LENNY BRUCE - CHRONOLOGY
Last Updated : Sept 2016
(Note that all dates are listed dd.mm.yy)
1903 Father Mickey(Myron) Schneider born in Kent, England
1905 Schneiders came to USA from England
30.12.1906 Mother Sadie Kitchenburg born (a.k.a. Sally Marsalle, Sally Marr,Boots Malloy)
1921 Mickey met Sally Kitchenburg
1925 Mickey & Sally married
13.10.25 Born Leonard Alfred Schneider
15. 8.27 Honey (Harriet Jolliff, Harriet Lloyd) born in Manila, Arkansas
1933 Sally divorced Mickey
1939 Lenny sees his first burlesque show
19.10.42 Joined U.S. Navy. Saw action as a shell passer in four (or five)
major invasions in WWII. USS Brooklyn (1942-early'45)
summer'45 Discharged from Navy
1945/46 Victory Club, Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y. - stood in for M.C.
summer'46 won John Golden drama contest with comical Hamlet soliloquy
1946/47 performed in various amateur nights for 4 or 5 months, including
an appearance on Major Bowes Amateur Hour (July'46-May'47)
1946/47 FIRST SHOW AT A CLUB IN CONNECTICUT
1949
.49 WASHINGTON DC, CROSSROADS CLUB
18. 4.49 Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, CBS Radio & TV Simulcast (28 min) **
The Eddysmith Trio - "The Toy Piano Polka" (guitar, bass violin & baby piano)
John Connolly - "Because" (singer)
Sally Bruce introduces Lenny
Lenny Bruce performs "The Bavarian Mimic"
Margarita Tawny (opera singer)
(The result was a tie between John Connolly & Lenny,
to be decided on tomorrows show)
(Lenny's segment included on "Arthur Godfrey & His Talent
Scouts", Radiola, MR-1084, 1978)
19. 4.49 Arthur Godfrey (morning show) does same act as previous day
(2 min clip on Swear To Tell The Truth) **
20. 4.49 Arthur Godfrey (morning show) does new material
21. 4.49 Arthur Godfrey (morning show) does new material
.49 STRAND THEATRE (1 week)
.49 MILWAUKEE, TICK TOCK CLUB
1949-51 probably other TV Appearances around this time
1950
. 2.50 CHINA DOLL CLUB, NEW YORK (5 weeks)
. 5.50 Broadway Open House (3 min/video) **
(Show ran from 29.5.50-24.8.51 on NBC, the show ran 5
nights a week, until May'51 when it was cut to 3 nights a week)
(impersonates Maurice Chevalier & Frankie Laine, 2 min)
(on "A Toast To Lenny")
(another 1 min clip on Swear To Tell The Truth)
Summer'50 VALLEY ARENA, HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS, headlined by Xavier Cugat
1951
. 1.51 BALTIMORE, CLUB CHARLES (4 week engagement) meets Honey
(Lenny's autobiobraphy says BALTIMORE, HANSON'S)
(Goldman says he meets Honey on 1st night)
29. 1.51 Lenny boards the S.S.EXAMINER, a freighter operated by American Export Line
in the Mediterranean trade. He was a deckhand, officialy signed on as
Ordinary Seaman. The ship made ports at Lisbon, Casablanca, Algiers,
Tripoli, Istanbul, a port in Asia Minor, a port in Greece, and 5 ports in
Spain, in that order
For more information read Don Paquette's reminiscences click the "text" link and find it in there.
24. 3.51 Lenny's time on the S.S.EXAMINER ends
. 3.51/1st week of April. Lenny performs at a club in BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT
. 4.51 BLUE ANGEL, NEW YORK CITY
. 4.51 MIAMI, OLYMPIA THEATRE
. 4.51 set up Brother Matthias Foundation for Lepers (Leper colony in
British Guiana)
23. 4.51 Arrested for "panhandling", Miami, on 2nd day on "fund-raising"
24. 4.51 Court appearance - found not guilty
. 6.51 MIAMI club dates
. 6.51 ONTARIO, WINDSOR, ELMWOOD CLUB/CASINO (3 weeks)
15. 6.51 Married Honey Harlowe in Detroit
.6-9.51 KRAMERS, IN THE CATSKILLS (Lenny & Honey)
.51 THE NEMERSON, IN THE CATSKILLS
.51 Lenny & Honey do Frankenstein routine on a TV show
. 9.51 PITTSBURGH, MONTE CARLO CLUB (Lenny & Honey)
. 9.51 next day had car accident, Honey hospitalised
.9/10.51 PITTSBURGH, CAROUSEL CLUB
1953
20. 2.53 film-"Dance Hall Racket" (60 min) scripted by Lenny, starring Lenny, Honey & Sally
(2 min clip on Swear To Tell The truth) **
spring/summer'53 LOS ANGELES, CUP & SAUCER (Lenny & Honey)
spring/summer'53 LOS ANGELES, STRIP CITY (year & a half engagement)
spring/summer'53 A CLUB IN THE VALLEY, a burlesque show with Lenny,Sally & Honey
1954
1953/54 worked on movie script "McCluskey Strikes a Blow" (later retitled The Rocket Man)
. 4.54 film - "The Rocket Man" (Paramount, 79min, b&w)
Script written by Lenny, starring Charles Coburn
.54 film - "Dream Follies" written by Lenny & starring Lenny & Sally
(Tab Picture Corp, 61 min, b&w)
late'54 left Strip City
1955
.55 LOS ANGELES, BAMBOO ROOM
.55 LOS ANGELES, COBBLESTONE CLUB (once appeared naked on stage)
summer'55 TV pilot - "Fleetfoot"
.55 film - "The Leather Jacket" written by & starring Lenny & Sally
approx 15-20 min in b&w & colour. A second script, "Killers Grave",
as written in 1959 but no footage was shot, a 3rd film was going
to be called "The Degenerate" (but never scripted?)
(1 min clip on Swear To Tell The Truth) **
7.11.55 Daughter Kitty born
31.12.55 LOS ANGELES, DUFFY'S (opening night)
1956
. 1.56 LOS ANGELES, DUFFY'S (appeared here regularly for the next few months)
(once appeared naked on stage)
. 1.56 appearance on L.A. saturday night TV show "Rocket To Stardom"
9. 3.56 Lenny filed for divorce
. 6.56 Goes to Hawaii. Booked for 6-week engagement at Orchid Room, Honolulu
. 6.56 Lenny goes back to L.A. to see Honey 2 days later
26. 6.56 Lenny & Honey go to Hawaii
Did Lenny do any shows in Hawaii?
