On
December 23, 2003, Governor George Pataki granted Lenny
Bruce the first posthumous pardon in New York State history.
Lenny Bruce, the controversial beat comedian was arrested
 after
a raunchy show at New York’s Cafe Au Go Go
on April 3, 1964. He was charged with obscenity but was
eventually convicted on a lesser charge & sentenced
to 4 months at Riker’s Island.
Bruce’s
career declined after the conviction. Some club owners were
afraid of what "Dirty Lenny" had to say. They
were also afraid of getting busted & charged with obscenity
along with the comedian. Bruce declared bankruptcy in 1965
& eventually died of a morphine overdose in his Hollywood
home on August 3, 1966. Since that time, Bruce has been
a martyr for the cause of free speech & a pioneer of
profane comics. Without Bruce, comics like Eddie Murphy,
Bill Hicks & Dave Attell wouldn’t be allowed to
say what they say.
In
February 1968, the New York court of appeal reverses the
obscenity conviction of Howard Solomon, Bruce’s codefendant
in the Cafe Au Go Go case. But since Bruce had died, his
conviction stood. The appellate court realized what anybody
with common sense knows. Anybody can say what he or she
wants & anybody can choose to hear it. That goes for
you, me, all of us.
So
why pardon a man 37 years after his death? Writing a wrong
is always a good thing, but it makes Bruce’s victory
seem hollow. He was the first comedian with the mindset
that nothing was sacred, an idea many (myself included)
subscribe to. A posthumous pardon is useless when you’re
pardoning something that can go without saying. "Dirty
Lenny" had his career ruined by uptight puritans who
couldn’t deal with people saying "fuck",
"shit" or insinuating that The Lone Ranger was
gay. Then he went & died a useless junkie’s death.
He became a sad story. I wish his tale would’ve ended
better.
"Free
thinkers are dangerous"
R
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