Archive consisting of a 12-page legal brief notated by Bruce, and several copies or carbons of letters to Bruce from talk show host Steve Allen, dated from April to July of 1959, mostly pertaining to Bruce’s appearance on the show.
The 12-page legal brief (with the second page missing), 8.5 x 14, is dated February 24, 1964, addressed to the Honorable William M. Munnell, and outlines Bruce’s defense of a narcotics charge. On the first page Bruce has handwritten, apparently to Steve Allen, (spelling and grammar retained): “My humor is about what I have done and what others do to me. The past three years has been humorous. Attomeys for you show has sent word I am not to discuss the 1 yr I got in Chicago for obscenity or the 10 ys I got in LA for addiction. The legal argument is in remiss.” On page four he writes, “There can be no argument that ‘my side of the story’ would make S.A. and West [Steve Allen and his sponsor, Westinghouse] liable. Newspapers would be sued for telling slanted story’s, Civil action (sueing) by an appealant court is absurd.” Bruce’s final handwritten comments are on page 11, where he writes, “The burden of proof is on the state to proove a crime was committed. To lighten that burden they to were criminal,” and signed “Lenny Bruce.” The brief is also heavily underlined, with a couple of notations.
The correspondence includes three Western Union telegrams from Bruce to Allen. One dated May 31, 1959, reads, “The show and sketches were brilliant. Gabe Dell was beyond superlative. A grateful viewer”; a second longer telegram reads, in part: “As far as my material is concerned I have become very commercial and inoffensive. I am doing things like the graft behind parochial schools and with Loeb and Leopold. If Nathan Leopold had any sense of humor the day he got out he would have grabbed another kid immediately.” A carbon of Allen’s letter to Bruce after the show, offering some advice to Bruce on television, reads, in part: “I want to send you this note to lay down a few ideas that I think might be instructive…Some of the guys on our staff (all of who dig you completely) were a little miffed at your wanting to ‘walk off the show’ when the matter of cutting the cemetery joke came up…In the past, if anybody had given evidence of any similar sort of temperament our attitude has always been to say ‘Bye!’…Some of the guys…felt you threw us a curve by doing material on the air that you had not cleared or rehearsed.” Also included is the approved 1959 script from The Steve Allen Show, seven pages, consisting of two sketches; as well as three glossy 8 x 10 photos, two of which are from the show.
In very good overall condition, with missing lower left corner to first page of brief, expected document wear, and some scattered soiling.
With his controversial, profanity-laced acts that skirted the edges of the First Amendment—and his off-stage penchant for illegal drug use—Lenny Bruce built a career around his legal troubles. Immediately following his 1961 Philadelphia arrest for narcotics possession, he was taken in on obscenity charges for a late night performance at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; though he was acquitted, the highly public case made him a target for law enforcement, turning the remainder of his career into a constant battle with the authorities. While many comedy clubs and shows refused to book him, unwilling to deal with the close scrutiny of police, Steve Allen remained an outspoken advocate of Bruce’s comedic style, inviting him to perform on his late night show for a third time in 1964. Following a four-minute introduction by Allen to the audience, warning them that his next guest would certainly be discussing subject matter that would make some uncomfortable, Bruce gave what is now considered a masterful performance, followed by an insightful interview—nonetheless, Westinghouse refused to air the show, and it remained unseen until a 1998 documentary featured it. Offering a closer look into Bruce’s relentless obstacles, this is a remarkable archive of legal papers and letters relating to his work with Allen. RR Auction COA.
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