Looking for Lenny Page #3

Lenny learned how

to write a joke

and create a concept first.

Then he became

Lenny Bruce.

And I think today,

you know, if you invoke

Lenny Bruce,

you should have

to go back and study him.

Don't just go back

to bearded Lenny,

you know,

with track marks.

Go to early Lenny,

when he was really, really,

really working his craft

as a brilliant comic.

And then you

can talk about him,

and then you can say,

yeah, I'm trying to do

what Lenny did.

He obviously knew

there were certain buttons

he could press,

that would get a reaction.

You know, kind of raise a hot

button, get things to go.

That it's going to draw

attention to him,

but maybe that's not

such a bad thing.

When comics throw up,

"oh, yeah, you know, like,

Lenny did it."

Yeah, but Lenny didn't talk

about p*ssy for ten minutes.

You know, Lenny talked

about racism and segregation,

and he says it

on national television,

at a time when there was like

cops showing up, you know,

down South, to protect kids

going to school.

There are words

that offend me.

Uh, let's see,

governor faubus,

segregation offend me.

Uh, nighttime television

offends me.

Some nighttime television.

[Audience laughs]

Uh, the shows that exploit

homosexuality, narcotics,

and prostitution

under the guise of helping

the societal problem.

He gave commentary on what was

going on in the world

with humor.

The important feature

about Lenny Bruce

that appealed to me

so much,

was that he made

his comedy meaningful.

He became not only

a comedian,

and for me

the important criteria

is making people laugh.

You're not a comedian

if you're a preacher

or a teacher.

But how much more complex

in that he pushed the envelope.

Back in the '50s,

things were very sanitized,

and very let's look pretty

for the camera.

But a lot of very ugly things

were not pretty for the camera.

The racism that went on

was definitely not

camera pretty.

That was a big thing

for my father.

Party's in swing,

and the humor comes from

the now becoming obscure

white person's concept

of how do you relax

colored people at parties.

And in the bit,

I play the white guy.

[Audience laughs]

I didn't get

your name.

Miller.

Miller, my name

is Mr. Anderson.

Anderson.

Glad to know you.

Pleasure indeed, sir.

Mm-hmm.

Pleasure indeed.

[Ice clinking in glass]

[Audience laughs]

You know that Joe Louis

was a hell of a fighter.

[Audience laughs]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You can say that again.

Joe Louis was

a hell of a fighter.

Credit to your race.

Don't forget it,

you son-of-gun.

Well, thank you

very much.

That's perfectly

all right.

Uh, here's

to bojangles.

[Glasses chink]

Yeah, here's

to bojangles.

[Audience laughs]

What the hell's

that guy?

You know that guy

on the cream of wheat box?

[Audience laughs]

Anything said in anger,

forget it.

There's no way

you can justify

it comedically.

You can't do it.

So Lenny Bruce could say

"cocksucker" or "n*gger"

on stage.

In a comedy context people

could see he's not angry

at a specific person

or anything in general.

He's working something.

So it makes them pause

and absorb it

in a different way.

Are there any n*ggers

here tonight?

What did he say?

Are there any n*ggers

here tonight?

Jesus Christ, he had to get

that low for laughs?

[Sighs]

Have I ever talked about

the shvartzes of...

Or spoke about

the moulignons,

or placated some southerner

by absence of...

And rants and raves about

n*gger, n*gger, n*gger?

Are there any n*ggers?

I know the one n*gger

that works here,

i see him back there.

Oh, there's two

n*gger customers and...

Ah, but between

those three n*ggers,

there's one kike.

[Whistles]

Thank God

for the kike.

[Audience laughs]

Uh, two kikes.

That's two kikes

and three n*ggers

and one spic.

One spic. Two-three spics,

one Mick, one Mick, one spic,

one hick, fic, funky,

spunky boogie.

And there's another kike.

Three kikes, three kikes,

one Guinea, one greaseball,

three greaseballs, two guineas,

two guineas, one hunky, funky,

lace-curtain Irish Mick.

That Mick, spic, funky,

hunky boogie.

Five more n*ggers,

five more n*ggers,

i pass for six n*ggers and

eight micks and four spics.

[Audience laughs]

He took these racist ideas,

the bigotry, homophobia,

he took it onstage,

broke it down,

and...Tried to have some

political and philosophical

approach.

I never liked

that routine.

And never really

quite agreed with it.

To become desensitized

is to be overthrown.

It is to be

beaten down.

And you've been

trampled upon.

I believe he would take

a lot of heat

for the racial remarks,

just because the world's

a lot smaller

because of all this media.

You know, people can tape you

on their cell phones now.

Now, if you do something

offensive and it's not funny,

then that's where pain

and trouble starts.

But then again,

my people are sensitive.

You know what I mean?

I made up a saying.

"Sticks and stones

"may break my bones,

"but words--

except for n*gger--

will never hurt me."

As long as it's funny,

then it's okay.

Timing's everything.

And funny's funny,

no matter how racial it is.

Sexual or relig--

if it's funny, it's funny.

You can go totally racist,

and say something

you should be arrested for,

but yet all of a sudden,

it's hilarious

when it comes out

of your mouth.

That's an art

in its own,

to see Lisa lampanelli

up on stage,

ranting and raving

about every race.

Now I got to do

a "hispangic" joke

to even things out.

What's your real name, sir?

[Inaudible]

John? Juan.

Quit fronting.

[Audience laughs]

How many "hispangics"

does it take to clean

a bathroom?

None.

That's a n*gger's job.

[Audience screams,

cheers]

My comedy, you know, I insult

everybody, you know.

Nobody is exempt,

it's equal opportunity.

But I know in my heart,

some people don't get it,

so I'm like "whatever."

But all I'm saying,

if you go to the n-word,

and you go to racial sh*t

right off the bat,

then there must be something

in there that made you do it.

Like when people

get drunk

and then they say,

"but I was drunk,"

it's like,

no, you called me a whore

when you were drunk

and you hit me in the clit

with a shovel when you--

you know, you must have that

in you.

What we've seen controversy

about in my opinion,

is bad jokes.

You see, to me, there's no

controversy

that Michael Richards

was screaming the word "n*gger."

That's not really

controversy to me.

The controversy is that

he didn't have a punch line.

We're in nuremberg

and they're trying people

for comedy crimes.

There was nothing loveable

about him

when he went off

on a racist rant onstage

at a comedy club

in Los Angeles

over the weekend.

I don't get it.

It amazes me

that people will still go

to something like that.

It was such a surprise

to find out

that Kramer

was a racist.

Like there was no signs

of it, there were no hints.

Like I started watching

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes