Lenny Bruce remains a figure of controversy even today. Some see him as a harbinger of things to come, the ancestor of comedians like Andrew Dice Clay or even the Animal House fraternity of comic actors. Some see him as a rather self indulgent sort who got gratification out of writing on bathroom walls. Whatever he was he probably never deserved the kind of attention he got from law enforcement. But that's always a problem, they never know when to just ignore. As for Bruce he certainly never hit prime time when he was alive.
But his character was the subject of a fascinating biographical film just simply entitled Lenny. And he was lucky in that he got an actor as good as Dustin Hoffman to play him. It got Hoffman one of his several nominations for Best Actor. Hoffman was so good that he certainly has a second career as a blue comedian if the acting gig goes south.
Lenny was also the breakout performance vehicle for Valerie Perrine in the role of Lenny Bruce's drug addicted wife. Perrine got an Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category. Down the cast list is Gary Morton, best known as Lucille Ball's second husband and he plays an established comedian based on Milton Berle.
Berle in real life could work blue if had to and did on occasions when the all seeing public eye wasn't necessarily tuned in. I remember that Buddy Hackett who was one of the funniest men that ever lived in club dates was positively filthy. But you paid to see him perform live at some nightclub for that, you sure didn't see him in The Music Man doing his nightclub act. Or on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Lenny Bruce never made those distinctions between Ed Sullivan and some sleazy nightclub. There's no more Ed Sullivan type variety shows. You do now have comedy clubs where Bruce would probably be more than welcome with his material.
Lenny Bruce thanks to the film Lenny now has a permanent place in our culture. It's also part of Dustin Hoffman's enduring legacy to film.
But his character was the subject of a fascinating biographical film just simply entitled Lenny. And he was lucky in that he got an actor as good as Dustin Hoffman to play him. It got Hoffman one of his several nominations for Best Actor. Hoffman was so good that he certainly has a second career as a blue comedian if the acting gig goes south.
Lenny was also the breakout performance vehicle for Valerie Perrine in the role of Lenny Bruce's drug addicted wife. Perrine got an Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category. Down the cast list is Gary Morton, best known as Lucille Ball's second husband and he plays an established comedian based on Milton Berle.
Berle in real life could work blue if had to and did on occasions when the all seeing public eye wasn't necessarily tuned in. I remember that Buddy Hackett who was one of the funniest men that ever lived in club dates was positively filthy. But you paid to see him perform live at some nightclub for that, you sure didn't see him in The Music Man doing his nightclub act. Or on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Lenny Bruce never made those distinctions between Ed Sullivan and some sleazy nightclub. There's no more Ed Sullivan type variety shows. You do now have comedy clubs where Bruce would probably be more than welcome with his material.
Lenny Bruce thanks to the film Lenny now has a permanent place in our culture. It's also part of Dustin Hoffman's enduring legacy to film.