Julian Barry, whose scripts for a Broadway play and a Hollywood movie about Lenny Bruce, both titled “Lenny,” became definitive portraits of the comedian as a truth teller who drove himself mad in a righteous struggle against American hypocrisy, was found dead on Tuesday morning at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif.
His daughter Julia Barry said he had died overnight in his sleep.
He had been receiving medical treatment for congestive heart failure and, in recent weeks, for late-stage kidney disease.
Like Marilyn Monroe and John Lennon, Mr. Bruce died young (he was 40) and became a figure of continually renewed pop-culture lore.
From 2017 until this year, a fictionalized version of Mr. Bruce was a recurring character on the Amazon Prime television show “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
Persons:
Julian Barry, Lenny Bruce, Lenny, ”, Julia Barry, Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, Bruce, Maisel
Organizations:
Amazon Prime
Locations:
Beverly Hills, Calif