Lenny Bruce Is Not Afraid (Or, an Evening With Robert Klein That Pushed Me Down the Rabbit Hole)

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Robert Klein has always been my favorite comedian. (To prove it: my brother's ringtone for me on his phone is Klein's best-known routine, "I Can't Stop My Leg.") For me, his humor is sharp, intelligent, and biting without being overly political or insulting. (An example of his "biting political humor:" a song about Obama as president being a "great hope," accompanied with a plea for him to "keep your p*cker in your pants." ) I've already mentioned how I can get into some serious late-night fact-chasing on You Tube (see a previous discussion about the "2 AM history detective"). It's not just history that'll do that to me: after I got to thinking about Klein I decided to do a You Tube search. And down!!!!!!!!!! the rabbit hole I went! There was a great interview conducted earlier this year. In it, Klein mentioned influences, which included Lenny Bruce. Now, Lenny Bruce (who is not afraid ) is a name I know quite well, but he was WBMT (Way Before My Time). He died in 1966, in an era when I wouldn't have been allowed to listen to him even if I had been interested (and I wasn't because there were new Roger Miller and Buck Owens records to listen to). So I had to look him up. Talk about something that sounds HILARIOUS today? Bruce had countless battles with the law because of continual arrests for obscenity. His "obscenity" amounted to saying a word that's included in a number of song and album titles that have been nominated for Grammy awards in the past few years! Eventually he became too controversial to the point where no one would hire him, and on August 3, 1966 he died of a heroin overdose. (Whether it was intentional or accidental is still a matter of contention.) So I listened to some Lenny Bruce (the only person mentioned in "It's the End of the World As We Know It [And I Feel Fine]" twice!), then went back to watching Klein to see if I could see the influence. Short answer: yes. You see, there was a whole lot more to Lenny Bruce than saying words that George Carlin said you couldn't say on TV. That's something we tend to forget: obits are usually two column inch bullet points of a person's life. Most obits (and I'm guilty of it, too) begin with "Person's name, best-known for whatever, died...." In Bruce's case, it was his obscenity charges (and other brushes with the law, such as possession of heroin [which is now legal in Oregon and tolerated in other states, to the point where they give out free needles]). However, watching his comedy I saw a goodly portion of that sharp, intelligent wit that I admire in Klein so much. Back to Klein I went. In the interview he'd mentioned that, in 2016, a man had made a documentary about him, titled Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg. Klein pointed out that the documentary was from the production company of one Harvey Weinstein, meaning that the documentary may never see widespread release. Ah, but it is on the internet, so I watched it. His self-deprecating humor (about his Jewish heritage, growing up in the Bronx, and studying at Yale) was highlighted, along with countless modern superstars (from Jerry Seinfeld to Jay Leno) praising Klein's innovation for stand-up. It's a funny thing: as a music buff, I can easily hear influences. But I never really thought of comedic influences being as significant as they are in music. "Comedy" is more than standing on a stage and telling jokes. Robert Klein made that new pathway his own in the 60s and 70s, and many people have since followed. Robert Klein and the original Restless Leg Syndrome theme song!