“I’m not sick. The world is sick. I’m the surgeon with the scalpel for false values.” — Meet Lenny Bruce’s daughter, Kitty.

Wess Haubrich
15 min readJul 30, 2018
Lenny Bruce mugshot circa his 1964 obscenity charges. Courtesy of cbldf.org

I caught up with the wonderful Kitty Bruce — daughter of the late great comedian and fighter for Free Speech and the First Amendment, Lenny Bruce — for a chat on comedy, freedom of speech, truth, media, addiction, her work with the Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation (which helps those in the throes of addiction afford treatment by providing scholarships), the new exhibit all about her father and his myriad, profound contributions to comedy and his fight which did so much to ensure that we all have the right to speak freely — opening soon at the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, NY. The Center is also holding a “Comedy and the First Amendment” round-table with Kitty, Lewis Black, and First Amendment attorney-of-record Paul Cambria who has represented everyone from DMX to Marilyn Manson and even Hustler magazine founder Larry Flynt.

Tickets for the grand opening and the round-table at the Center can be purchased here.

L-R : Wife Honey Bruce, Lenny Bruce, and Kitty Bruce in 1960. Photo via the New York Times.

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Wess Haubrich

Horror, crime, noir with a distinctly southwestern tinge. Staff writer, former contributing editor; occultist; anthropologist of symbols.