If someone put a gun to your head and asked you to name some of the most influential stand-up comedians of all-time, you’d probably throw out names like George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld. Yet often overlooked by your average stand-up fan is the foul-mouthed Lenny Bruce, who influenced the majority of your favorite comics both past and present.
While Lenny’s bits may seem tame by today’s standards, you have to take into account that he was doing these bits in the ’50s and ’60s when you could actually go to jail (and he did on several occasions) just for saying a bad word.
RELATED: 12 hilarious times comedians have bared their hearts and souls (or other body parts)
Lenny was known for his outspoken crusade against censorship, and in this particular bit, he delves into the differences between disgusting, vulgar and obscene in a profanity-laced tirade on semantics that will have you laughing out loud.
RELATED: Watch George Carlin’s stand-up comedy routine on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” from 1986
