Lenny Henry: Humor, Trauma, and Flipping the Cosmic Spatula

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Lenny Henry, recorded December 17, 2019 in London.

Lenny Henry is one of the most successful British stand-up comedians of all time.  In 1975, at just 17, his career took off when he was a repeat winner on the weekly TV talent show, "New Faces.” He went on to host his own sketch comedy program, "The Lenny Henry Show," starting in 1984. Later, Lenny stared in the 90’s BBC sitcom, “Chef!" Lenny is a founder, front-man and a creative force behind the charity Comic Relief.

In this episode we talk about the paradoxes of celebrity and social media, how the internet is a buffet, starting a career in entertainment in Working Mans’ Clubs, using humor as armor against racism, the history of minstrelsy in the UK, making your work the structure of your life, giving your loved ones fair warning when you publish a memoir, the beautiful meld of words and images in comic books, the power of masks and fiction and why giving advice to younger artists is so important. 

@LennyHenry

https://lennyhenry.net

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