40 Chaotic Years
Lenny Bruce’s portrayal on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel definitely romanticizes his character (and he’s not bad to look at, either). But the real-life comic wasn’t all smooth moves and fast jokes; Lenny Bruce struggled with addiction, legal woes, and other ordeals that made his 40 years on earth chaotic.
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His struggles began way before he ever became a famous comedian and long before he took on the name “Lenny Bruce.” He once strolled around as an unknown man named Leonard Alfred Schneider. The New York native was born in 1925 to a podiatrist father and entertainer for a mother. Bruce was only five when his parents divorced, after which he was raised by his mother and several other relatives.