Added: 5 years ago
From: gabacho41
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  • MY deal...was being in Sausalito Ca with Steven Sheriden (Sheridan Eldridge) and Paul Schneidler...and Steven worked with Imaginations. (They came up with The Muppets!!) He showed us this Short...and "Because yer geared fer it" : and everything else became part of our comedic "material". It's the greatest short that nobody knows! DIG IT!!!!

  • Do not give a shit! funny as hell! HA HA!!!!

  • True Story TODAYDotSoCooLDotCom

  • I remember an apres ski place called "The Slope" in Vail that was basically a bar/screening room filled with low couches and cushions when I was a kid. They showed an endless variety of short films. Sports, Narratives and Comedies. Thank You Maskman was quite popular and often requested. I have no doubt that place helped steer me to be a filmmaker. Lenny Bruce Power!

  • @filmcarteldotorg

    I remember the bar in Vail was called "The New Gnu" - that was in

    76, when the gondola fell and Spider Sabich was shot. Many hot cocoa and schnapps!

  • I first saw this on Super Tv in 1983

  • Ya' gotta' love the kid..."Thank you, Maskman...thank you Maskman..."

    Hilarious cartoon! Saw this years ago... didn't think I'd ever get to see it again after all these years! Great that I found it on YouTube!

  • saw this as a kid on showtime. i love it. was on john biner's show bizzare. super dave... the whole lot. what a good video lol

  • His voice is sooo hilarious lol hahaha. 

  • re : magic bullets, 606 and syphilis. Google 'arsphenamine' (AKA salvarsan)

  • It's MASKED Man.

  • To Sandbag: It takes one to know one!

  • This was one of two shorts I remember seeing before King of Hearts. The other short it was paired with was Bambi Meets Godzilla. Both of the shorts put me in the proper mood for King of Hearts!

  • First thing of Lenny Bruce's I've ever seen. Still friggin hilarious! Thank you mask man!!!

  • @riomarcos dude, i get why you chose Chapelle, Carlin, and Pryor to compare to Bruce, but why the hell did you mention Tracey Morgan and Pablo Francisco? They are B listers in comedy, you'd have done better to say Bill Hicks, Patton Oswalt, or Louie C.K.

  • @riomarcos dude, i get why you chose Shapelle, Carlin, and Pryor to compare to Bruce, but why the hell did you mention Tracey Morgan and Pablo Francisco? They are B listers in comedy, you'd have done better to say Bill Hicks, Patton Oswalt, or Louie C.K.

  • just fucking brilliant... over 10 years after first seeing this & i still laugh my ass off... man was a comedy genius and decades ahead of his time

  • ha haaa lmaoooooo. that shit was funny. Lenny Bruce was/is the shit. Everybody has to watch ths movie called Lenny with Dustin Hoffman playing Lenny Bruce. I just watched it yesterday, it's on Netflix streaming. Watch that movie asap.

  • A classic, thanks

  • @riomarcos thats a sour line up to compare to lenny...

  • This is a masterpiece of animation and editing. All the best to the producers. You are blessed with talent...

  • @riomarcos why the fuck are Pablo Francisco and Tracy Morgan on your list?

  • @riomarcos You are so right

  • I saw this cartoon when my best friend Lisa got back in 1992 and we were rolling, watching it(Whatya Want The Indian For? To Perfom An Unnatural Act!). I hadn't seen it since but laughed about it many times over the years and now as I watched again it is even more hilarious than it was the first time I saw it...THANKYOU MASKMAN!!!!!

  • I first saw this cartoon when my best friend Lisa found it back in 1992 and I haven't seen it since then but I've laughed about it many times over the years and now seeing again its even more hilarious than it was than!!! Maskman is Genius Comedy and I love every minute of it!!!! THANKYOU MASKMAN!!!!!!!

  • Now that the Messiah has returned everything is pure, your in the shit house.

    Well then I'll make trouble, because Im geared for it.

  • "Bullshit! You made the deal, that's what I want!" lol

  • I'll explain if you get your goddammed hands of me, you barbarians!

