On Wednesday, October 4, l96l, Lenny Bruce
performed his one man comedy routine at the Jazz Workshop on
Broadway in San Francisco. Because of his previous arrest and
because of Lenny's reputation for using "obscene" language in his
satirical stream of consciousness routine, his performance was
monitored by the San Francisco Police Department. True to his
reputation, Lenny's monologue was peppered with language considered
obscene for the day and Lenny was arrested after the show. His
subsequent trial at the Hall of Justice became a cause celeb for
local artists and First Amendment advocates. He was acquitted.
Photo
courtesy of San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public
Library. |