30. 6.56 Honey arrested for possession of marijuana
15. 7.56 Lenny goes back to L.A. with Kitty
16. 7.56 LOS ANGELES, DUFFY'S
.12.56 Honey sentenced to 3 years probation
1957
21. 1.57 divorced Honey
early'57 Lenny appears on "Tonight: America After Dark" hosted by Jack Lescoulie
The show aired from 28.1.57-26.7.57
23. 6.57 Honey sentenced to 2 years in the Federal Correctional Institution,
Oahu, Hawaii for breaking probation
. 7.57 Honey transferred to Terminal Island, California
. 7.57 HOLLYWOOD, CRESCENDO (5 weeks)
. 8.57 ANAHEIM, SOUTH SEAS (3 weeks, didn't perform-no customers)
.9/10.57 HOLLYWOOD, CRESCENDO (long engagement)
.11.57 LOS ANGELES, PEACOCK LANE (2 weeks)
.11.57 LOS ANGELES, DUFFY'S (few weeks)
.12.57 POSH NEW NIGHTCLUB ON LA CIENEGA, HOLLYWOOD. (Slate Brothers)
Hired for 2 weeks, fired after 1st night for "blue material"
.12.57 LOS ANGELES, DUFFY'S (few weeks)
1958
. 1.58 LOS ANGELES,HOLLYWOOD, PEACOCK LANE (couple of weeks)
Lenny does some early shows the week of 13-18 Jan before doing some
late night shows starting on the 19th.
The Sound, Tarzan, Fat Boy (23 min) ** on "Thank You Masked Man"
The Interview (3 min) ** on "Interviews of our Times"
(other bits performed-Religions Inc., Enchanting Transylvania)
. 1.58 During the time of the Peacock Lane shows Lenny makes 2 appearances on a TV show
2. 4.58 SAN FRANCISCO, ANN'S 440 (opening night) hired for several weeks
Enchanting Transylvania (3 min) ** on "Interviews of our times"
(other bits performed-Religions Inc.,Fat Boy,Hitler,Commercials,
Ike Sherm & Nick,Lawrence Welk,Non Skeddo Flies Again)
. 7.58 CHICAGO, THE CLOISTERS (hired for several weeks)
. 8.58 1st LP, "Interviews of our times" (33 min) **
The Interview (Peacock Lane, Hollywood, .1.58)
Djinni in the Candy Store
Enchanting Transylvania (Ann's 440, San Francisco, .4.58)
Interview with Dr. Sholem Stein (Henry Jacobs & Woodrow Leafer)
The March of High Fidelity (studio recording)
Maria Ouspenskaya Interview
Father Flotski's Triumph
All Broadway Musicals Sound The Same...
Shorty Petterstein Interview (Henry Jacobs & Woodrow Leafer)
(Fantasy 7001, United Artists UAL 29076 [England])
.10.58 SAN FRANCISCO, FACK'S II
Heshie The Monster (7 min) ** (on "Thank You Masked Man")
How to relax your Colored friends at parties
(piano by Andre Previn) (4 min) ** (on "Lenny Bruce - American")
24.10.58 SAN FRANCISCO, FACK'S II (31 min) ** (on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 2)
.11.58 LOS ANGELES, CRESCENDO
.12.58 LOS ANGELES, ATTIC THEATRE, "A Wonderful Sick Evening with Lenny Bruce"
1958 single - "Death Row 172" / "Ode To A Beat Generation"
(Fantasy 541, red vinyl white label promotional disc)
Ode To A Beat Generation is an instrumental track by Jack Weeks Orchestra, not Lenny.
Death Row 172 is credited to (Bruce - Weeks) while Ode... is credited to (Weeks - Bruce)
so I think it maybe was a mutual agreement, Weeks gets a credit on the A-side and Lenny
gets a credit on the B-side. Or maybe Lenny really did co-write Ode... with Weeks?
1958 single - "It Don't Take Money" / "My Werewolf Mama"
(Fantasy 542, red vinyl white label promotional disc)
My Werewolf Mama (3 min) ** on "The Real Lenny Bruce"
(William Karl Thomas says 4 songs were recorded. Maybe the 4th one is Psychopathia Sexualis?)
FROM "CATALOG OF COPYRIGHT ENTRIES":
https://archive.org/stream/CatalogOfCopyrightEntriesSeries3Vol.12Part5No.2july-dec.1958/cce_1958_july_dec_music_djvu.txt
(w = words by, m = music by, presumably ra & k are OCR errors.)
PSYCHOPATHIA; w Lenny Bruce, m Jack Weeks.
© Cireco Music Inc.; 7Aug58; EU536550.;
DEATH ROW 172; ra Jack Weeks ft Lenny Bruce.
© Cireco Music Inc.; 13Oct58; EU546914.
A WEREWOLF MAMA; m Lenny Bruce ft Shelley Robbins.
© Cireco Music Inc.; 13Oct58; EU546915.
IT DON'T TAKE MONEY; m Lenny Bruce k Lou Gottleib.
© Cireco Music Inc.; 13Oct58; EU546916
ODE TO A BEAT GENERATION; m Jack Weeks k Lenny Bruce.
© Cireco Music Inc.; 13Oct58; EU546918.
1959
.59 single - "Psychopathia Sexualis"
I can't find any evidence online that this was ever pressed as a single, or even a promo disc.
William Karl Thomas says side B was "a heavy death row recitation", so it's probably
"Death Row 172". Lenny plugs single on local TV show - "The Hank Weaver Show".
William Karl Thomas makes a promotional film for it but Lenny gives the
film to an amateur editor who chops it to pieces.
. 1.59 CHICAGO, THE CLOISTERS (until approx 6/7.3.59)
.59 2nd LP, "The sick humor of Lenny Bruce" (rec:1958) (37 min) **
(Goldman says it was released in July'59, during an engagement at the hungry i.
However, on his 2nd Steve Allen Show, 3 months earlier, Lenny says he's done
"a couple of albums". Also mentioned in Studs Terkel interview.)
Non Skeddo Flies Again
The Kid in the Well
Adolph Hitler & the MCA
Ike, Sherm & Nick
Psychopathia Sexualis (studio recording)
Religions, Inc.
(Fantasy 7003, Demon Verbals VERB 2 [England])
26. 2.59 WMFT Chicago, Interviewed by Studs Terkel (5 min) ** (on "Let The Buyer Beware")
. 3.59 NEW YORK, DUANE HOTEL, THE DEN (on & off until May'59)
. 3.59 New York, TV Pilot
. 4.59 NEW YORK, DUANE HOTEL, THE DEN (approx 4 week engagement)
(bits performed-The Palladium,Religions Inc,
Father Flotski,Welk,Lugosi)
5. 4.59 The Steve Allen Show, NBC (1st appearance) (11 min/video) **
Airplane Glue, All Alone
(on the video "Lenny Bruce Without Tears")
Also appearing on the show were the Three Stooges.
The Airplane Glue bit has been titled "The Discovery" & released
on "Here's Johnny : Magic Moments from The Tonight Show",
Casablanca SPNB 1296 & American Forces Radio & Television
Service RL 3-5, 1974. What is strange about this is that
this isn't an appearance on the Tonight Show (which Steve Allen
hosted from 1954-Jan'57), but an appearance on Steve Allen's
own show which was also on NBC.
. 4.59 WNTA, New York (90 min TV show "One Night Stand:
The World of Lenny Bruce") (10 min/video) **
Money, Non Skeddo Flies Again (on the video "Lenny Bruce Without Tears")
10. 5.59 The Steve Allen Show, NBC (2nd appearance) (8 min/video) **
Djinni in the Candy Store (on the video "Lenny Bruce Without Tears")
. 5.59 end of engagement at The Den, N.Y.
