Journalist/Comedian Harmon Leon dives into comedy cult classics, comedic influences, and all things comedy history.
A classic comedy trope is the comedian getting the hook - and being pulled off stage. But how did this come about in your comedic lexicon? It’s usually depicted as a shepherd’s crook. that pulls off a horrible act.
We dive into the history of comedians getting the hook - from the early days at the Bowery Theater to the legendary Howard "Sandman" Sims at The Apollo in Harlem.
We continue with the literal trials of Lenny Bruce - and the nature of free speech in comedy clubs.
Does free speech mean that we occasionally have to listen to what we don’t want to hear?
We dive into the gamut of free speech from the controversy of Milo Yiannopoulos appearing at a NYC comedy club - to comedian Ahmed Ahmed having a comedy club patron call 911 on him for making ‘Middle Eastern’ jokes.
Are there limits to Lenny Bruce’s plight?
Lenny Bruce was a comedian who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. And because of that, he became a martyr for free speech. Between 1961 to 1964, he was arrested on obscenity charges 8 times - for performing stand up comedy. You might have seen a fictional portrayal of Bruce on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
In this CH101 episode we dive into the history of Lenny Bruce, censorship, and free speech in stand up comedy.