  • That bastard! Is he kidding?!?!?!

  • I first saw this clip when I transferred colleges in the late 80s, and I had a roommate - he had a box full of VHS cassettes (it WAS the late 80s) and THIS CLIP was featured on one - I had to watch it about five times to see what they were talking about, but it was a RIOT!

  • I want Tanta; Tanta the Indian! 

  • Classic.

  • fucking genius!

  • thank you mask man

  • @riomarcos Ouh common. realy? you had to mix up those brilliant men's (Carlin, Pryor, Bruce) with Tracy Morgan ?? WTF is wrong with you?

  • Forgot how funny he was !

  • @riomarcos tracy morgan? not even in the same league

  • Prob the 150th time I've seen this and I'm still laughing. Pure genius, Bruce's best and perfect animation for it.

  • The guy yelling FAG!!! was friggin' hilarious.

  • This is how I"VE SEEN IT show on 3 diff. VHS taped. YOU HONESTLY think they guy who posted it, edited it??? Moron.

  • ......and the masked man and Tonto lived the rest of there days out in peace.

    The End.

  • Ever seen the 1981 movie The Legend of the Lone Ranger on cable lately? Perfect companion to that near forgotten flick with Christopher Lloyd as Butch Cavendish.

  • bleep??????????????????????

  • Since this video has been edited to leave the ending out where the original contains the moral of the story . Does anyone or has anyone posted the original unedited video? Or where can the video be found in it's entirety ?

  • It isn't unedited. It is the original script from Lenny Bruce's stand up routine.

  • Man, I first saw this many years ago and recorded it off tv on VHS then lost it. I thought I would never see it again. Thanks to the poster!

  • This video has been edited to leave the ending out. The original contains the moral of the story where the town rejects the maskman because he's gay, then are without his help. So eventually they realize that they were being unnecessarily hateful and brought him back after the town became ridden with crime. It is a crime to hate someone, fire them, cast them out of society for being gay. This is the message Lenny Bruce was trying to convey. You suck for not showing the truth about this video.

  • THere's no such thing.

  • I love this

  • wow this is better then half the things i see on tv today

  • All is pure, your in the shit house.

  • lol the crowed at the end sounds like cats on meth

  • and not in a good way

  • the mast man reminds me of malcolm x

  • LOL

  • This is so funny and always will be. Lenny was so good....

  • THEN i'LL MAKE TRUBBLE I'M GEARED FOR IT

  • Lenny the movie with Dustin Hoffman was great.

  • This is some off the wall funny stuff!! I saw this in the mid 80s! Scoured the Internet and found it on VHS on Amazon or eBay! Glad it's here too!! Lenny Bruce is highly underrated!! People back then were just too uptight, I guess...

  • The classic Lenny Bruce skit "Thank You Masked Man" was originally recorded in March 1963. and it's still a out of this world classic. Lenny Bruce Forever.

  • Wow, that was brilliant.

  • Comment removed

  • So that's why the Lone Ranger wore a mask...

  • Have not seen this since I was a kid over 30 years ago.

    Still absolutely hilarious!!

  • "Bleaaaahhhhhhhh!  Bleaaaahhhhhhh!" That part just rolls me!

  • I saw this in the 70's and Lenny Bruce was one funny man. I have searched for this for years and here it was. thank you masked man.

  • MASK MAN'S A FAG!

  • the frist time i saw this i nearly die laughing.

    thank thank Mask man (smile) i will make trouble. (whistles)

  • I remember this cartoon from 1988-89. It was played on "select TV". I have wondered who created it for the last 20 years! I love youtube because there is not one thing that you cannot find on here. Watching this video reminds me of when I was in high school.

  • This a Lenny Bruce stand up act converted into animation. Funny stuff!

  • At the risk of offending many, I believe that Lenny was an IQ checker of sorts and a challenge to a mind that is less than open. He comes at you with a 100mph fastball and if you don't have your mitt ready his ball will fly right over your head.

