Comedian Lenny Bruce Posthumously Pardoned by Gov. Pataki

New York State Governor George Pataki has posthumously pardoned the late comedian Lenny Bruce for a 1964 obscenity conviction over a what was then considered a raunchy, irreverent monologue at a New York nightclub.

Gov. Pataki, issuing what his office said was the first posthumous pardon in the state's history, said his action symbolized New York's commitment to Americans' constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech.

Bruce died on his bathroom floor of a heroin overdose in 1966 at the age of 40. Fans have been trying to get him pardoned for 37 years.

More pardons needed
Maybe now the governor will also pardon some of the thousands of people who are still in jail for possession of small amounts of marijuana because of the stiff mandatory sentences imposed by New York States Rockefeller drug laws.

Today, Rockefeller's story would be front page news and the language in Lenny Bruce's routine would be, well, routine. Videos of Bruce and Rockefeller's last hours would surely hit the Net faster than you can say Paris Hilton.

You remember Rockefeller, the former Vice-President of the United States and Governor of New York. Married to Happy Rockefeller, he died of a heart attack in 1979 while having sex with his lover, Megan Marshak. She was pinned underneath him when he had a heart attack and was so freaked out she called a girlfriend instead of calling an ambulance. When they called an ambulance an hour later, Rockefeller died on the way to the hospital.

Wait, that sounds like a Lenny Bruce routine...

Link to a Bruce routine

Comments

Posted by: Jill Elliot at December 23, 2003 11:36 PM

Post a comment

Email this story to a friend

TrackBacks

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.whatsnextonline.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1422