person
American comedian, cited in dialogue 73 as the origin of what Cameron calls desperation comedy. The dating matters to the argument: if comedy mutated at Bruce rather than gradually, then the requirement that a comedian "be in a state of pain" is a historical development traceable to a person, not a permanent feature of the form.
Across the dialogues
73
Made the origin point of a genre rather than a name in a list — desperation comedy is dated to him, which is what lets the comedy thread carry the session's argument about panic
Naming an origin converts Bob's complaint about modern comedians into a periodised claim — the form changed at a datable point, which is what makes it evidence for the session's account of panic.
"It goes back to Lenny Bruce, right? It's a kind of desperation comedy."
Connections
origin ofCul-de-Sac
Cameron dates desperation comedy — comedy that must present the panic to register — to Bruce.