Bruce, Lenny (1925-1966)

US comedian, whose rapid-fire delivery, scatological language, and fearless tackling of taboo subjects, such as race relations and liberal hypocrisy, religion, and sexuality, were ground-breaking in the field of stand-up comedy. His constant iconoclasm and irreverence caused offence to the authorities and he was imprisoned for obscenity 1961. Convicted of drugs possession 1963, he died of an overdose 1966. He wrote a series of autobiographical articles 1963-66 for Playboy magazine, eventually published as How To Talk Dirty and Influence People 1972.

In 1963 he was considered an ‘undesirable alien’ and refused permission to enter Britain. Constantly harassed by both police and courts, Bruce became obsessed with the minutiae of his legal proceedings, and much of his later act consisted of the analyses of the transcripts of his trials.