With his free-form improvisation that steered from the norm of comedy in the 1950’s combined with his lewd and illicit persona on stage, Lenny Bruce quickly became the single-handedly most influential comedian of all time. Lenny Bruce’s whole life seemed like one long reeling joke. He got a Dishonorable Discharge for claiming to have homosexual urges in the Navy, married a stripper, impersonated a priest to receive donations from a leper colony and got arrested for saying ‘cocksucker’ on stage, all the while being one of the most notable icons in contemporary comedic rights. During his reign of terror as a comedian, he was often branded as a ‘sick comic’ for his spontaneity, candor and free association in his acts. Some people would say that…show more content… Nothing—not religion, patriotism, or even family—is beyond critique, criticism, or comic contempt” (Collins 63). Whether it is Bruce joking about how his former step-mother ruined his marriage by sleeping with him or how Jesus would be ashamed to see religious leaders prospering from the poor, unfortunate and crippled, he always makes a point to stretch the boundary of political correctness as far as he can. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, this was unheard of, even though the common topics of Bruce’s discussions were perfectly legal. Albeit, Lenny Bruce’s jokes are aged and may not go over well with contemporary audiences, but any person listening to his standup can tell that he takes complete advantage over his right to have freedom of speech. This style is taken straight from burlesque venues and into the public eye, where it pokes at and agitates the audience until an audible succession of heads being pulled from asses occurs as the audience realizes the messages that Bruce is trying to convey with his