  • Grrr, can't get any sound. I LOvE LB!- any other sources out there?

  • asdsd

  • This toured arthouse film circuits in the 70s

    billed with "The King and His Loyal Subjects".

    The "The King of Hearts", a French feature, had

    2 'cartoons' as audience warm-ups. The other

    was 'Bambi vs. Godzilla'(?) Ah... Good times!

  • From "wiki":

    In 1971, one of Bruce's comedy routines was developed by San Francisco filmmaker John Magnuson (who also directed 1967's "Lenny Bruce Performance Film") into a short animated film, Thank You, Mask Man (often cited as Thank You Masked Man) which parodied The Lone Ranger (see link below ???). Bruce received credit for co-writing and co-directing this seven-minute cartoon and providing his unique narration, which included all of the voice characterizations.

  • "Lenny Bruce Performance Film"? Is it here on Youtube? I'd LOVE to see it :D

  • This is for Stodles...

  • Isn't doing your own animation to a Lenny Bruce piece kind of like painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa and calling it art?

  • oh shit that was true comedic genius, a pioneer for sure.

  • I dont know about any-one else out there, but i watch this every couple of days and it doesnt get old.Very clever, funny and there is a moral to the story.

    Essential viewing.!

  • HAhahah lmao GIve me the INDIAN!, what for an UNNATURAL act! rofl

  • this is my favorite video on youtube at the moment.

  • he was /b/

  • Lenny's legacy: Comedians who are so intent on offending politically, socially, and sexually that it's not even offensive anymore. Now what?

  • Exactly what I was thinking.

  • i think that's the point...to take the offensiveness out of language. and is that even possible? will people always be offending at words?

  • If people will always be offended by certain language, comedians will have a field day pushing their buttons. I have to say I miss George Carlin, btw.

  • carlin is my favorite comedian and favorite person. he was trying to prove that language is innocent...it isnt language but our intentions that are offensive.

  • Believe nothing, no matter where you

    read it or who said it, not even if I

    have said it, unless it agrees with your

    own reason and your own common

    sense.

  • BuddaHockaLoogie?

  • Exactly what Buddha said,

    You are observant....

  • I,ve first seen that wacky toon back in the mid 80's when my late father borrowed this on ancient VHS tape and i find it so very funny. Long live Lenny Bruce the first comic that ever use so many hard profane language in his comedy routine. Now that's what i call a comedy legend with a razor sharp tounge.

  • i saw this on HBO like 20 some years ago...i have uploaded 31 videos in a year of membership on youtube...i have six favorites..this is one...thank you gabacho, fuckin classic!!

  • mask man's a fag blah blah

  • Tanta!!! I want Tanta The Indian!!!!

  • i feel like leny bruce and bill hicks: an outcast to society because when i open my mouth people tell me i need meds.  long live bruce and hicks

  • men like you have thrived on the evils of segregation, violence and disease. now the messiah has come and brought something thats pure . and your in the shithouse buddy

  • Censored for a reason, pay attention.

    Anything that threatens a power structure.

  • He said he'd explain himself, and he did.

    Sexual orientation (irrelevant in itself) is just a vehicle for the concept of a societal taboo.

    Given the option for trade as opposed to the former lack thereof; through that trade he chooses the freedom of being a social outcast. Much like the original freedom from the concern of expecting anything in return from anybody.

    Not bound to the highest bidder, nor subject to anyone's nefarious leverage.

    Lenny..least recognized sire of mass consciousness.

  • Any one that thinks this is "gay bashing" is morbidly sensitive. Bruce was taking on not only the prevailing attitudes against gays but the institutional approach to "alternative" individuals...

  • lenny bruce what a legend!

  • i always get a kick out of that kid's voice.

  • the best of the best

  • MWHAHHHA

  • Lenny wasn't gay, he just acted that way to get out of the Navy.

  • Lenny is a hip cat and I dig it when he drops in to visit me.

  • It wasn't made with his consent because it was made after his death.

