Lenny Bruce

Undeniably the singular comic who blazed a trail for modern comics, Lenny Bruce smashed the taboos of the 1950s and 1960s with profanity-laced performances at a time where uttering four-letter words on stage led to arrest and prison. After getting his start in the seedy environs of burlesque clubs in New York and Los Angeles, Bruce established himself as a rising star in more respectable establishments in the San Francisco area. He also began attracting media attention for good and ill, appearing early in his career on the "The Steve Allen Show" and gaining notice in major newspapers across the country after the release of the comedy albums The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce (1958) and Togetherness (1958). In 1961, Bruce's legal troubles began and never let up until his death five years later. He was arrested on numerous occasions for uttering obscenities in public which led to years of litigation, all the while being banned by virtually every club in America and even by some countries. Meanwhile, increasingly poor health brought on by his addiction to various narcotics led to an increasing life of misery, while his dwindling onstage performances became less of a stand-up act and more of a satirical rant against the unfairness of what he considered a fascist system. Though he suffered in life, Bruce was immortalized as an American icon for decades after his death, while becoming a true innovator who singlehandedly changed the course of comedy. Most comedy connoisseurs agreed that without the groundbreaking Bruce, there would never have been a Carlin, Pryor or Kinison.