Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotes by Lenny Bruce (American Comedian)

Leonard Alfred Schneider, better known by his stage name Lenny Bruce, (1925–66) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and screenwriter. He was renowned for his open, free-style and critical form of comedy which integrated satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon, the first in New York State history, by then-Governor George Pataki in 2003. He paved the way for future outspoken counterculture-era comedians, and his trial for obscenity is seen as a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States.

Source: Wikipedia (via CC-BY-SA license) READ: Works by Lenny Bruce

All my humor is based upon destruction and despair. If the whole world were tranquil, without disease and violence, I’d be standing on the breadline right in back of J. Edgar Hoover.
Lenny Bruce
Topics: Humor

A lot of people say to me, “Why did you kill Christ?.” “I dunno… it was one of those parties, got out of hand, you know.” “We killed him because he didn’t want to become a doctor, that’s why we killed him.”
Lenny Bruce
Topics: Christianity

The reason I’m in this business, I assume all performers are—it’s “Look at me, Ma!” It’s acceptance, you know—“Look at me, Ma, look at me, Ma, look at me, Ma.” And if your mother watches, you’ll show off till you’re exhausted; but if your mother goes, Ptshew!
Lenny Bruce

Every day people are straying away from the church and going back to God.
Lenny Bruce
Topics: Religion, God

Today’s comedian has a cross to bear that he built himself. A comedian of the older generation did an “act” and he told the audience, “This is my act.” Today’s comic is not doing an act. The audience assumes he’s telling the truth. What is truth today may be a damn lie next week.
Lenny Bruce
Topics: Comedy

The liberals can understand everything but people who don’t understand them.
Lenny Bruce
Topics: Liberalism

I won’t say ours was a tough school, but we had our own coroner. We used to write essays like ‘What I’m going to be if I grow up’.
Lenny Bruce

The thing with Catholicism, the same as all religions, is that it teaches what should be, which seems rather incorrect. This is “what should be.” Now, if you’re taught to live up to a “what should be” that never existed—only an occult superstition, no proof of this “should be”—then you can sit on a jury and indict easily, you can cast the first stone, you can burn Adolf Eichmann, like that!
Lenny Bruce
Topics: Religion

Communism is like one big phone company.
Lenny Bruce
Topics: Socialism, Communism

In the Halls of Justice, the only justice is in the halls.
Lenny Bruce
Topics: Justice

Now a Jew, in the dictionary, is one who is descended from the ancient tribes of Judea, or one who is regarded as descended from that tribe. That’s what it says in the dictionary; but you and I know what a Jew is—One Who Killed Our Lord. And although there should be a statute of limitations for that crime, it seems that those who neither have the actions nor the gait of Christians, pagan or not, will bust us out, unrelenting dues, for another deuce.
Lenny Bruce
Topics: Jews, Religion, Judaism

Satire is tragedy plus time. You give it enough time, the public, the reviewers will allow you to satirize it. Which is rather ridiculous, when you think about it.
Lenny Bruce

The only honest art form is laughter, comedy. You can’t fake it… try to fake three laughs in an hour—ha ha ha ha ha—they’ll take you away, man. You can’t.
Lenny Bruce
Topics: Comedy

The role of a comedian is to make the audience laugh, at a minimum of once every fifteen seconds.
Lenny Bruce
Topics: Humor, Audiences

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