Editing Lenny Bruce (section)

==Early life==
Bruce was born Leonard Alfred Schneider in [[Mineola, New York]], to a Jewish family.<ref>{{cite web |author=Getty Images |date=August 2016 |title=50 Years After His Death, Lenny Bruce's Spirit Lives On |url=https://forward.com/culture/346106/50-years-after-his-death-lenny-bruces-spirit-lives-on/ |website=The Forward}}</ref> His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk; they saw each other very infrequently. His mother, [[Sally Marr]] (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and dancer<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Lenny Bruce {{!}} American comedian {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lenny-Bruce |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> who had an enormous influence on his career.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=William Karl |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i3ZcAAAAMAAJ&q=Sally+Marr |title=Lenny Bruce: the making of a prophet |publisher=Archon Books |year=1989 |isbn=978-0208022370 |page=47 |access-date=March 31, 2012}}</ref> Bruce grew up in [[Bellmore, New York]], and attended [[Wellington C. Mepham High School]].<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Ly8IAQAAMAAJ&q=Wellington+C.+Mepham+ |title=Ladies and Gentlemen: Lenny Bruce!! |page=107 |author1=Albert Goldman |author-link1=Albert Goldman |author2=Lawrence Schiller |author-link2=Lawrence Schiller |publisher=Penguin Books |year= 1991 |access-date=March 31, 2012|isbn=978-0140133622 }}</ref>  For some of his high school years, he lived at Dengler's Farm on Wantagh Avenue in Wantagh, New York. Bruce's parents divorced before he was 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade.

After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the [[United States Navy]] at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during [[World War II]] aboard the {{USS|Brooklyn|CL-40}} in [[Northern Africa]], [[Palermo]] in 1943, and [[Operation Shingle|Anzio, Italy]], in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges,<ref>A.H. Goldman. ''Ladies and Gentlemen: Lenny Bruce!!'' (New York: Random House, 1971), p. 91.</ref> leading to his dishonorable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations, and successfully applied to change his discharge to [[Military discharge|"Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service"]].<ref>[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/lenny-bruce-navy-records?page=10 "Lenny Bruce's Gay Naval Ruse: Unearthed documents detail comedian's discharge"], [[TheSmokingGun.com]], August 31, 2010</ref>

During the [[Korean War]] era, Bruce served in the [[United States Merchant Marine]], ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back.<ref name="nyack">[https://nyacknewsandviews.com/2019/05/nyack-people-places-pass-the-f-ing-salt-lenny-bruce-in-nyack/ Nyack People & Places: Did Lenny Bruce Pass Through Nyack?] ''Nyack News and Views''. Retrieved October 27, 2021.</ref><ref name="santa monica">[https://www.smdp.com/rebel-with-a-cause/158580 Rebel With a Cause] ''[[Santa Monica Daily Press]]''. Retrieved October 27, 2021.</ref><ref name="encyclopedia.com">[https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/film-and-television-biographies/lenny-bruce Lenny Bruce at] ''[[Encyclopedia.com]]''. Retrieved October 27, 2021.</ref> In 1959, while videotaping the first episode of [[Hugh Hefner]]'s ''[[Playboy's Penthouse]]'', Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in [[Malta]] in 1942.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0675481/|title="Playboy's Penthouse" Episode #1.1 (TV Episode 1959)|website=[[IMDb]]|date=October 24, 1959|access-date=June 19, 2017}}</ref>

After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show business hopefuls who populated the city. One place where they congregated was Hanson's, a diner where Bruce met Joe Ancis,<ref name="Joe Ancis: A Brief Biography">{{cite web|last1=Driven|first1=Joey|title=Joe Ancis: A Brief Biography|url=http://www.reverbnation.com/page_object/page_object_blogs/artist_893835|access-date=February 28, 2015}}</ref>{{Better citation needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=November 2023}} who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis.<ref>Goldman, p. 109.</ref> According to Bruce's biographer [[Albert Goldman]], Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz.<ref>Goldman, pp. 105–108.</ref> He also gained notoriety for his focus on controversial subjects, black humour, obscenity, and criticism of organized religion and the establishment.<ref name=":0" />

Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in [[Brooklyn]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lenny Bruce|url=http://www.reference.com/browse/lenny+bruce|website=Reference.com|access-date=February 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402092400/http://www.reference.com/browse/lenny+bruce|archive-date=April 2, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, calling herself Sally Bruce—on the ''[[Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts]]'' radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by [[Sid Caesar]], "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., [[Humphrey Bogart]], [[James Cagney]], and [[Edward G. Robinson]]).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Schwartz|first1=Ben|title=The Comedy Behind the Tragedy|url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-comedy-behind-the-tragedy/Content?oid=917393|website=Chicago Reader|date=December 2, 2004|access-date=February 28, 2015}}</ref>