Lenny Bruce

Leonard Alfred Schneider better known by his stage name Lenny Bruce was an American standup comedian social critic and satirist He was renowned for his open freestyle and critical form of comedy which integrated satire politics religion sex and vulgarity Branded a sick comic Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television and when he did appear these performances was facilitated by fans like Hugh Hefner and Steve Allen In 1951 Bruce met Honey Harlow a stripper from Manila Arkansas They were married that same year and Bruce was determined she would end her work as a stripper Throughout the final decade of his life Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction