Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet

A film photographer and scriptwriter who collaborated with Lenny Bruce during the last 10 years of the performer's life writes compassionately and well, if at times ungrammatically, about their shared world of the 1950s and 1960s. Although he claims that he helped Bruce ``transcend obscurity for international fame and fortune, with little or no recompense or recognition,'' witnessed ``the methodic self-destruction Lenny had wreaked on himself'' and ``felt a mingled pain and resentment such as one might feel for an alcoholic spouse,'' Thomas appreciates and acknowledges Bruce's talent and charm. More than half of the book deals with the author's own sexual and other experiences with the celebrities and dregs of the entertainment world. Photos. (Oct.)