. 6.59 Honey released from prison
. 6.59 CHICAGO, MISTER KELLY'S (2 weeks)
2. 7.59 SAN FRANCISCO, THE HUNGRY I (3 weeks. ending around 22.7.59)
13. 7.59 Labelled "Sick Comic" by Time magazine
. 7.59 New York, Hotel America, Lenny's hotel room
Captain Whackencracker (4 min) **
(The Album "Thank You Masked Man" gives a date of July'59, but he
was in San Fransisco for most of July & I have no details of any shows
in New York at this time.)
. 8.59 HOLLYWOOD, CRESCENDO (busted for drugs.
snitches on dealers in exchange for release)
. 8.59 Taped some radio commercials for Zeidler & Zeidler, for KBLA, Los Angeles
8 commercials (8 min) ** on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 6
.59 PHILADELPHIA, CELEBRITY CLUB
.59 on WHAT FM for 2 hours talking to Sid Mark
.59 makes a home movie at Sid Marks house called "Dracula Meets The Jews"
(2 short clips in "Swear To Tell The Truth") **
. 9.59 MISSOURI, ST. LOUIS, CRYSTAL PALACE (1st 2 weeks of Sept)
gave a press conference
. 9.59 CHICAGO, MISTER KELLY'S (last 2 weeks of Sept)
.10.59 MINNEAPOLIS, FREDDIE'S
.10.59 SAN FRANCISCO, THE HUNGRY I
The Palladium (20 min) **
(on "I am not a nut, elect me!")
.10.59 NEW YORK, DUANE HOTEL, THE DEN (long engagement)
24.10.59 Playboy's Penthouse, WBKB-TV, Chicago (3½ min/video) **
[Show ran for 1 season. 1959-1960. Did Lenny just appear on one show?]
30 second clip in "A Toast To Lenny"
30 second clip in "But...Seriously"
2½ min clip on Swear To Tell The truth
5 min clip (audio only) on "Let The Buyer Beware"
.11.59 NEW YORK, DUANE HOTEL, THE DEN
Tokyo Rose (1 min) ** (on "Thank You Masked Man")
.11/12.59 NEW YORK, DUANE HOTEL, THE DEN
(57 min) ** on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 1
("Gotta Split" 1 min) ** on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 1, listed as "probably" The Den, 1959
("Never Cop Out" 4 min) ** on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 5
27.12.59 DETROIT, RIVIERA THEATRE (1st "concert")
28.12.59 possibly at least 1 more day at The Den
.12.59 MIAMI, EL PATIO (1 month)
.59 KPIX, San Francisco, CA (a TV show on a Sunday at 4.30pm) [exact date unknown]
Lenny On Comedy (11 min) ** (audio only, on "Let The Buyer Beware")
1960
early'60 3rd LP, "I am not a nut, elect me!" (recorded:1959) (52 min) **
White Collar Drunks
The Defiant Ones (with Eric Miller)
The Phone Company
The Steve Allen Show
Esther Costello Story
Bronchitis
My Trip To Miami
The Tribunal
The Palladium (San Francisco, the hungry i, .10.59)
Our Governors
(Fantasy 7007)
25-28.2.60 THE GYM, MARIN CITY COMMUNITY CENTRE (with Eric Miller)
. 3.60 NEW YORK, THE BLUE ANGEL
8. 4.60 SHRINE AUDITORIUM, LOS ANGELES
Mimi Clar of the LA Times said he was a "brilliant satirist" whose sophisticated routine
was "spiced with biting social commentary and jive talk." (Source: Cal Tjader: The Life
and Recordings of the Man Who Revolutionized Latin Jazz, page 105.)
. 4.60 NEW YORK, TOWN HALL
Don Friedman-"Yusef Lateef opening artist. Sold out. Town Hall upset because copies
of Paul Krassner's Realist placed in back of seats to greet Sun.AM church goers who
did not appreciate the magazine, or us. The start of the anti Lenny campaign"
. 4.60 PENNSAUKEN, NEW JERSEY, RED HILL
.4/5.60 WASHINGTON DC
. 5.60 CHICAGO, TRADE WINDS
. 7.60 OHIO, DAYTON, RACQUET CLUB
. 7.60 vacation in Las Vegas (gets idea for "Tits & Ass")
. 7.60 Las Vegas, Flamingo Hotel. squirts Pearl Bailey on stage with a fire extinguisher
. 8.60 HOLLYWOOD, CRESCENDO (long engagement)
(1st performance of Tits & Ass, Christ & Moses, To Come)
.?? PEACOCK LANE, HOLLYWOOD, CA
The track "Psycho Doctors / Faye Bainter / Jack Paar" appears to be from
some time in the second half of 1960. (7 min) ** on "Let The Buyer Beware"
.9/10.60 PITTSBURGH, TOWN HOUSE
.9/10.60 PITTSBURGH, FALLEN ANGEL
.10.60 MILWAUKEE, THE HOLIDAY HOUSE (6.30pm dinner show)
(Lenny got punched in the face for doing "Christ & Moses")
.10/11.60 OHIO, DAYTON
.11.60 PENNSAUKEN, NEW JERSEY, RED HILL (on friday night, went on stage with a
fever of 105°)
.11/12.60 NEW YORK, BASIN STREET EAST (3 weeks)
.12.60 MIAMI, EL PATIO (3 or 4 weeks, until sometime in January'61)
19?? Lenny is interviewed on Larry King's radio show
1961
30. 1.61 Had an operation to remove a loose piece of bone from his
hip following a motorbike accident.
3. 2.61 Philadelphia concert (cancelled-couldn't get there due to blizzard)
4. 2.61 NEW YORK, CARNEGIE HALL (2nd "concert") (107 min) **
(started after midnight so true date is 5.2.61)
Introduction - Don Friedman, Miracle on 5th Street, The Airlines
Sound, The Kidnap, Point of View, Ku Klux Klan, A What's It Mean
Kennedy Acceptance Speech, On Humor, Nightclubs, Dykes & Faggots
Girl Singing, The Flag & Communism, Dear Abby, Las Vegas Tits &
Ass, The Clap, Christ & Moses, Equality, Internal Revenue, Pills
Burlesque House, Judge Saperstein Decision, On Contemporaries
Shelley Berman, The Operation, The Joke, The End
("Lenny Bruce", United Artists, UAL-3580, 1967)
("Carnegie Hall", United Artists, UAS-9800, 1972)
("The Midnight Concert", United Artists, UAS-6794, 1970's)
("Lenny Bruce In Concert", Demon Verbals, VERB 5, 1986)
10. 2.61 BALTIMORE "concert" ("Stamp Help Out" 56 pg booklet sold for 1st time)
11. 2.61 PHILADELPHIA "concert"
12. 2.61 SCHUBERT THEATRE, BOSTON "concert" (Don Friedman in association with
Polysonics Ltd present "An Evening With Lenny Bruce)
(14-20?).2.61 PHILADELPHIA (1 week)
late.2.61 MIAMI, EL PATIO (collapsed on stage on 1st night)
late.2.61 in Mount Sinai Hospital, Miami with septicemia
late.4.61 doctors pronounce Lenny well enough to travel
(14-16?).7.61 NEW JERSEY, NEPTUNE, DUNE'S MOTEL (3 day weekend)
. 7.61 DETROIT, CLUB ALAMO
. 8.61 TOLEDO
(3?).9.61 PENNSAUKEN, NEW JERSEY, RED HILL (4 weeks)
29. 9.61 Philadelphia, hotel (Arrest #1 for possession of drugs)
(case dropped ?.?.??)
