Reuters
December 23, 2003

 

Bad-Boy Comedian Lenny Bruce Posthumously Pardoned
By Hugh Bronstein

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thirty-seven years after he died of a drug overdose, pioneering comedian Lenny Bruce was pardoned on Tuesday for a 1964 obscenity conviction over a raunchy, irreverent monologue at a New York nightclub.

New York Gov. George Pataki, issuing what his office said was the first posthumous pardon in the state's history, said his action symbolized New York's commitment to Americans' constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech.

"Freedom of speech is one of the greatest American liberties and I hope this pardon serves as a reminder of the precious freedoms we are fighting to preserve," Pataki said in a statement.

A group of lawyers and comedians -- among them Robin Williams and the Smothers Brothers -- petitioned Pataki earlier this year asking him for a posthumous pardon to set the record straight on the career of a man who helped transform comedy.

Bruce died in 1966, at age 39, just two years after being convicted of "Giving an Obscene Performance" over his comments at Cafe Au Go Go in New York City.

His performances included graphic language to describe oral sex, and bits including the story of a man with a bad leg who tries to avoid a trip down the hall to a bathroom by urinating in a sink. His roommate catches him, and suggests he go out onto the balcony instead.

He does so, and draws a crowd of firefighters and other onlookers convinced he is going to commit suicide by jumping.

The six-month trial and conviction marked the start of a quick decline in the career of Bruce, who paved the way for today's grittier and more political form of humor.

"He said, 'If I get busted in New York, the free-est city in the world, that will be the end of my career.' And he turned out to be right," Nat Hentoff, a Bruce friend and columnist for the Village Voice, told Reuters.

Hentoff, who was among those who lobbied Pataki for the pardon, dedicated a chapter of his book, "Free Speech For Me But Not For Thee," to Bruce.

The comic's fame came from his fearless monologues centering on such taboo topics as sex, religion and racism. But he became unbookable due to the threat of nightclubs losing their licenses should he be allowed to perform.

In granting Bruce the unprecedented pardon, Pataki seemed to be in agreement with folk singer Bob Dylan, who wrote: "Lenny Bruce is dead but he didn't commit any crime. He just had the insight to rip off the lid before its time."