Lenny Bruce

Ryan was horrified by what he heard. "Jeez, you know," he told Solden, "I can hardly believe this myself. The man is up there onstage and he's performing and he's taking the term 'cocksucker' and using it." After a brief conference, Ryan and Solden decided they had heard enough to arrest Bruce. As the crowd from the 10 p.m. show left, Ryan and Solden informed Bruce and the club owner they were arresting the performer for obscenity and escorted Bruce to the police call box in front of Enrico Banducci's Hungry i. Along the way they had a conversation about obscenity stranger and funnier and, as events would show, more tragic than anything even Lenny Bruce could have dreamed up.

"I took exception. I took offense," Solden told Bruce. "We've tried to elevate this street. I'm offended because you broke the law. I mean it sincerely. I mean it. I can't see any right, any way you can break this word down, our society is not geared to it."

Bruce said, "You break it down by talking about it ... How about a word like 'clap'?"

"Well, 'clap' is a better word than 'cocksucker,'" Solden replied.

"Not if you get the clap from a cocksucker," Bruce rejoined.