  • This is great! After years of listening to the YCDTOSA #3 versions of "Bobby Brown Goes Down" and "Keep It Greasy" by Frank Zappa, it finally adds up!

    Ruby

    XoX

  • surprised this made it to you tube! I was surprised when i seen it in the 70's, is an odd little *special interest* type of animation,and had never seen it again till today. good job you tube.

  • lenny bruce was a man before his time, this video is still funny today

  • Thank You Maskman!!

  • Interesting to consider (?) The Real Mask'ed Man And His "Sidekick" ... What was the "unnatural" act they actually "committed?"

  • I think that it is assumed that it is something that was socially unacceptable at the time. A sexual act.

  • masterpiece. one of his greatest works.

  • looooool Never have i seen a more ignorant comment on this website (and there are a few) research the term "social satire" and return with an educated opinion... i hope an actual understanding of what is taking place in this clip will change your view of it....

  • loooool Never a more completely ignorant comment have I seen on this website... research the term "social satire" and then take a stab at an educated opinion... it feels good

  • lenny bruce was a comical genius and sey the standards for todays comics

  • this isn't "gay bashing". bruce was bisexual. you've completely misinterpretted this.

  • Bruce was not bisexual. Where did you get that? He was tolerant, yes, but not gay or bisexual. Unless you have something that can prove different.

  • i shouldn't have said 'bisexual'. while reading about him i skimmed over something about relations with men in the navy, and i just assumed he was bisexual. it can't be proven, and i shouldn't have included that bit.

  • No problem...I read a biography and it said that Bruce started telling people he was gay in the Navy so they would throw him out. It was a while ago so I don't remember the exact details. Gay or not, he was great.

  • i like his voice when the kid says "thank you maskman."

  • I remember this from the old usa night flight when i was 12 yrs old... I'm 37 and its still as funny now

  • ditto

  • Awesome,Lenny Bruce was an excellent Comic!

  • Thanks for posting this! I've had it as a MP3, but hadn't seen the video since Night Flight eons ago!

  • OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • yes! night flight is where i originally saw it. it was a show called "cult classics" and this was on. everytime i watch this, it makes me laugh, even after all these years. i recorded it on VHS but the tape is nearly worn out!

  • I had forgotten about Night Flight and where I'd seen this.

    Lenny Bruce was way ahead of his time.

    Thanks.

  • saw this on Night Flight in the 80's. I love it love it love it.

  • My mother in law taped this from the tv about 30 years ago. I no longer have the vhs tape but would like to get it on dvd. Any way of doing that? By the way, I could not get the vooice to work.

  • get the lastest flash update...or try mozilla/foxfire as your web browser...and get the video downloader...once you get it...put to dvd in your installed(if any) dvd burning software..piece of cake..i love this had the vhs till bout 7 yrs ago

  • "I want to perform an unnatural act." This is comedy, screw Dane Cook.

  • "He don't take I'm tellin' ya". Ain't this great! I first saw this in the early 90's in a documentary about Lenny Bruce's war on censorship. His "war" made him a hero and an American icon. But, it also brought him some nasty thumps from local police and a night or two in jail. "Now the Messiah's returned during the night. All is pure... You're in the shit house!"

  • This is aded at the end of a film called....

    The Lenny Bruce Performance Film (1965)

    I 1st saw this back in the 80's when i left my VCR recording on showtime. I wore the tape out watching it with my friends. Greatest video ever made!

  • great!..does anyone know who the production co was and if they did more stuff?

  • this is great, i saw this years ago, back when i had a BETA recorder.lol

    found out later is was Lenny bruce in some voices...hilarious..glad it's here.

  • I also saw this in the early `80's --- I'm guessing that's when it hit distribution bigtime. I haven't thought about this video in many years, yet I knew I'd find this easily on YouTube.

  • my brother got this pink, flowered cowboy shirt from my aunt for christmas one year. He and us refer to it as the "thank you masked man shirt".

  • I love it!!! I can't believe someone posted this! My friends and I originally saw this in 1984 and thought it was the most hilarious thing ever! You have made me so happy!!!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!