29. 9.61 Central Magistrates Court. Magistrate E. David Keiser
30. 9.61 Philadelphia court appearance
30. 9.61 Interview recorded outside courthouse (1½ min) **
(on Swear To Tell The Truth)
30. 9.61 PENNSAUKEN, NEW JERSEY, RED HILL (last night)
3.10.61 SAN FRANCISCO, JAZZ WORKSHOP (2 shows)
4.10.61 SAN FRANCISCO, JAZZ WORKSHOP (2 shows) (18 min) **
(Arrest #2 for giving an obscene show - ****sucker,
not guilty 8.3.62)
A Pretty Bizarre Show
Dirty Toilet
C.E. Hoxie
To Come
(released as "Recording Submitted in Evidence In The San Francisco Obscenity
Trial, March 1962", Lenny Bruce Records, LB 9001/9002, July/August 1964)
Available here in probably the best sound quality compared with other versions:
http://www.kpfahistory.info/dandl/lenny_bruce_home.htm
5.10.61 SAN FRANCISCO, JAZZ WORKSHOP (2 shows) (at least 1 more night, maybe more)
(2nd show, 41 min) ** on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 3 & 6
9.10.61 court appearance in Philadelphia before Magistrate
Keiser. (case dropped at a later date)
17.11.61 court appearance in San Francisco before Judge Axelrod
19.11.61 SAN FRANCISCO, CURRAN THEATRE (146 min) **
Critics, Definitions, San Francisco Bust, Courts, Juries, Cops,
Philadelphia Bust, Corruption, Obscenity, Jewish & Goyishe,
The Lie, Courtroom Fantasy, George Shearing & Guide Dogs for
the Blind, Tropic of Cancer, Cops & Bad Toilet Training,
Philadelphia Hotel Room raid & ride to jail, Jails & the
Philadelphia Lower courts, Shirley Beck letters, Blue Suits,
Bobby Kennedy, Russians, Integration, Juries, Humor,
Fantasy with the Judge, Las Vegas, Paradox of obscenity,
Tits & Ass, Nuns, Paul Robeson, Adolph Eichmann, Christ & Moses
Legalisation of pot, Hillbillies, Judy Garlands farewell.
("Live at the Curran Theater", Fantasy, 34201, 1971)
("The Legendary Lenny Bruce", Murray Hill M52952, 1970's)
.61 4th LP, "Lenny Bruce-American" (recorded:1958-61) (39 min) **
Lima, Ohio
Airplane Glue
Shelley Berman/Chicago/Nightclub Owners
How To Relax Your Colored Friends At Parties (with
Eric Miller) (Fack's II, San Francisco, .10.58)
The Lost Boy
Marriage, Divorce & Motels
Don's Big Dago
Three Message Movies (Narcotics, Truth, Tolerance)
Commercials
Father Flotski's Triumph (unexpurgated)
(Fantasy 7011, released before .12.61)
1962
. 1.62 CHICAGO, GATE OF HORN (last week of Jan)
. 2.62 MIAMI BEACH, BEL AIRE HOTEL (last week of Feb)
5-8.3.62 Jury trial for obscenity, San Francisco before
Judge Clayton Horn (not guilty)
8. 3.62 NEW YORK, CARNEGIE HALL
1. 4.62 Arrived in London
. 4.62 LONDON, SOHO, THE ESTABLISHMENT (hired for 2 weeks?)
(one source says opening night was 24.4.62 which seems too late, another
source says 15.4.62 which seems more reasonable.)
(bits performed include-girl singers,Father Flotski,How to
entertain colored people at parties)
Apparently he gave over 50 performances!
around 5.5.62 went back to USA
. 5.62 NEW YORK, CARNEGIE HALL
. 5.62 NEW YORK, GREENWICH VILLAGE, VANGUARD CLUB
30. 7.62 BRITISH COLUMBIA, VANCOUVER, ISY'S
1. 8.62 BRITISH COLUMBIA, VANCOUVER, SUPPER CLUB
2. 8.62 ON TV - CBC & CHAN , saying he'll never perform in Vancouver again
(1 min clip on Swear To Tell The Truth) **
. 8.62 ATLANTIC CITY, LE BISTRO (until 1.9.62)
6. 9.62 landed in Sydney, Australia
7. 9.62 SYDNEY, AARON'S HOTEL, (booked for 1 week but cancelled after 1 night)
11. 9.62 appearance on ABC's "People" cancelled
13. 9.62 University of Sydney (Booked then cancelled)
14. 9.62 University of New South Wales (Booked then cancelled)
14. 9.62 ROSEBAY, WINTER GARDEN (61 min)**
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC05aUlFXOE
18. 9.62 left Australia
5.10.62 Arrest #3 for possession of drugs, Los Angeles (guilty 13.5.63/
appeal 26.6.63/suspended sentence 18.4.66)
10.10.62 Arraignment at Van Nuys Municipal Court. NEWS CLIPS ON TV THAT NIGHT
Lenny hits a KTLA cameraman outside the courtroom
17.10.62 LOS ANGELES, TROUBADOR CLUB (12 day engagement)
(Arrest #4 for giving an obscene show, show started 11.30pm)
(mistrial 15.2.63/case dismissed 1.7.63)
23.10.62 LOS ANGELES, TROUBADOR CLUB (police attended the show)
24.10.62 LOS ANGELES, TROUBADOR CLUB (police attended the show)
30.10.62 Beverly Hills Municipal Court (obscenity trial)
9.11.62 Van Nuys preliminary hearing (narcotics)
19.11.62 Beverly Hills Municipal Court (obscenity)
27.11.62 CHICAGO, GATE OF HORN (booked for 4 weeks but last
show around 11.12.62)
.11/12.62 CHICAGO, GATE OF HORN (various clips, not all from the same show, 27 min) **
How To Relax Your Colored Friends At Parties (with Eric Miller)
Non Skeddo Flies Again (this track listed as Gate of Horn Nov/Dec'62 or Off Broadway 1963)
Schmuck
Reading The Court Transcript
I Picked On The Wrong God
My Name Is Adolph Eichmann
(on "Let The Buyer Beware")
4.12.62 CHICAGO, GATE OF HORN (52 min) **
(Arrest #5 for giving an obscene show)
(guilty 14.3.63/appeal 3.4.63/verdict overturned ?.?.??)
