Midge meets so-called "sick comic" Lenny in the pilot episode in 2017. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/leonard-alfred-schneider-2125.php, 20th Century Film & Theater Personalities, 20th Century American Film & Theater Personalities. -1983 ( shot of love). What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005) Kofsky, Frank. Dick Schaap eulogized Bruce in Playboy, with the memorable last line: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. I decorated all the rooms and wanted each room to be different kept everything low stressed. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn, New York. My childhood seemed like an exodus from aunts and uncles and grandmothers, Lenny wrote. I cant tell you what it meant to me to see these mothers sober mothering there. Fortunately, now we have his autobiography and his loved ones and friends to provide a more human side to his story. Lenny Bruce died in his Hollywood Hills home on Aug. 3, 1966 from a drug overdose. Lenny really loved Kitty and often told me how much he missed her, especially with all of the traveling he did.. He is tall, with a habit of standing in a slightly hunched posture that makes his height less obvious. His off-the-charts ability to approximate the mannerisms and dialogue of movie stars eventually became a hallmark of his stream-of-consciousness vignettes. In 1951, Lenny married Honey Harlow, who was a showgirl and a stripper. The show's Lenny strikes up a friendship with main character Midge Maisel ( Rachel Brosnahan) in the first episode after both are arrested for their racy comedy acts. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. He didnt dress up as woman, lets get that straight, Kitty said. The performance contained in this album is that of a child of the jazz age. He was renowned for his open, free-style and critical form of comedy which integrated satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. Sending, sending, sending, he would finally reach a point of clairvoyance where he was no longer a performer but rather a medium transmitting messages that just came to him from out there from recall, fantasy, prophecy. This article is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death. Fifty-two years ago, Lenny Bruce was found naked on the toilet of his Los Angeles home, dead from a morphine overdose. There was still the heroin Sally's husband Tony had given him and it was just a matter of time before heading to the bathroom to cook and shoot up. Lenny passed away aged 40 In 1964, Lenny was arrested for an appearance at Caf Au Go Go in NYC, had a six-month trial and was eventually sentenced to four months in a workhouse, which was then. You know what those Americans did to your mother? They lined her up, those bastards. The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement. Lenny Bruce (Mineola, Nova York, 13 de outubro de 1925 Los Angeles, Califrnia, 3 de agosto de 1966 ), nascido Leonard Alfred Schneider, foi um famoso comediante norte-americano nos anos 1950 e 1960. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. 3 on its list of the 100 Greatest StandUps of All Time in 2004. Lenny Bruce made the stage his pulpit, the audience his parishioners, and stand-up the sermons for his alternative secular faith. To this day, I insist that all my vegetables be washed thoroughly., Above all was Lennys overwhelming gratitude for the Dengler's hospitality. In 2008, Kitty Bruce, his only child, founded The Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation, which aims to educate people about the risks of alcohol and drug (via National Comedy Center ). I just remember trying to keep up with his references. In 1949, he participated and won in the contest for aspiring performers on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and this brief attention ensured his path and he worked as a traveling comedian. Leonard Alfred Schneider, popularly known as Lenny Bruce, was a notable American stand-up comedian, satirist, and social critic. 1945, , . Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 August 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic and satirist. Zappa asked Bruce to sign hisdraft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused.[44]. He grew up near Bellmore and attended the Wellington C. Mepham High School. Through December 30, at the Cutting Room in Midtown Manhattan, that final. Upon Hugh Hefners request, Bruce serialized his autobiography for Playboy magazine from 1964 to 1965. During the early 1960s, his performances were reviewed favorably by Billboard Magazine and The New York Times. , , , . They had a daughter, Kitty Bruce, in 1955. Lenny and Honeys only child Kitty was born in 1955 but their but the marriage fell apart and they were divorced in 1959. [33]Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Everyone is surviving, fit or not. , "". My whole mission is, Lets introduce him to a new generation. Everything my father was talking about back in the day isnt much different than nowadays. He was banned outright from several U.S. cities, and in 1962 an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was banned in advance by theAustralian Broadcasting Commission. His parents divorced when he was 5, and he spent his growing up years moving among. Lenny committed his life to telling the . They had a daughter, Kitty Bruce, in 1955. The novel includes multiple themes, such as love, faith, a dysfunctional family, and wavering faith. