Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet

Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet
by W. K. Thomas

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Book Summary Information

Author: W. K. Thomas
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-05-01
ISBN: 0208022376
Number of pages: 149
Publisher: Archon

Book Reviews of Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet

Book Review: "To Stare Down The Barrel of a Loaded Microphone"
Summary: 5 Stars

Lenny Bruce never waited for the television censors to not be listening before he delivered his punchlines. Lenny Bruce was never afraid to improvise a skit where the characters were shallow one dimensional vehicles whose sole purpose was to give life to his punchline, much like Karl Marx who created characters of similar depth in his monumental work, "Das Kapital" characters who were used to breathe life into his economic examples. Lenny Bruce was a stand up comedian who traveled across the country from gig to gig with two suitcases, the first suitcase was packed full of paperback books, the second suitcase was packed full of newspapers and magazines. When Lenny came on stage he did so with a newspaper tucked under one arm, he would clutch the microphone with one free hand and hold a cigarette in the other hand. He looked like, "a late night existential detective who was solving one case while beginning to investigate a new one." Lenny bought black silk oversized "kleenex" suits for each night he had a gig, he hired fraternity house renegade jazz drummers who dropped out of college. He would ask the college renegades, "What were the most influential books you have ever read?" Lenny would then track these books down, read them and discuss them with the jazz drummers. It was not drugs or four letter words that made Lenny Bruce dangerous, it was his ability to not only be literate but to comprehend what he had read, but what makes the material of Lenny Bruce transcend the label "dangerous" and allows it to enter the realm of entertainment was his ability to sew it all together and aim it at the hypocracy of society or his audience, this is what makes the comic ability of Lenny Bruce a gift and not a gimmick, very few comics have come close but none will hit the mark the way Lenny Bruce did. If you, the reader, want to learn the truth about Lenny Bruce from the perspective of a man who was his friend in the final years of his life then buy and read this book, "Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" by William Karl Thomas. In conclusion I can only qoute from, "Constantly Risking Absurdity", by Lawerence Farlenghetti, "And he a little charleychaplin man."

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Summary of Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet

(From flyleaf of dustjacket.) Lenny Bruce was famous in his day for stretching the envelope of comedy by dealing with the taboo subjects of sex, politics, and religion. His detractors in his day, who misused the law to attempt to harass him into silence, have made him famous for stretching the envelope of First Amendment Rights to provide the air of artistic freedom performers enjoy today.

Other works about Lenny Bruce have been authored by people who did not know him, who researched his life through second hand materials, and who focused on the incidental fact that Bruce was a substance abuser. This book is the only work about Bruce written by someone who knew and worked with him intimately, and who focuses on the creativity and motivation of Bruce's work.

William Karl Thomas's diversity of talents (photographer, cinematographer, filmmaker, journalist, book author, screenwriter, and musician) led him through the labyrinth of Hollywood's 1950's and 60's underworld to involvement with the then little known comics Frank Ray Perelli, Sally Marr, and Lenny Bruce. In telling Lenny's story Thomas tells his own, complete with tales of the weirder fringes of Hollywood during the "beatnik" and "hippy" eras, and anecdotes of celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Steve Allen, Theo Bikel, and Shecky Greene, all of whom are portrayed with respect. Thomas's 10 year collaboration with Bruce led to some of Bruce's most famous routines (Religions Incorporated, Mein Campf Arises, Show Biz Heaven, and other's), and to the most memorable album covers (The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, Lenny Bruce is Out Again, and others) and film footage (Leather Jacket, and others) by which we now recognize Bruce as the social satirist who has made the greatest impact on our time.

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