Intro, King Kong Routine, Paul Molloy & Christianity,
Entrapment by Cops, Sex is Dirty?, Imprisonment, War Criminals,
Infidelity, How to relax colored people, Talks to lady in
audience, Jewish Theater, Christ & Moses, The Milwaukee Gig,
Cops, Flashlights & Bottles, Who's a fag, Drugs, The Bust
("Live! Busted!", [CD] Vipers Nest Records, 1995)
5.12.62 Beverly Hills Municipal Court (Lenny not present)
7.12.62 Beverly Hills Municipal Court (trial postponed until 28.12.62)
10.12.62 Van Nuys arraignment at Superior Court (Lenny failed to appear)
.12.62 MISSOURI, ST. LOUIS, CRYSTAL PALACE
28.12.62 Beverly Hills Municipal Court (Lenny abscent, rescheduled for 2.1.63)
31.12.62 MIAMI BEACH, LE B (part of a 1 or 2 week engagement??)
1962/63 "To is a preposition, come is a verb" (24 min) **
(3 of the tracks are from the Jazz Workshop show on 4.10.61,
here in a shortened form compared to the versions on
"Recording Submitted..", the rest is probably from 1962/63)
I Just Do It & That's All
To Come (4.10.61)
Hubert's Museum (Hollywood, Oct-Dec 1960) a longer version of this track is on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 3
The Perverse Act
Tits & Ass
Completely Exposed
A Pretty Bizarre Show (4.10.61)
Blah Blah Blah (early'62)
Dirty Toilet (4.10.61)
Would You Sell Out Your Country
A White White Woman & A Black Black Woman (Los Angeles)
(Douglas 2, 1970, "What I Was Arrested For", Douglas 2,
KZ 30872, 1971 [Canada-Columbia KZ 30872, 1971], "The Story
of Lenny-What I Was Arrested For", Casablanca NBLP 7013, 1975)
1963
.62/63 ANN's 440, SAN FRANCISCO, CA (22 min) ** on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 4
Date is somewhere between Nov'62 & Oct'63
2. 1.63 Beverly Hills Municipal Court ??
3.1.63-10.2.63 NEW YORK, GREENWICH VILLAGE, VANGUARD CLUB
10. 1.63 N.Y. performance referred to in letter on cover of L.B. is Out Again
.1/2.63 CBC TV, TORONTO, Nat Hentoff interviews Lenny at
the Vanguard Club, Greenwich Village, New York (8 min/video) **
Broadcast 21.4.63 (on the video "Lenny Bruce Without Tears")
11-15.2.63 Beverly Hills Municipal Court, L.A. (for 17.10.62 arrest)
Lenny secretly recorded trial. Ends in a mistrial - jury 6 & 6
12. 2.63 HOLLYWOOD, THE UNICORN (arrested for obscene performance)
18-29.2.63 Chicago trial. Judge Ryan. (guilty as charged)
23. 2.63 Arrest #6 for possession of drugs, Los Angeles (case dismissed 4.4.63)
25. 2.63 Beverly Hills. hear motion for new trial ??
29. 2.63 Chicago trial. Lenny is in L.A. so Judge issues bench warrant for
Lenny's arrest
7. 3.63 L.A. preliminary hearing for 23.2.63 arrest
9. 3.63 SAN FRANCISCO, OFF BROADWAY (3 shows)
(1st show) jury, get even, Christ & Moses, balloons, schmuck, it's out, Bela Lugosi, dykes (36 min) **
(3rd show) obscenity / what is obscene? / schmuck, what I was arrested for / cocksucker
are there any n...... here tonight?, Jimmy Hoffa, entrapment of judge
Thank You Masked Man, Jewish & Goyish. I'm going to piss on you (35min) **
Available here: http://www.kpfahistory.info/dandl/lenny_bruce_home.htm
14. 3.63 Chicago-sentencing (guilty in abcentia- 1 year in house of correction)
22. 3.63 L.A. Superior Court (narcotics trial postponed until 13.5.63)
31. 3.63 SAN FRANCISCO, OFF BROADWAY ("The Breakfast Show for Jonathan Winters") (85 min) **
01 Ruby The Robot
02 Mort Sahl, Shelley Berman, Jack Paar, Joey Bishop & Phyllis Diller/The Reason I Wear The Coat
03 Why The Breakfast Show
04 The Meaning Of Obscenity Pt. 1/Drew Pearson's A Son Of A Bitch
05 Norman Rockwell/The Jazz Scene
06 The Word Or The Act/We Fucked Their Mothers For Chocolate Bars
07 Jimmy Hoffa/Castro & Cuba
08 Thank You Masked Man
09 Mandrake/Hooker-Prostitute/Pissing in the sink
10 Wallace Beery & Bela Lugosi (distracted before he does the bit)
11 Are There Any N...... Here Tonight?
12 The Clap
13 Dangerous Drugs/Marijuana
14 Jews Killed Christ
15 Marilyn Monroe/Narcotics Vs. Juice
16 You Don't Remember Me, Do You?/You're So Classic... Smoking A Cigar
17 Kennedys/Jonathan Winters
18 W.C. Fields The Anti-Semite/Hookers On Record
19 The Meaning Of Obscenity Pt. 2
20 San Francisco Bust/Judge Entrapment
21 The Act Is Kissin' & Huggin'
22 Las Vegas Pt. 1/Johnny Mathis
23 I'll Show You How Prejudiced You Are
24 Corrupt Cities/Chicago Shtarkers/Shelley Berman
25 Audience Banter/Why Doesn't He Do The Bits On The Records?
26 Jonathan Winters speaks
27 Narcotics
28 Herb Kane
29 Homosexuality
....01-08, 11-25 appear on "Let The Buyer Beware" with edits.
....01-13(part), 26-29 available here unedited and in better sound quality:
http://www.kpfahistory.info/dandl/lenny_bruce_home.htm
. 3.63 SAN FRANCISCO, OFF BROADWAY
Thank You Masked Man, The Comics (9 min) **
(on "thank You Masked Man")
3. 4.63 Chicago court, to post appeal
approx 4.4.63 L.A. Superior Court. Judge Alfred O. Peracca dismisses the case
8. 4.63 Landed in England, refused entry
9. 4.63 Back in USA
12. 4.63 Flew to Dublin
13. 4.63 entered Britain
14. 4.63 sent back to USA
. 4.63 MIAMI BEACH, LE B (2 weeks)
. 4.63 Miami. Arrested for illegal possession of a needle & syringe
21. 4.63 "Close-Up", CBC (Canadian TV)
Originally scheduled for 31st March but pre-empted by NHL semi-final.
Nat Hentoff interviews Lenny (interview filmed Jan/Feb'63)
25. 4.63 Chicago. hearing on fugitive charge
13. 5.63 Van Nuys Municipal Court. narcotics trial (guilty)
released on bail. awaiting sentencing
. 5.63 Van Nuys court hearing for hitting a cameraman
. 5.63 LOS ANGELES, EL GRANDE THEATRE (Arrested, Indecent show) ????
