Charity auction begins on his birthday

Lenny Bruce’s daughter Kitty is auctioning off some of her father’s memorabilia to help set up a home for women with drugs and alcohol problems.

A trench coat he was wearing when he was arrested for obscenity charges is among the lots going under the hammer on Tuesday – the date which would have been Bruce’s 84rh birthday.

Also being auctioned are precious picture and letters, a typewriter from his early years and his bed frame and mirror.

‘I want to honour my father’s memory in a way that will change lives,’ said Kitty, the Only Child of the comedian and a stripper named Honey Harlow.

Proceeds from the online auction – which runs until October 28 – will go towards opening Lenny’s House, a place for women who have just cleaned up from drugs and alcohol abuse but are not yet ready to live independently.

‘In these hard economic times, we need to help each other and our doors will be open to those who cannot pay and will provide a strong foundation for helping those who cannot help themselves,’ 53-year-old Kitty added.

Bruce died in his home in the Hollywood Hills in 1966 at the age of just 40. He was found naked on his bathroom floor, surrounded by drugs paraphernalia.

A preview of some of the auction items is available on the official Lenny Bruce website

Published: 11 Oct 2009