  • Thanks for posting this, haven't seen it in ages, what a great classic!

  • hehenice!

  • I don't know how you found this, but thank you so much for posting it, my friends and I have talked about this short for 20 years.....never thought I would get to see it again.

  • absolutlely thrilled to see this clip on youtube. funny as hell. brings back alot of memories as well. saw it as a short when i was a young one on john byner's bizarre. i bet that was over 22-23  years ago. comedic genius. been wanting to see this since.

  • Lenny Bruce/Bill Hicks... the world is a sadder place without their genius..

  • I think that anyone who tries to find some hidden meaning in this instead of just appreciating Lenny Bruce's comedy needs to find something better to do with their time. I love this....I saw it twenty years ago and it's still hilarious!!

  • I understood where he was coming from until the whole "unnatural act" thing. Is he saying that people who do heroic deeds often have a secret, perverted side?

  • No, Lenny was just turning a cultureal meme on its head, that's all.

    Damned glad he did it, too. When I first saw this back in the early 70's, I laughed my butt off. I still do.

  • The mascarra thing makes me laugh. xD

  • I thank my ex father-in-law for showing me this video about ten years ago!!!!

  • Wow I saw this on hbo DECADES ago! my brother and I never laughed so hard.

  • I've waited 25 years to see this. The animation is good; it's just that Bruce's stuff is not that funny.

  • i am the mask man.

  • He's making a commentary on how people in general turn on their hero's, due to their own prejudices, and lack of access, it's feeeakin' funny.

  • I LOVE this video...I am so happy I found it here...brings back memories....lol

  • Thank you so much for finding this fond old memory of one of Bruce's more amusing routines set to animation, and for sharing it with us all.

  • OH my god! I remember seeing this on Night Flight years and years ago along with other great comedians of that era!

    I thought that I'd roll the dice and take a chance to see if this would be on YouTube. And as sure as night turns to day, here it is.

    Thank You Masked Man!

  • YEah, I remember thsi back about 1984

  • One of my favorites lenny was truely a genius . So ahead of his time!

  • I'm gay and I get it. Just the opposite. Bruce's method of breaking down phobics and hypocrites was way ahead of its time! I've been recalling bits and pieces of this in my head for years. Thanks for posting the entire piece so I can remember the entire unnatural act!

  • Last time I saw this was at "The Slope" in Aspen Co back in 1974. Thanks for the memories!

  • This video was a running joke with me and my friends during college...I haven't seen it in ages...it still cracks me up...blaah!

  • Actually I rented this on VHS at a video store in Dalton, Ga back in the '80s. the IMDB should tell you if it is still avaiable. As for appearing homophobic, it is a safe bet that is the last thing Lenny wanted.

  • I'm thinking that was a little homophobic!, and Yes I am gay

  • Thank You Night Flight. Thank You Lenny Bruce. Thank You Mask Man.

  • wow. never thought i'd see this again.

  • thank god for the american late-night pop culture show "night flight" throughout the 80's. they showed music video, interviews, animation, film clips, etc. many is the weekend night i stayed up to further my education. love.

  • My butthole is throbbing in anticipation for this brilliant genius. THOBBING in anticipation.

  • I found this to be so funny.The first time that I saw it was on Nightflight

  • I woke my friend up at 1:00 AM so I could play this for him over the phone. Neither one of us had seen it in almost 20 years, but we still know it line for line. First saw it like most of you on HBO back in the day. Lenny was a genius.

  • How fortunate we were to have ever had him.

  • u are a fool

  • "u are a fool". That's the first thing idiots say, and they say it just like that, "u are a fool", all ingnorant and shit. I'm a FOOL whose read more, learned more, done more than you in 3 lifetimes BUB.

  • God bless YouTube. Without it I never would have seen this wonderful piece. thank you for sharing!

  • ah man, i can only laugh like that when i hear lenny

  • Yeah, Lenny Bruce had been dead for 5 years when this was made. So your right, it did come "later on".

  • sorry for all the comments but are there any other cartoons like this?