. 6.63 Van Nuys. Judge rules Lenny is an addict & should be confined for
treatment to the State Rehabilitation Center at Corona, California
.5/6.63 Juror Phone Calls RE: The Heroin Bust (5 min) ** on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 6
26. 6.63 Van Nuys. appeal granted
1. 7.63 Beverly Hills (obscenity trial) case dismissed
.63 UNKNOWN VENUE IN CALIFORNIA, sometime between July & November (broadcast on KPFA 11.11.63)
Available as "Lenny Bruce Comes Clean" (28 min) **
http://www.archive.org/details/Bb2893ComedianInTransition-GeorgeCarlin
Also available in a shorter 12 min version as "The Heroin Bust" on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 6
29.11.63 NEW YORK, VILLAGE THEATRE (2 shows) (became Fillmore East in 1966)
30.11.63 NEW YORK, VILLAGE THEATRE (2 shows)
Don Friedman-"Village Theater Friday and Sat. 4 sold out shows or 11,000 people. I was in
fact in the office of the theater owner arranging for a Sunday concert when people started
running out into the corridors screaming the President's been shot. We then left it as it was."
31.12.63 LOS ANGELES, TROLLEY-HO
1961-65 "THE ESSENTIAL LENNY BRUCE:POLITICS" (24 min) **
Johnson, Nixon, The Competitive System & Communism,
The American Image, Black Democracy & Liberals,
Would You Sell Out Your Country?, Law Enforcement,
The Bomb, Pot Will Be Legal.
(Douglas, SD 788, 1969)
1963 "THANK YOU MASK MAN" (Animation, 1966) (7 min/video) **
(Animation by John Magnuson)
1964
.64 Unknown date in 1964 / UNKNOWN VENUE (3 min) ** on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 5
Jackie Kennedy Hauls Ass/Selling Out Your Country (A.K.A. Hot Lead Enema)
2. 2.64 LOS ANGELES, TROLLEY-HO
Performances at the Trolley-Ho until at least mid-March.
Feb/March'64 "LENNY BRUCE IS OUT AGAIN" (49 min) **
(recorded 1958-63)
They're Moving In
Guess What I Got Manny (The Clap)
Come On Down (Christ & Moses)
Neck To Neck (Bela Lugosi)
Waving The Flag
A Welk by any other name (Tarzan)
Fat Boy
A Violation is a Moving Thing
Jewish Husbands (Deny It)
The Hang Up
Don't Paint God/Thank You Masked Man
Nay Nays (Tits & Ass)
A Man's Man (Would you sell out your country?)
I Tried it Once, It Just Gave Me A Headache (Marijuana)
(Lenny Bruce Records, LB 3001/3002)
4. 3.64 THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW, Syndicated daily 90 min TV show
He plugs the Album "Lenny Bruce is out again" which
has just been released.
(2½ min clip on "Swear To Tell The Truth") **
I originally had this and the "...Out Again" album down as "late'64" but this page gives a
recording date of 4th March and also says it was never broadcast:
http://splitsider.com/2012/07/unearthing-steve-allen-and-lenny-bruces-unaired-discussion-on-free-speech/
13. 3.64 LOS ANGELES, TROLLEY-HO (arrested on obscenity charges)
27. 3.64 GREENWICH VILLAGE, VILLAGE THEATRE (2 shows)
28. 3.64 GREENWICH VILLAGE, VILLAGE THEATRE (2 shows)
Don Friedman-"Easter weekend Friday Sat. Four more sold out shows 11,000 again,
days before The GoGo bust. Arrangements were made so Lenny could play GoGo, no
advertising until shows over."
29. 3.64 NEW YORK, GREENWICH VILLAGE, CAFE AU GO GO (until 7.4.64)
Tiny Tim is warm-up act
1. 4.64 NEW YORK, CAFE AU GO GO (Police secretly record both shows)
3. 4.64 Arrest #7 for obscenity (arrested before the show. no show that night)
(guilty 21.12.64/conviction voided .2.67)
4. 4.64 Interview on Swear To tell The truth (30 sec) **
7. 4.64 NEW YORK, CAFE AU GO GO (arrested after the show)
23. 4.64 In hospital to cure a lung ailment
13. 6.64 Written protest delivered to Mayor of N.Y.
16. 6.64 N.Y. Trial began (Lenny secretly records trial)
17. 6.64 Lenny was ill & walked out of court
18. 6.64 Adjourned for 10 days - Lenny had reaccurrence of his pleurisy
30. 6.64 trial resumed
9. 7.64 adjourned for 18 days for Judge's summer vacation
10. 7.64 SAN FRANCISCO, OFF BROADWAY (approx 7 days)
15. 7.64 SAN FRANCISCO, OFF BROADWAY (7 min) **
comments on censorship & obscenity laws
. 7.64 LONG ISLAND, WESTBURY
27. 7.64 trial resumed
28. 7.64 trial ended, verdict given later
. 8.64 SAN FRANCISCO, OFF BROADWAY (3 weeks, until 1.9.64)
10. 9.64 Lenny fired his attorney to conduct his own defence
5.10.64 N.Y. court hearing
4.11.64 N.Y. court hearing
25-27.11.64 Greenwich Village, Village Theatre (with Tiny Tim)
"Lenny Bruce Speaks for Profit - Tiny Tim Sings for Love"
(SHOW CANCELLED)
15.12.64 N.Y. court hearing
21.12.64 N.Y. court hearing. pronounced "guilty as charged" (sentenced to
4 months in the workhouse) (Conviction voided Feb'67)
late'64 "LENNY BRUCE IS OUT AGAIN" (49 min) **
(recorded 1958-63)
They're Moving In
Guess What I Got Manny (The Clap)
Come On Down (Christ & Moses)
Neck To Neck (Bela Lugosi)
Waving The Flag
A Welk by any other name (Tarzan)
Fat Boy
A Violation is a Moving Thing
Jewish Husbands (Deny It)
The Hang Up
Don't Paint God/Thank You Masked Man
Nay Nays (Tits & Ass)
A Man's Man (Would you sell out your country?)
I Tried it Once, It Just Gave Me A Headache (Marijuana)
(Lenny Bruce Records, LB 3001/3002)
late'64 THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW, Syndicated daily 90 min TV show
he plugs the Album "Lenny Bruce is out again" which
has just been released.
(2½ min clip on "Swear To Tell The Truth") **
Fantasy Promotional LP (FP-1, 1971) includes a version of
"Fat Boy" which is different from the version on "Lenny Bruce
Is Out Again", although some of it is the same (6 min) **
1965
1964/65 "CHRISTIANS & JEWS" (17 min) **
(Audiotape with "Performance" video)
8. 2.65 SAN FRANCISCO, BASIN STREET WEST (for 1 week)
. 3.65 MARIN COUNTY, COMMUNITY CENTRE
22-28.3.65 SAN FRANCISCO, BASIN STREET WEST
.65 "THE LAW, LANGUAGE & LENNY BRUCE" (34 min) **
(PROBABLY BASIN STREET WEST .3.65)
A complete show with only 3 or 4 edits.
