3 August
Lenny Bruce is dead but his ghost lives on and on _ Never did get any Golden Globe award, never made it to Synanon. _ He was an outlaw, that's for sure, _ More of an outlaw than you ever were. _ Lenny Bruce is gone but his spirit's livin' on and on.
‘What does it mean to be found obscene in New York? This is the most sophisticated city in the country … If anyone is the first person to be found obscene in New York, he must feel utterly depraved.’ Lenny Bruce
Comedian, writer and social critic, Lenny Bruce died today in 1966. Most well know for his conviction in 1964 under New York’s obscenity law, after using words such as ‘cocksucker’ and ‘motherfucker’ during his act at the Cafe Au Go Go nightclub. Bruce was to die of an overdose four years before his conviction was reversed and it took another 37 years for him to receive a posthumous pardon.
‘One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That’s obscene.’
Dick Schaap, Playboy
Red Pepper by email
Get the latest articles and updates in your inbox
Workers unite online
They're logging on to combat lagging labour laws, costly court proceedings, and outsourcing management, writes Gaia Caramazza
Review – Finding a Voice: Asian women in Britain
Finding a Voice: Asian women in Britain, by Amrit Wilson, reviewed by Maya Goodfellow
The political whiteness of #MeToo
We need to confront how the movement is shaped by the power of whiteness, write Alison Phipps
Brexit’s drug problem
For all the talk of free-trade, why is ‘Global Britain’ still behind on drug law reform? By Kojo Koram
