First Posted: 9/12/2014

Kitty Bruce can now sleep at night knowing everything will be just fine.

Until now, the longtime Greater Pittston resident had a tough decision about how to preserve her father’s legacy and history. Her dad was the legendary and controversial stand-up comic genius, Lenny Bruce. And, as sole heir of his personal belongings and artifacts, Kitty knew too well something had to be done.

Kitty has spent many years praying, anguishing and losing sleep over a decision she knew she had to make. As her family began to dwindle with the passing of her mother, grandparents, uncles and aunts, she was faced with accruing enormous amounts of archives that had to be stored.

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“I ended up with these articles and photographs and letters and precious, precious pieces of history that I was seeing deteriorate,” she said. “I know that, over time, everything starts to break down like movie film and photos and even things he wrote in pencil were fading away. The collection totaled 10 linear feet.

“Two years ago, I was contacted by an associate from Paris, France, about doing something with my dad’s archives,” Kitty added. “‘Contact Brandeis University,’ my friend said. ‘They can help you if you are worried about your father’s history, why don’t you give this a shot,’ he said.”

Kitty contacted Sarah Shoemaker, associate university librarian for Archives and Special Collections at Brandeis. Shoemaker explained that Brandeis houses original works and archives of William Shakespeare, Albert Einstein and many more.

Shoemaker assured Kitty if Brandeis housed her dad’s artifacts, all items would be restored, preserved and kept in a climate-controlled environment.

“When it comes to my father’s possessions, I’m very careful, very careful,” Kitty explained. “I needed reassurance that if this was to be done, it had to be done elegantly, correctly, legally and for the common good.”

Archiving is an expensive process but, through a grant from her father’s good friend Hugh Hefner and the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation, Brandeis will preserve Lenny Bruce’s archives forever.

Personal items of Lenny’s were scattered all over the country in places like California, Florida and Pennsylvania. “Everything had to be painstakingly collected and shipped to Massachusetts to Brandeis,” Kitty said.

The Lenny Bruce archives will become a part of the Robert D. Farber Archives and Special Collections. Researchers from around the world will have access to all the files once chronicled. “Everything will be photographed and then catalogued, then it has to be divided up and placed in special containers,” Kitty said.

When today’s comics today like Louis Black, Jerry Seinfeld, Louis CK, Eddie Izzard, Denis Leary and Richard Lewis talk about their idols, the top three mentioned are Richard Pryor, George Carlin and Lenny Bruce. Even the late Joan Rivers and Robin Williams looked up to Lenny’s genius. Without question, Lenny is comic royalty.

There were no holds barred in his act that ranged from social criticism, satire, politics, religion, sex and vulgarity. He often exercised his First Rights Amendment: Freedom of Speech. Lenny was not only brilliant at his craft, but further helped define the rights Freedom of Speech as it is known today.

The elder Bruce was frequently arrested on many occasions in the middle of his act and hauled off to jail for the use of obscenities. He was only convicted once in 1964 in the state of New York. That conviction was overturned posthumously by then Governor George Pataki in 2003, the first in New York State history.

Kitty is very proud of her father and his legacy. His challenging the Freedom of Speech Amendment is something of which she is particularly proud. “There are Lenny Bruce Free Speech classes being taught at colleges all over the country,” Kitty said.

Lenny lost his life to a drug overdose in 1966 and, in his memory, Kitty started a foundation in his name to help those with issues of sobriety.