The Law, Tits & Ass, Ballbreakers, Chicken, Language, Ruby,
Get Even, Religion, How the Negro & Jew got into Show Business,
Crime & Punishment, Goering was a Transvestite, Eichmann
(Warner Bros. SP 9101,
Phil Spector 2307 001 SUPER [England], 1974)
29. 3.65 San Francisco, fell from a window of the Swiss-American Hotel & broke ankle
.3/4.65 In hospital with arm infection
28. 4.65 returns home from hospital
18. 5.65 Chicago, Le Bistro (3 weeks) CANCELLED-LENNY TOO ILL
. 5.65 Phone Call Reading A Letter (9 min) ** on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 6
John Magnuson's secretary in San Francisco phoning Lenny in Los Angeles
Not long after 21st May 1965
.?? Phone Call To Harry Kalvin (9 min) ** on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 6
UNKNOWN DATE sometime in 1964/65
17. 6.65 Chicago, Le Bistro (intended to return on this date, but did he?)
3. 8.65 SAN FRANCISCO, BASIN STREET WEST (up until at least the 11th, possibly longer)
. 8.65 SAN FRANCISCO, BASIN STREET WEST (58 min/video) **
(Albert Goldman says Spring'66 but seems unlikely)
Craphouse, New York Trial, Tits & Ass,
Would You Sell Out Your Country, Jackie Kennedy Hauling Ass,
Don't Paint God, Ruby, Guys Don't Cheat On Girls,
The Perverse Act, Guys Exposing Themselves, Art Critics,
Shelley Berman, Barney, Father Flotski's Triumph,
How The Negro & Jew Got Into Show Business, To Come, Deny It
(Filmed by John Magnuson)
("LENNY BRUCE - LIVE PERFORMANCE", video cassette,
Virgin Video VIRV 005B, the video is followed by the
animated film "Thank You Mask Man", also on Rhino video,
RHVD 2949, 1992)
13.10.65 Lenny's 40th birthday
14.10.65 declared bankrupt
4-14.11.65 THE GOLDEN BEAR, 306 OCEAN AVENUE (Pacific Coast Highway)
.10-12.65 LP-"LENNY BRUCE IS OUT AGAIN" (40 min) **
(He says he's 40 years old so has to be Oct'65 or later)
Craphouse, Obscenity, The Law, Marijuana, Midgets,
Guys Exposing Themselves, Dating Advice,
Guys Don't Cheat on Girls, Get Even,
Thank You Masked Man (1963), Orphan Annie (1963)
(Phillies, PHLP-4010, 1966)
12.12.65 "BERKELEY CONCERT" CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY COMMUNITY THEATRE (78 min) **
Craphouse, The Law, Marijuana, Lyndon Johnson,
Ruby, Obscenity, Guys Exposing Themselves, Midgets,
How The Negro & Jew Got Into Show Business, Postman,
Mark Eden, Dating Advice, Guys Don't Cheat On Girls,
Get Even, Deny It, Ralph Gleason, Alaska
("The Berkeley Concert", Bizarre ZXS 6329, Transatlantic
TRA 195 [England], Enigma Retro/Bizarre 73395-2 [CD],
Bizarre/Straight RZ 70355 [CD], Demon Verbals VERBCD 7
[England, CD], 1969, "The Legendary Berkeley Concert",
The Comedy Club GAGMC010 [Cassette])
1966
. 2.66 Pierre Berton interviews Lenny in Hollywood for Canadian TV.
11-25.2.66 THE MUSIC BOX, 7080 HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD (financed by Phil Spector)
(Advertisement says 11-25 feb but other sources say only 10 shows
were performed, so it's possible 20th was the last show of this
run, after which the last 5 shows may have been cancelled)
18. 4.66 Los Angeles Municipal Court - sentence for narcotics violation -
- one year suspended sentence
.66 unknown date sometime in 1966, LOS ANGELES (2 min) ** on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 6
Art And A Big Piece Of Shit (With Anonymous Friend)
24. 6.66 SAN FRANCISCO, FILLMORE WEST
25. 6.66 SAN FRANCISCO, FILLMORE WEST (final show) (10 min) *** on "Let The Buyer Beware" disc 5+6
How The Law Got Started (Eat, Sleep & Crap)
Describing The Fillmore West/Yorty & L.A.
Southern Accents
. 8.66 "Lenny's last tape"
Testing The Sony Microphone (1min11sec) ** on "Let The Buyer Beware)
3. 8.66 Lenny died of a morphine overdose in the bathroom at his home at
8825 W.Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. See a map here.
(Simon & Garfunkel LP "Parsley Sage Rosemary & Thyme" includes a song
called "Silent Night" containing a news broadcast about Lenny's death)
12. 8.66 Lenny's Memorial Service at Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South at 6pm.
Paul Krassner was Master Of Ceremonies, with speakers Allen Garfield and Jean
Shepherd, with performers The Tony Scott Quartet, The Fugs, Allen Ginsberg,
Joe Lee Wilson, The Joe Dexido Quartet, and Tex Koenig.
1966 "Why Did Lenny Bruce Die" (Capitol KAO 2630) (44 min) **
Edited & produced by Lawrence Schiller,
Includes 2 minute clip of Kitty singing "Yesterday"
and accompanying on guitar (one source said it's L.Schiller
playing the guitar but I think it's more likely to be Kitty).
Recorded "a week before Lenny's death" (so approx 27.7.66).
Also includes clips of Berkeley, Gate of Horn, Berkeley,
Gate of Horn, Jazz Workshop, Berkeley.
Finishes with song Tim Hardin-"Lenny's Tune".
. 6.70 Film - "Dirtymouth" (release legally blocked)
Low-budget bio on Lenny's life. (made 1965, according to imdb.com.
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0193104)
10. 5.71 Broadway play - "Lenny" - Brooks Atkinson Theatre (previews until 25.5.71) 16 previews
26. 5.71 Broadway play - "Lenny" - Brooks Atkinson Theatre (until 24.6.72) 453 shows
Cliff Gorman reveived the Tony Award in 1972 for his portrayal of Lenny.
See: entry in Internet Broadway Database
http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=3608
News story in Playbill about Cliff Gorman's death in 2002.
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/72045.html
1972 LP - "Thank You Masked Man" (43 min) **
The Sound (Peacock Lane, Los Angeles, .1.58)
Tarzan (Peacock Lane, Los Angeles, .1.58)
Thank You Masked Man (Off Broadway, San Francisco, .3.63)
Tokyo Rose (The Den, New York City, .11.59)
Fat Boy (Peacock Lane, Los Angeles, .1.58)
The Comics (Off Broadway, San Francisco, .3.63)
Heshie The Monster (Fack's II, San Francisco, .10.58)
Captain Whackencracker (Lenny's Hotel Room, Hotel America,
New York City, .7.59)
(Fantasy 7017, Fantasy FAC 7017 [South Africa])
1972 Documentary - "Lenny Bruce Without Tears" (72 min/video) **
includes footage from Steve Allen Show 5.4.59 & 10.5.59,
TV Pilot WNTA New York .4.59, Basin Street West S.F. .8.65,
CBC Toronto Interview Jan/Feb'63.
