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Pittston resident Kitty Bruce hopes to help women in recovery with ‘Lenny’s House’
More than 40 years after his death from a drug overdose, the name Lenny Bruce still causes a stir mainly due to the controversial tactics the legendary American satirist implored.
He was banned from numerous venues throughout the country for his use of certain four-letter words, and of course, his drug abuse.
Along with all the negative aspects the government and media focused on, many other artists of the time viewed Bruce as a comedic genius who was not afraid to speak his mind and satirize things most people were afraid to touch – misuse of government power, hypocrisy in organized religion, and America’s First Family, the Kennedys.
In his song “Lenny Bruce” from 1981’s ‘Shot of Love,’ Bob Dylan might have put it best by saying, “Lenny Bruce was bad, he was like the brother you never had.”
While artists from Dylan and John Lennon to R.E.M. and Keith Richards view Lenny Bruce as one of the most important figures of the 20th Century, for Pittston resident Kitty Bruce, the legacy strikes a bit deeper. Kitty, the only child of Lenny Bruce and Honey Harlow, has first-hand experience of all the ups-and-downs of her father’s landmark career.
“Kids used to bring newspapers to school with different headlines and say ‘your dad did this or your dad did that,’” Kitty Bruce, who was only 11 when her father died, recalled. “I had no idea of the scope of my father’s fame until many, many years after he died. It sounds so strange, but I never realized how many people he affected and how many people knew about him and how many people were fans of him. To me, he was my father.”
Growing up, Kitty would often hear of her father’s goings on through her schoolmates and media. Within her family, there was never much talk of it. Especially in front of her, something she attributes to her grandmother.
“When you’re 11, you’re living in an 11-year old world,” she said. “A lot of it my grandmother sheltered me from. One time, he had an accident and fell from a building. She said to me, ‘daddy is like Humpty Dumpty.’ She protected me from a lot of things.”
One of the topics Kitty would always find herself hearing about was her fathers’ drug usage. While it might be hard for an 11-year-old to hear of the person they call “Daddy” falling into a dark abyss, she later found herself going down the same road until 22 years ago when she moved to Northeast Pa. to find help.
“In my own experience in that world – I lived in an addictive world – I’m a clean and sober woman today, and a productive woman,” she said. “Having had that past experience is what makes me want to open Lenny’s House and to honor his memory. It’s a shame he never got recovery.”
For Kitty, Lenny’s House – a non-profit drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for women she is in the process of creating – needs funding. She is organizing an on-line celebrity auction which takes place from what would have been her father’s 84th birthday, October 13, to October 28.
“What I did was send out a bunch of letters to all kinds of different people – to friends of my dad, fans of my dad, and to celebrities I don’t know,” she said. “I sent out a letter explaining what it is I want to do and why I feel it’s so important to get a place like that in our area because it is so needed. Elizabeth Taylor sent a box of her White Diamonds Fragrance Collection and a beautiful 8 X 10 signed photo of herself. Yoko Ono sent a John Lennon Imagine Touch i-Pod with a turbo booster and a picture of John and Yoko in Montreal with them holding flowers in bed. Chris Rock sent a script of his new movie coming out called “Death of a Funeral” and a VIP pass for the release party. Hugh Hefner donated “Mr. Playboy,” the book written about him. We’ve gotten some really nice items. Of course, I’ll be auctioning off very rare photographs of my father, his bed, his bed frame, his type-writer, his very famous black trench coat he was arrested in oh so many times for obscenity.”
It might seem a bit hypocritical to name a drug and alcohol recovery center after someone who had well-known struggles with heroin and other drugs. But Kitty points out that her father was on the road to recovery, but, like countless other celebrities, couldn’t quite escape the grip narcotics had on him.
“He obviously didn’t get recovery,” she said. “It’s like a joke, naming it Lenny’s House after a drug addict, but it’s very appropriate. I wanted to honor his memory in a way that would change lives. I know that he’s known for the First Amendment and for free speech, and I respect and honor that. I really wanted to do something in the area which I live in. I’ve been here 22 years, and I wanted a place named after my father that was going to help people and help change lives … I think he made attempts to stop using, and towards the end of his life he was making an attempt to stop using. I think that’s why there are so many different theories on what killed him. I really don’t know, except the clear fact he’s no longer living. My mother found recovery and he didn’t.”
Although the upcoming auction will be a gigantic help for Bruce’s fundraising, Kitty is well-aware that more efforts will be needed in order to turn Lenny’s House from a dream into a reality, something she is ready to take on.
“It’s going to take a lot of fundraisers, I know that,” she said. “I’m not looking to build the Taj Mahal. I just would like a place that will comfortably house probably ten women at the most. It’s important to me that their time at Lenny’s House is a time to discover the positive things they never knew they could do. I want to expose women in early recovery to the very vast opportunities open for them and for everyone in this country.”
After 43 years of holding and cherishing a bulk of her father’s possessions, Kitty believes now is the time to take those items and have them help women who are struggling to overcome their own demons.
“This is the first time we’re auctioning off my father’s items,” she said. “I’ve hung on to my father’s things for a good 40 years, and I thought to myself ‘they are doing absolutely nobody any good at all.’ But if I auctioned them off and raised money to help people, now that’s doing something with it. I’m very happy to let these things go because I know they’re going for a higher purpose.”
For an opportunity to bid on the auction, visit www.toddmuellerautographs.com.
For more on Lenny and Kitty Bruce, visit www.lennybruceofficial.com.
Donations to Lenny’s House may be made to the Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation, PO Box 1089, Pittston, Pa. 18640-5082.