Lenny Bruce

Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 - August 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy that combined satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was a landmark of freedom of speech in the United States and was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003. Born in Mineola, New York, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II. He earned his first stand-up performance fee in Brooklyn in 1947 after changing his last name to Bruce. He released four albums of original material on Fantasy Records, and gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall in February 1961. In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked Bruce third, behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin, on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.