. 5.73 National Lampoon Magazine with free Lenny flexi-disc
For a long time it seemed like this was the only officially released Lenny recording
I was unable to track down. Someone even told me the date of the recording was Purple
Onion Club, L.A., 11 March'63. I'd seen it on eBay several times and the seller
usually used the Lenny record as a main selling point. I was always outbid.
Then I received an email from Cliff Walker who told me an account of him buying the
magazine and then discovering that the record (which was supposed to contain a piece called
"Shoes Are To Keep The Dogshit Off Your Feet") was just plain cardboard with a photographic
image of grooves printed on it.
Then Richard Kolke emailed and solved the mystery. He said...
Each issue of National Lampoon during the 70's had a theme. This one was Fraud.
The cover advertises 'nude pictures of Caroline Kennedy from the moon'. There is
also a big Consumer Alert warning on the cover.
The name of the piece is In Search of the 'Midnight Tape' by Michael O'Donoghue.
The record is obviously a fake and has a very funny essay by O'Donoghue on the back.
The gist of it is that he has uncovered a rare Lenny Bruce performance that is his
most outrageous, scatalogical piece ever. The record in the magazine is said to be
an excerpt from the complete 47-minute show that is to be released on National
Lampoon's Blue Thumb records 'next month'. Thanks are given to 'Poly-Tel Records'
for use of their new 'compressed cardboard recording technology'.
All bullshit of course and actually very funny within the context of the magazine.
No Lenny, though.
1974 "LENNY" (Film starring Dustin Hoffman) (107 min/video) **
1974 Sally Marr in film "Harry & Tonto" with Art Carney
1984 "A Toast To Lenny" (HBO) (58 min) **
Recorded at the Troubador Club, Los Angeles
Hosted by Steve Allen.
includes clips of Playboy's Penthouse 1959/60,
live clip (not Basin Street West .8.65),
Broadway Open House 1950, colour home movie footage.
2.11.84 "Rebels", BBC Radio 4 documentary (29 min) **
1992 "Cult Heroes - Lenny Bruce", BBC Radio 5 (27 min) **
1993 Film-"But...Seriously" (82 min) **
Film about comedy with only very short clips of Lenny-
Includes 30 sec clip of Lenny on Playboy's Penthouse 1959/60
(a different clip to the one in "A Toast To Lenny")
Also includes a *very* short clip of Steve Allen Show
& Basin Street West .8.65
23. 3.97 "The Life & Crimes of Lenny Bruce", BBC Radio 3 (44 min) **
14.12.97 Sally Marr died of heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre.
1998 BBC Radio 1. Mark Radcliffe & Mark Lamarr talk about Lenny (12 min) **
21.10.98 Documentary - "Swear to tell the truth" (94 min) **
(Oscar nominee for best documentary feature 21.3.99)
Producer : Robert B. Weide (Whyaduck Productions for HBO)
Narrator : Robert De Niro
Shown on PBS in 1998. Part of a 3 part series, the other 2
being about Mort Sahl & Dick Gregory.
Rebroadcast 22 & 25.8.99 on HBO.
Mostly completed & shot in the early 80's.
Contains the following footage:-
Basin Street West .8.65
"Dracula Meets The Jews" (colour home movie) Aug/Sept'59 (14 sec)
Unaired Steve Allen Show, late'64 (70 sec)
Arthur Godfrey Show 19.4.49 (a different show to the one
on the record, this one broadcast the following day) (102 sec)
Broadway Open House, 1950 (58 sec)
Colour home movie (54 sec)
Dance Hall Racket 1953/54 (111 sec)
The Leather Jacket 1955-57 (52 sec)
Playboy's Penthouse, show #1, 1959 (138 sec)
Interview, Philadelphia, 30.9.61 (86 sec)
Interview 2.8.62 on Canadian TV (57 sec)
Court footage, etc... (103 sec)
Unaired Steve Allen Show, late'64 (88 sec)
Nat Hentoff Interviews Lenny Jan/Feb'63 (90 sec)
Interview, New York, 4.4.64 (29 sec)
"Dracula Meets The Jews" (colour home movie) Aug/Sept'59 (13 sec)
. 3.01 CD - "Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Mind, The rise and reckless fall of Lenny Bruce"
(Enlightenment EN 9007)
I was excited when I saw this, until I saw that it was a biography. This is one of
those bog-standard biographies, rehashed from other widely available sources, that
are being churned out all too regularly these days. The only plus point is it
includes clips of his famous Jazz workshop show, on CD for the first time, but
apart from this its for obsessed fans and completists only.
4. 4.02 BBC Radio 4, 11:30pm-12.00, "Left Bank Of The Mind" (Mark Thomas talks about Lenny)
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HERE IS A LIST OF SOME OF THE BOOKS ABOUT LENNY
"How to talk dirty and influence people" by Lenny Bruce (Playboy Press, 1965)
Lenny's autobiography. Originally appeared in serial form in Playboy Magazine.
"Ladies and Gentlemen LENNY BRUCE!!" by Albert Goldman from the journalism of Lawrence Schiller
(Ballantine Books, 1974)
"Lenny Bruce" by Frank Kofsky (Monad Press, New York, 1974)
"The Unpublished Lenny Bruce" from the private collection of Kitty Bruce (Running Press, 1984)
Contains interviews, magazine articles, show transcripts, and a reproduction of the
booklet "Stamp Help Help Out"
"The Essential Lenny Bruce" edited by John Cohen (Ballantine) (transcripts of Lenny's routines,
including, some that haven't yet been released as audio)
"Lenny Bruce. The Making Of A Prophet" by William Karl Thomas (Archon Books, 1989)
"Lenny, Jimi and Janis"
"Honey" by Honey Bruce
"The Trials Of Lenny Bruce" by Ronald Collins and David Skover (Sourcebooks, 2002)
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This list was compiled by D.Smith from a variety of sources.
Albert Goldman's book was the most useful, with other information coming
from sleevenotes, magazine articles, concert posters, etc..
Recordings known to exist by the author are marked with **.
I have listed some of the records under the date they were recorded (when
they are all from the same date), and some under the release date. I have
not bothered to list "best of"-type records of material that was previously
available, neither have I listed odd tracks appearing on compilations that
are also available elsewhere.
Any additional information and corrections to add to this list are
very welcome.
I can be contacted at dan2003uk (at) hotmail (dot) com
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I especially need to know:-
- The exact dates the albums were released (& the dates the bits were
recorded, if anyone has this information)
- The date of "The Law, Language & Lenny Bruce"
- The exact date of the "Lenny Bruce Performance" video
- The date of "Lenny Bruce Is Out Again" (Phillies) which all appears
to be from the same show except for the last 2 bits.
- The whereabouts of some of the very elusive "hundreds of shows
recorded on tape" I keep reading about.
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The Lenny Bruce Chronology is © 1999-2015 D.Smith
It may be freely distributed as long as it isn't altered in any way.
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