3 August

‘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