty and foul jokes, but instead; He deals with [the] subject matter which many people consider off limits. The man brought a civil suit against him. The New York arrest brought some noted intellectuals to Bruces defense. Bruce does his bit The Clap, gets indignant about the hypocrisy regarding the disease. He talks about Barry Goldwaters Jewish roots, prejudice and Lee Harvey Oswald. Conspiracy to interfere with the fourth amendment const Lenny Bruce. Talks about a bit of his about Eleanor Roosevelt and his current obscenity trial in New York (the Caf Au Go Go trial). The recording ends abruptly before the end of the set. He praises Hugh Hefner, who is making it so that the nude female body is no longer filthy. More detailed information on the Lenny Bruce collection audio files can be found here: Lenny Bruce Institutional Repository site. Bruce starts to do Christ & Moses, then veers into I Picked on the Wrong God. He does the bits We Killed Christ, Flashers, Christ & Moses, Are There Any Niggers Here Tonight?, and Black Black Woman White White Woman. He does The Romans Segregated Christians with Lions. The trials for both violations resulted in deadlocked juries. The last section is a series of commercials, and possibly outtakes from commercials, for the Los Angeles mens clothing store Zeidler and Zeidler. 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). "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. He was walking on to that stage, knowing that his shocking four letter word could land him behind bars the moment he walked off stage. Throughout his career Lenny Bruce said whatever he wanted on stage. Race. He does his bit on Barry Goldwater and his Jewish roots. A bravura performance of wordplay and innuendo. Bruce continues the bits Deny It and Hotels Are Dirty. He does his bits Schmuck, Small-town Audiences, Dykes, and the Jewish mother who still doesnt know her son is gay. As Bruce gained fame and popularity, he moved on from doing stand-up comedy at small strip clubs to performing in larger mainstream halls. He does some of his bit on Leopold and Loeb, then interacts with the audience. Shop The Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. He reacts to people in the balcony who yell for him to speak louder. The recording starts with the show in progress. (3) The last section is a series of commercials, and possibly outtakes from commercials, for the Los Angeles mens clothing store Zeidler and Zeidler. The tape ends during an exchange between Bruce and Gate of Horn owner Alan Ribback about Jackie Mason having just criticized censorship (this was witnessed by Ribback, but its unknown whether it was live or on television or radio). He does the bit Chicks Are Boss. Names like Richard Pryor, Lenny Bruce, Bob Newhart, and Phyllis Diller, either got their starts or made their debut at The Purple Onion. He does his bit about Jack Ruby and Melvin Belli. The next section is a montage of very short clips of bits involving drug use. Lenny follows Francks on his lyrical journey matching Francks' timing impeccably. Interview by journalist Gary Shenfer of Lenny Bruce in Miami (or Miami Beach) at the El Patio club. The ninth and tenth clips are variations on Airplane Glue, with the kid who sniffs glue appearing on Paul Coates tabloid TV show. In addition to other bits, Bruce comments on what he's looking at in a newspaper (or possibly a magazine). Names mentioned include Tony Viscarra, the friend who was with Bruce at the time of the arrest, police Sgt. Before Lenny left his typewriter, he was midway through the word Constitutes. He mentions Judge Clayton Horn from his second San Francisco obscenity trial and Judge John Murtagh from his current New York trial (the Caf Au Go Go trial). He talks about the double standard in depicting sex vs. violence. Some of the names on the petition included Paul Newman, Bob Dylan, Elizabeth Taylor, James Baldwin, and Woody Allen. "Gum Addiction," a pantomime of a musician going though withdrawal because of a lack of chewing gum, is a parody of the then-current play The Connection, which focused on jazz musicians with narcotics habits. The first is a variation on Chicks Are Boss. Please email us at [emailprotected], subject line republish, with any questions or to let us know what stories youre picking up. His sister and brother-in-law, Virginia "Ginnie" and Irving "Bud" Steinhoff would frequently work weekends at the club until 1960 when they took over management. The location is Club Renaissance in Los Angeles. Bruce wonders whether it is the usual practice to confront performers before their shows. He loses his place, then continues to Custody/Get Even, Divorce, and Deny It. Below is a famous segment that was recorded in an underground bar, Bruce performs his Are there any niggers here tonight? skit. The fourth clip is about a bordello in Europe at which the whores and customers dress in costumes. Bruce speaks of his agent, Jack Sobel, does The Palladium, Bronchitis, talks about doing doctor bits, does Nightclub Owners, speaks of not stealing from other comics. Listen to 10-second clips of the Lenny Bruce recordings!To see the collection and listen to the full audio, please contact: ascdepartment@brandeis.edu. He does Custody/Get Even, Stag Film vs. King of Kings, History of Obscenity, Transvestites Posing as Policemen, Never Cop to It, Lie Detector, Would You Sell Out Your Country (Francis Gary Powers), Italians Were the Enemy and Gypsies, He does Are There Any Niggers Here Tonight?, The Clap, Las Vegas Tits & Ass, Lie Detector, Thank You Masked Man, and Dykes and Flashers. He does his bit The Christian God Has a Face, the Jewish God Doesnt. He remarks that people are now walking out of the show. (1) Final 16 minutes of the show on the night of December 4-5, 1962, known as The Bust Show (midnight performance). Lenny had proven his point words are only offensive because society allows that particular word to be offensive. (2) 15-minute section of a Gate of Horn show on December 9, 1962. Its important to remember one thing; everything we have created as a species; language, laws, monetary, institutions etc, was appointed by a manmade meaning. 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. A new set begins. He does The Best Man in the Tribe (St. Paul). He does Christ & Moses, Are There Any Niggers Here Tonight?, and Black Black Woman White White Woman. (1) The first recording is from June 26, 1964 and captures Nassau County New York Assistant District Attorney Norman Levy warning Lenny Bruce not to violate the obscenity laws of the state of New York during his engagement at The Cork N Bib Restaurant. The recording continues with the beginning of the second set. Discusses differences between Christians and Jews. The place is unknown, but is possibly the Off Broadway club in San Francisco. 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