Lenny Bruce

Feature documentary about humor and the Holocaust, examining whether it is ever acceptable to use humor in connection with a tragedy of that scale, and the implications for other seemingly off-limits topics in a society that prizes free speech.

Armed with a limitless Rolodex and a Benedict Canyon enclave with its own disco, Allan Carr threw the Hollywood parties that defined the 1970s. A producer, manager, and marketing genius, Carr built his bombastic reputation amid a series of successes including the mega-hit musical film "Grease," until it all came crashing down after he produced the 1989 Academy Awards, a notorious debacle.

On October 29th and 30th, 2009, rock 'n' roll royalty held court at Madison Square Garden for what have been called 'the best concerts ever,' and 'where rock 'n' roll history was made.' The concerts featured a who's who of rock 'n' roll from the '50s to the '90s and included artists performing together in unprecedented combinations that will most likely never be witnessed again. 'The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Anniversary Concerts' included sets by Crosby, Stills & Nash; Stevie Wonder; Paul Simon; Simon & Garfunkel; Aretha Franklin; Metallica; U2; Jeff Beck and Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band. Joining this iconic line up on stage were special guests including: Jerry Lee Lewis, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Smokey Robinson, B.B. King, Annie Lennox, Lou Reed, John Fogerty, Mick Jagger, Fergie and others. A 4-hour special of the concerts aired on HBO to high ratings, and was seen by tens of millions. Now this historic event is available on DVD.

From the moment Shakespeare wrote his first fart joke, audiences have loved gross-out humor. In this 'Starz Inside' documentary, take a trip through the history of taboo-busting comedy that began with slapstick and led to the most notorious Internet video in history, with stops at every infamous penis, poo, puke and pie gag in-between. It’s a totally uncensored look at the scenes that make you want to look away.

The outrageous, groundbreaking comic Lenny Bruce, whose iconoclastic material in a conservative era got him into tragic trouble, is profiled by a close friend, Fred Baker, who prefers to remember the laughs Lenny Bruce's memory evokes instead of the tears. By presenting Bruce's landmark skits on the Steve Allen Show, his failed TV pilot episode and a candid interview with Nat Hentoff, Bruce's genius and anguish show through the dramatic and tragic trajectory of his career from aspiring artist to hunted "lawbreaker".

A collection of subversive comedy sketches and routines relating to the peace movement.

DEATH SCENES II continues the exploration into the dark recesses of violence and rage that ended in such heinous crimes as the Manson Family's assault on society. You'll see the gruesome aftermath of mob reprisals, public executions and international terrorism. DEATH SCENES II uniquely ushers the brave and curious into a spellbinding trip through the reality that is our world today.

A compilation film of stand up performances and comedy routines featuring some of the biggest stars in the early years of television. This film was directed by Sandy Olivieri. Here is a partial list of the performers who appeared in the film Bob Newhart, Mort Sahl, Jack Benny, Lenny Bruce, Johnny Carson, George Carlin, et al.

In-depth documentary that uses Lenny Bruce's legacy to explore the present condition of the fear of words and expression.

A documentary juxtaposing the events of the 20th century with the commentary of stand-up comedians.

Documentary about the rise and fall of Frank Zappa's record labels, Bizarre and Straight which featured a collection of acts that included: Alice Cooper, The GTOs, and Wild Man Fischer.

In 1948, Lenny Bruce was just another comic who couldn't get arrested. By 1961, all that would change.

Iconoclast Lenny Bruce appears at San Francisco's Basin Street West in what was his next-to-last live appearance. His act that night consisted of reading allegations and transcripts from one of his several obscenity trials and then commenting on what he'd actually done or said. While there are some "bits" in the performance (including the prison riot with Dutch, the Warden, Father Flotski, and Sabu, the prison doctor), this is much more a social commentary on government intrusion and censorship than it is a comedy routine.

A gangster who operates a sleazy dance hall uses a sadistic bodyguard to keep his girls afraid and his customers in line.

This short animation set to Lenny Bruce's live monologue tells how the Lone Ranger hooks up with Tonto. With Bruce doing all the voices, this animation begins with local folks upset at the Lone Ranger because he won't stay around to be thanked after a good deed. So, he stays and finds he likes hearing "Thank you mask man." When their attention starts to shift elsewhere, he shocks and disgusts the townspeople with a final request. According to the cartoon’s producer John Magnuson, at early showings of this, gay audiences were upset by its apparent “fag-bashing”. And it’s true, part of the fun of the piece is just crying out “Masked man’s a fag”, scandalising and defacing the image of this all-American hero. But it’s within the larger context of Bruce’s analysis of heroism, and that the towns people reject the Masked Man is because of their prejudices, not because Bruce is asking us to endorse them. (from: http://ukjarry.blogspot.de/2010/01/352-lenny-bruce-thank-you-mask-man.html)

A group of male office workers, bored with their daily routine, decide to stop in at the local burlesque house.

Lenny Bruce's depiction on film did not start or end with Bob Fosse's Lenny (1974). Through these other often offbeat cinematic incarnations, this essay piece considers how Lenny Bruce was the perfect Bob Fosse subject, and how Fosse's focus on the lives of performers invigorated his portrait of the controversial, trail-blazing comic.

Playboy's Penthouse is an American variety/talk television show hosted by Playboy founder and then-editor/publisher Hugh Hefner. It was first broadcast on October 24, 1959 and ran in syndication for slightly more than one year with a second season starting on September 9, 1961 with Jack E. Leonard, Anita O'Day, Buddy Greco, and George Wein.

The Pierre Berton Show was a television show hosted by Pierre Berton. It ran from 1962 to 1973, and Berton regularly interviewed important artists, actors, and other public figures. His iconic interviews included Malcolm X in 1965, Lenny Bruce in 1966, and the only known interview with Bruce Lee in 1971. When CTV launched, a Pierre Berton show quickly followed, aiming to compete with CBC's late-night news. Initially on CTV, it later shifted to CHCH Hamilton due to scheduling conflicts, continuing its acclaimed interviews syndicated by Screen Gems. Despite its brief CTV run, it relocated to Hamilton after CTV adjusted its lineup to rival CBC's 11:00 PM news.