The Sexuality of Lenny Bruce

His comedy was legendary. But who was he?

I’ve been researching Lenny Bruce for years, and have to say, I know almost nothing about him. What I mostly learned is that nobody ever has.

I can talk about his cultural influence. In 2012, I wrote a piece for Tablet about the legacy of the man who pioneered modern stand-up comedy, whose presence is felt from rock music to famous novels to the slangy speech he pioneered. Of his personal self—one stares at shadows.

Born in 1925, he was passed between divorced parents.

His mother was a piece of work. Sally Marr, a stand-up comedian herself, was occasionally interviewed. In a 1998 documentary, Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, she’s having her hair done, and talking breezily.

“Now when Lenny was about twelve years old there was a book on the stands called Sexology. Did you ever hear of that book? It was just a little magazine. All the questions pertaining to sex. I got hysterical. I thought they were so funny. Now Lenny was like a buddy of mine, like a friend, and I could talk to him like an adult. I said Lenny, you’ve gotta listen to this.”