Abstract
Bob Hope cracking wise; Don Rickles roasting hecklers; Howie Mandel in those diapers, Sandra Shamus peering through a pair of Y-fronts. Bathed in a pool of light with mike in hand, the stand-up comic is our most pervasive icon of comedy. Perhaps the most memorable image, the one that fixes the comic as a lone voice exposing social hypocrisy and laughing through the pain, is Lenny Bruce. More than anyone else, Lenny cemented the association of comedy with risk in North American culture – although in his case, risk meant more than an occasional bomb or badly timed gag. Busted onstage and dying in a toilet, Lenny Bruce remains the romanticized archetype of the comedian whose act is a public defiance of social hypocrisy.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