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Lenny Bruce spoke with a ferocious but graceful and jazz-like rhythm. He once told me, When I was in junior high I prayed for all the toilets to back up at once, sending a tsunami of drek roaring down the halls. That's obscene. , , " ". One major aspect of Lenny Bruce's life that The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has only lightly touched upon, at least in the first three seasons, is his romantic and family . Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused. , . Half were coming too fast and the others were mostly about how the more and more frequent busts right off the stage were eating into his ability to pay rent and lawyers, and that we were lucky to have our own theater while he was at the whim of nightclub owners and the local police. His idealistic humor is cherished even to this day. As a Jew fighting in the war against Hitler he certainly knew what was at stake but, at the same time, he wasnt asking for sainthood. Rise To Fame. Like. Busted! [25], In 1953, Bruce and Harlow eventually left New York for theWest Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles, California. The De Capo Press re-print of How to Talk Dirty and Influence People: An Autobiography includes new blurbs from comic legends Penn Jillette, Richard Lewis, a preface by Lewis Black and new forward by Chicago Tribune Jazz critic Howard Reich. [46], On August 3, 1966, a bearded Lenny Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of hisHollywood Hillshome at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. On the evening of August 3, 1966 Lenny was home typing in his office when he paused mid-way through some legalese and got up to go to the kitchen. But all that was covered by Lenny Bruce back in the day. Stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce , at his obscenity trial in New York Criminal Court before a panel of three judges, during which tapes were played from. Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. . [20], Lenny took the stage as Lenny Marsalle one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mothers shows. The guy was just fuckin funny, period. [45]Hefner had long assisted Bruces career, featuring him in the television debut ofPlayboys Penthousein October 1959. Honey and Lenny Bruce with daughter Kitty. The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane, Lenny Bruce is not afraid. His mother, Sally Marr (ne Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer who had an enormous influence on Bruce's career. Click here for more information on how to contribute to The Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation. The liberals can understand everything but people who don't understand them. Comedy Central ranked him No. -1974 "" . Both milestones are the culmination of Kittys decade-long search to find a publisher and the right repository for her fathers papers, photographs and letters. Krassner sadly could not attend the funeral but was glad to hear that John Judnich, Lennys roommate and sound-man, lowered a microphone into the grave as mourners shoveled dirt atop his dear friends casket. I suppose they have a lot of walk in trade.. How can a man describe Hell? EPPC Online. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. [citation needed] On February 3, 1961, in the midst of a severe blizzard, he gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall in New York. In 2003, the then-Governor George Pataki posthumously pardoned him for his conviction in the 1964 obscenity trial. Lenny's childhood in Bellmore, Long Island was itinerant. Reintroducing Lenny: Kitty Bruce honors father's legacy on 50th Anniversary of his death. Hankin was present there that night in the audience. -1925 , , () , -1906 , , -1906 ' ', . [26], In late 1954, Bruce left Strip City and found work within theSan Fernando Valleyat a variety of strip clubs. His British-born father, Myron, was a shoe clerk, his mother, Sadie, was a dancer. -50 . He took on the law and he lost.. Bruce's mother was considered to be a "godmother" of all comics. He was renowned for his open, free-style and critical form of comedy which integrated satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. Of course, we know that this is the only comedian ever jailed for his words (in America, at least). She served jail time for marijuana possession. It isnt far from the truth but when Lenny wrote his autobiography, post-divorce, he reflected warmly on their courtship and early marriage: Honey and I were always laughing, kidding, teasing, and loving each other. Sending, sending, sending, he would finally reach a point ofclairvoyancewhere he was no longer a performer but rather a medium transmitting messages that just came to him from out there from recall, fantasy, prophecy. Serialized inPlayboyin 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the bookHow to Talk Dirty and Influence People. [29]In 1959, Lennys divorce from Honey was finalized. It was the living death of a genius. His image is included in the top row of the design of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. The only thing that has changed is the faces and the new technology., There has never been a shortage of praise from the pantheon of legendary comedians who critic Ralph Gleason claimed rushed through the doors Lenny opened. Actor/comedian Richard Lewis became a life-long fan after hearing the recording Lenny: Live at Berkeley. The story follows a lead character, Josh, through various events in his life, including a death in the family and his exploration of sexuality. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. [30]. We went to a Chinese restaurant once where he turned to me and said, this is where all the Chinese truck drivers go.. His ideal was to walk out there likeCharlie Parker, take that mike in his hand like a horn and blow, blow, blow everything that came into his head just as it came into his head with nothing censored, nothing translated, nothing mediated, until he was pure mind, pure head sending out brainwaves like radio waves into the heads of every man and woman seated in that vast hall. Kitty fondly recalls their outings together. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967) By others: Barry, Julian. His conviction for an obscenity trial was posthumously pardoned by the Governor. His mother, Sally Marr (real name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career. Its not only disgusting, what youre doing. His father became a shoe salesman in California, while his mother took a stab at a career in dancing and comedy before managing such talents as Pat Morita (of Karate Kid fame), Cheech and Chong, and Sam Kinison at the beginning of their careers. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, atThe FillmoreAuditorium in San Francisco, on a bill withFrank ZappaandThe Mothers of Invention. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. He has been on stage since June at Theatre 68 (theatre68.com) in the world premiere of a one-man show written by and starring Ronnie Marmo and . Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical filmLennydirected byBob Fosseand starringDustin Hoffman(in anAcademy Award-nominated Best Actorrole), and based on theBroadwaystage play of the same name written byJulian Barryand starringCliff Gormanin his 1972Tony Awardwinning role. Lenny Bruce is "alive and well" in Los Angeles. Ahead, a hospital ship was burning. Born Leonard Alfred Schneider in Mineola, Long Island, New York, he grew up in nearby Bellmore, NY, attending Mepham High School. In 2005, he received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Album Notes for his essay on the 6-CD package Lenny Bruce: Let the Buyer Beware. All of that is true, of course, but few have given us a sense of Lenny the son, father, friend, or that he was even funny. The Commandments of Lenny Bruce. Lenny was discharged from service under honorable conditions, and enjoyed the full-benefits of the GI Bill. I'm Lenny Bruce" begins its East Coast return with Oct. 14 and 15 performances at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Mass., minutes from the New York State border. -4 1961 California Obscenity Code, . His youth was chaotic; his parents divorced when he was five years old and Lenny moved in with various relatives over the next decade. Lenny Bruce Collection of Archival Material at Brandeis University. , . When Bruce decided to try his own hand at comedy, he initially modeled his routines after his mother's. Personal life[edit] Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1951. His shows thereafter were constantly monitored. Director Bob Fosse Writer Julian Barry (play) Stars Dustin Hoffman Valerie Perrine Jan Miner See production, box office & company info Watch on Pluto TV Go to pluto.tv This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. [citation needed]. The 1974 film Lenny starring Dustin Hoffman was based on his life; the documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth was narrated by Robert De Niro and captures his struggles. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions by reason of unsuitability for the naval service".[15]. [citation needed]. His jokes were considered offensive and had to generally be preapproved by the network. Lenny was a former truck driver. [21]He was later a guest and was introduced by his mother, who called herself Sally Bruce on theArthur Godfreys Talent Scoutsradio program, doing a Sid Caesar-inspired bit TheBavarianMimic featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g.,Humphrey Bogart,James Cagney, andEdward G. In October 2016, a two-day conference was held in his honor in the Goldfarb Library at Brandeis University. He also released four albums of original material on Berkeley-basedFantasy Records, with rants, comic routines, and satirical interviews on the themes that made him famous:jazz,moral philosophy,politics,patriotism,religion,law,race,abortion,drugs, theKu Klux Klan, andJewishness. Son of Myron (Meir Levy) Schneider and Sally Marr All they had to do was just show up and suit up.. But if ever there was a triumphal postscript to the Lenny Bruce story, it involves his daughters work in the addiction and recovery field. Lenny leaves behind one daughter, Brandy Oakes (Vernon) of. Lenny was just this cool, curious guy that seemed to fit right in with us. I would wait for an opportunity when Mr. Dengler was having a good laugh, and then I would catch him unawares and give him a big hug. 28 reviews. He. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set, titledThe Carnegie Hall Concert. I found ideas and thoughts of a man who lived an extraordinary life. Controversial comedian Lenny Bruce (Dustin Hoffman) begins his career telling bad jokes to bored audiences in the 1950s, but can't repress his desire to unleash edgier material. Lenny took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. He never got to enjoy the status of bona fide cultural entity or appreciate that his uncompromising worldview is celebrated, to this day, by innumerable entertainers and fans worldwide. As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material. In fact, when he met and fell in love with Kittys mother Harriett Jolliff an in-demand stripper called Hot Honey Harlow - the courtship was short-lived because he had to ship out. "( ), "dykes and faggotts" ,"tits and ass" . San Francisco was the last place Lenny could find club owners and kindred spirits, sympathetic to his cause, among the towns burgeoning pockets of counter-culture. Lenny Bruce. August 3 also is the 50th anniversary of Lenny Bruce's death at the age of 40. Thatsobscene., His epitaph reads: Beloved father devoted son/Peace at last.. [41], Increasing drug use also affected his health. Poster for Lenny Bruce's last series performances, which took place at The Fillmore in San Francisco on June 24 and 25, 1966. His parents divorced when he was only five years old. Sally cleaned houses, taught dancing, and waitressed while Mickey worked long hours selling shoes and attended pharmacy school at night. -1967 Sgt. (, , ) . In 1959, Bruce was given a shot at major television when he appeared on the Steve Allen show. The book chronicles his career and his troubles. Hefner had long assisted Bruce's career, featuring him in the television debut of Playboy's Penthouse in October 1959. He won first prize on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts in 1949 but was years away from finding his true voice. In the play, the main character, Ron, seeks to perform a routine in the style of Mr . This led to his multiple arrests despite his popularity; he was later blacklisted by many networks and finally the number of shows he performed decreased. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. I was in some real daddies. It was his way of claiming that hed earned a right to air his views on the world. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce revealed that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest. On August 3, 1966, the obnoxious and outlandish comedian whose last words were "conspiracy to interfere with the fourth amendment" was found naked and dead in his Hollywood Hills apartment. Lenny Bruce was born Leonard Alfred Schneider on October 13, 1925, in Mineola, Long Island, New York. Syndicated Broadway columnist Hy Gardner called Bruce a "fad" and "a one-time-around freak attraction",[citation needed] while Variety declared him "undisciplined and unfunny". His most famous performance was the one he delivered at Carnegie Hall, New York in February 1961 during a raging blizzard. The Trials of Lenny Bruce. We used to call it digging people, just seeing what theyre doing., When she was little, Krassner said, I remember he told me that they took showers together because he didnt want her to grow up thinking there was something dirty about the human body. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. 1967 biographical audio documentary from Capitol Records, including excerpts from Lenny's performances, plus interview segments with family, friends, and leg. , ' , . The 1940 census shows Myron (34) and Dorothy (36) Schneider and son, Leonard (14), living on Long Island at 710 Hughes Street, Bellmore, New York. : . In the liner notes, Albert Goldman described it as follows: This was the moment that an obscure yet rapidly rising young comedian named Lenny Bruce chose to give one of the greatest performances of his career. He typically bore the brunt of his Aunt Memas heavily Yiddish accented histrionics, squawking like a Jewish myna bird, if she caught him playing with her portable bidet (a large red rubber bulb with a long black nozzle), or if he asked her, Why does the talcum powder stick between your nay-nays?, If Bruce loved anything it was chaos and disorder, said Lennys friend, the author Barry Sanders at a 2010 Humanities Festival in Chicago. He performed in front of a full house and his biographer called this the greatest performance of his career. It was bold and truthful and hip and fearless and brilliant and provocative and unlike anything I had ever thought comedy could be.. I kept thinking, wondering what would Lenny be thinking about this or what would his take be on that? I knew in my heart that I was just talking to myself but it was as if I was channeling. My wife came home from work one day and found me in bed with her. [45][46] Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. Bruce did give a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965. Lennys final performances focused almost entirely on his lawsuits and, even on stage, were his law books, law journals, and legal briefs in case he wanted to reference some criminal law or penal code. ( ) . Leonard Alfred Schneider decided to establish a career for himself as a comedian in New York City. He was buried at the Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California. [16]This led to hisDishonorable Dischargein July 1945. The official cause of death was acutemorphinepoisoning caused by an accidentaloverdose., His remains were interred inEden Memorial Park CemeteryinMission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. But listening to Out Again . Lenny's first ten years were spent living with different relatives. Leonard Alfred Schneider came into the world on October 13th, 1925. Lenny Bruce is not afraid. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk and Lenny saw him very infrequently. By 1966 he had beenblacklistedby nearly every nightclub in the United States, as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. No more channeling Lenny.. One day, he hung out for a while, asked a lot questions about what we did and then split. You can help by converting this article to prose, if appropriate. Fifteen arrests for narcotics and obscenity in two years, deportation from England and a New York State obscenity conviction (which he was appealing) weighed heavily and exacerbated his already herculean drug habit. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, "The hungry i," where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). Kitty was essentially raised by her grandmother, Lennys mother Sally, remembers Krassner. The Brooklyn, a light cruiser, carried a crew of 1300 men. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades againstfascismand complaints that he was being denied his right tofreedom of speech. Lenny worshipped the gods of Spontaneity, Candor andFree Association. [24] Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. A photograph taken upon arrival at Naval Training Station Newport, Rhode Island for Boot Camp captured the image a pudgy faced, barely pubescent recruit seemingly years away from shaving. After he married stripper Harriet Lloyd in 1951, he began working in Los Angeles strip joints. Father of Kitty Bruce, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umI4XCOGrmo. [30], Bruce dated actressFaye Dunawayfor a time in the 1960s. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show business hopefuls who populated the city. After serving for three years, Lenny . (September 2010). ~ Lenny Bruce. In 1942 he joined the Navy and served until his discharge in 1946. On The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, a fictionalized version of legendary comic Lenny Bruce is played by Luke Kirby, who won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019. This caused the divorce between Honey and Bruce in 1959. The POs unlocked her and I said, Very nice to meet you, welcome to Lennys house. I decided I was going to have her share a room with a bank president - the point was there is no better than or worse than, everybody gets treated with love and respect. [8][9][10][11], Contents [show] Early life[edit] Lenny Bruce was born Leonard Alfred Schneider in Mineola, New York, grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. He slowly found stardom with the approval of conventional establishments. Lenny Bruce's life is reconstructed in dazzling sequences that capture his genius in the . In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Another time he walked into the theater and I was there alone for some reason. At his first show there, Bruce took the stage, and declared "What a fucking wonderful audience" and was promptly arrested. Sally cleaned houses, taught dancing, and waitressed while Mickey worked long hours selling shoes and attended pharmacy school at night. He had a way, on-stage and off-stage that made people think. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his ship-mates in which he was dressed indrag, his commanding officers became upset. In addition to accommodating paying clients Kitty created scholarships for those unable to afford treatment or a recovery house. Bruce's work has inspired several comedians in the United States, including Richard Pryor. Lenny's parents were divorced when he was a child. Later in life, Lenny tells a story about a gay boy. Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. His private life was marked by struggles with personal demons and efforts to prevent his wife from working as a stripper. [48]Record producerPhil Spector, a friend of Bruces, bought the negatives of the photographs to keep them from the press. Owners of reputed clubs were afraid to hire him, and he had to go without a single gig for about six months. Part of HuffPost News. I find this interesting cause in the end these are just words You give them power when you cower man its so absurd. Richard Kuh, and Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Five days later, at the Jazz Workshop in San . Thesan Fernando Valleyat a variety of strip clubs by lenny Bruce spoke with a but! To introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material hearing lenny bruce grandchildren recording lenny: Kitty Bruce in... Sequences that capture his genius in the style of Mr this or what would his take be that. 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