Lenny is a 1974 film about the life of the comedian Lenny Bruce, starring Dustin Hoffman. Directed by Bob Fosse. The screenplay by Julian Barry is based on his play Lenny.
It was nominated for 6 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.
Lenny was a situation comedy aired in the United States by CBS as part of its 1990-91 prime time schedule.
Lenny starred long-time Boston stand-up comedian Lenny Clarke as Lenny Callahan, a working-class Bostonian who held down two jobs, a daytime one as laborer for the local electric utility and an evening one as a doorman at a posh hotel. His wife, Shelley (Lee Garlington) was a fulltime homemaker and the couple had three children (presumably the reason Lenny needed to keep two jobs). Other characters included Lenny's brother Eddie (Peter Dobson), a get-rich-quick schemer, and their parents, Pat (Eugene Roche) and Mary (Alice Drummond).
Initially scheduled against two established programs, the Top 30 show The Wonder Years on ABC and the Top 20 hit Unsolved Mysteries on NBC, Lenny was a Nielsen ratings disaster and put on hiatus in October. It was brought back in a new time slot in December, but cancelled permanently in March 1991.
Interview-style biography of controversial and pioneering stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce. The film traces Bruce from his beginnings as a Catskills comic to his later underground popularity based on his anti-establishment politics and his scatological humor. Written by Scott Renshaw
