Don Rickles, Legendary Insult Comic, dies at 90
By Richard Natale
Abrasive comic Don Rickles, the honorary Rat Pack member and celebrity roast guest whose career spanned six decades, has died. He was 90.
Rickles died Thursday morning at his home in Los Angeles from kidney failure, his longtime publicist Paul Shefrin confirmed. He would have turned 91 on May 8.
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Though he appeared in films and on television, Rickles' mainstay was always nightclub performances, appearing in Las Vegas and elsewhere into his late 80s. He also found late success as the voice of Mr. Potato Head in the 'Toy Story' films, which were exceptional box office performers, and popped up frequently on latenight talkshows.
Rickles' career had its ups and downs as comedic tastes changed, and his curmudgeonly persona was sometimes out of kilter with audience tastes, but he survived long after many of his contemporaries had disappeared into retirement. And when he was hot, he was a potent club headliner, insulting his audience with his two key signature phrases 'dummy' and 'hockey puck.'
Don Rickles Casino Gif, winning roulette dragon quest 11, poker gerer la bulle, us 888 poker. Visit casino $ 30 No Deposit Bonus. Don Rickles on his 1973 TV Special with Don Adams, ' A Couple of Don's' insulting the likes of James Caan, Ricardo Montalban, Jack Benny, Michael Landon. Don Rickles Animated GIF Maker Make animated GIFs from video files, Youtube, video websites, images, pictures. Upload Video (mp4 is best).
His attempts at series TV did not succeed because of the astringency of Rickles' personality. His serious side, however, was occasionally put to good use in guest starring roles in episodic TV and the occasional dramatic role in movies such as his first, 'Run Silent, Run Deep,' and Martin Scorsese's 1995 film 'Casino.'
Donald Jay Rickles was born in Manhattan and studied acting at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York after serving in the Navy during WWII.
He began appearing in nightclubs during the '50s but didn't really break through until his first appearance on 'The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson' in 1965.
In the meantime, he worked in movies. After his debut in WWII submarine drama 'Run Silent, Run Deep' (1958), he appeared in the Tony Curtis-Debbie Reynolds romantic comedy 'The Rat Race' and various AIP beach movies with Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon.
After the Carson appearance, he achieved headliner status in Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe, and he was frequently seen in the company of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack.
He took to the stage in the L.A. production of Neil Simon's 'The Odd Couple,' playing Felix. Later he took 'The Don Rickles Show' on tour around the country. He also made more movies, including Carl Reiner's 'Enter Laughing' and WWII heist comedy 'Kelly's Heroes.'
His first try at a TV series, CBS' 'Kibbe Hates Finch' in 1965, never got beyond a pilot. Variety series 'The Don Rickles Show' lasted a single season in 1969-69, and his mid-'70s sitcom 'C.P.O. Sharkey' lasted two. He co-hosted reality clip show 'Foul-Ups, Bloops and Blunders' with Steve Lawrence for a single season in 1983-84 on ABC. His last attempt was Fox's 1993 sitcom 'Daddy Dearest' co-starring Richard Lewis, which quickly folded.
More successful were his guest starring appearances on TV in a variety of shows including comedies such as 'Archie Bunker's Place,' 'The Lucy Show,' 'F Troop' (in a recurring role as Bald Eagle), 'Get Smart,' 'Newhart' and, in 2011, 'Hot in Cleveland.' He also acquitted himself on TV dramas like 'Medical Center' and 'Chrysler Theater.' He guested on 'The Single Guy' and 'Murphy Brown' in the late '90s, appeared in a supporting role in 2004 telepic 'The Wool Cap' and appeared as himself within a dream sequence in a 2007 episode of CBS drama 'The Unit.'
Bob Newhart, Tom Hanks, Other Stars Remember Don Rickles: ‘A God Died Today'
In January 2005, Rickles appeared with Bob Newhart, whom he considered his best friend, on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' the day after Johnny Carson's death to reminisce about their many guest appearances on Carson's show.
During the late '70s and a good part of the '80s, Rickles' humor was out of fashion, and while he continued appearing at casinos, the luster of his star had faded. Then, things turned around again, and a new generation of comedians that he had influenced came into favor. Rickles was once again in vogue.
Rickles' humor, while enjoyed better in person, also landed on record with albums such as 'Hello Dummy!' and 'Don Rickles Speaks.'
In Scorsese's 1995 film 'Casino,' Rickles had a substantial role as a trusted cohort to Robert De Niro's casino owner. And the 'Toy Story' animated features kept Rickles busy, voicing Mr. Potato Head in the 1995 original, the 1999 sequel and the enormously successful third entry in 2010. He reprised the role in a 2011 short called 'Hawaiian Vacation,' and he voiced the Frog character in the 2011 live action/animated hybrid 'Zookeeper,' starring Kevin James and Rosario Dawson.
Abrasive comic Don Rickles, the honorary Rat Pack member and celebrity roast guest whose career spanned six decades, has died. He was 90.
Rickles died Thursday morning at his home in Los Angeles from kidney failure, his longtime publicist Paul Shefrin confirmed. He would have turned 91 on May 8.
#don lemon # just call me petty mcpetty # roast # dean martin # don rickles roast # dean martin # don rickles # chavo del 8 # don ramon chavo del 8 # don ramon # art # animation # film # cartoons & comics # hoppip.
Though he appeared in films and on television, Rickles' mainstay was always nightclub performances, appearing in Las Vegas and elsewhere into his late 80s. He also found late success as the voice of Mr. Potato Head in the 'Toy Story' films, which were exceptional box office performers, and popped up frequently on latenight talkshows.
Rickles' career had its ups and downs as comedic tastes changed, and his curmudgeonly persona was sometimes out of kilter with audience tastes, but he survived long after many of his contemporaries had disappeared into retirement. And when he was hot, he was a potent club headliner, insulting his audience with his two key signature phrases 'dummy' and 'hockey puck.'
Don Rickles Casino Gif, winning roulette dragon quest 11, poker gerer la bulle, us 888 poker. Visit casino $ 30 No Deposit Bonus. Don Rickles on his 1973 TV Special with Don Adams, ' A Couple of Don's' insulting the likes of James Caan, Ricardo Montalban, Jack Benny, Michael Landon. Don Rickles Animated GIF Maker Make animated GIFs from video files, Youtube, video websites, images, pictures. Upload Video (mp4 is best).
His attempts at series TV did not succeed because of the astringency of Rickles' personality. His serious side, however, was occasionally put to good use in guest starring roles in episodic TV and the occasional dramatic role in movies such as his first, 'Run Silent, Run Deep,' and Martin Scorsese's 1995 film 'Casino.'
Donald Jay Rickles was born in Manhattan and studied acting at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York after serving in the Navy during WWII.
He began appearing in nightclubs during the '50s but didn't really break through until his first appearance on 'The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson' in 1965.
In the meantime, he worked in movies. After his debut in WWII submarine drama 'Run Silent, Run Deep' (1958), he appeared in the Tony Curtis-Debbie Reynolds romantic comedy 'The Rat Race' and various AIP beach movies with Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon.
After the Carson appearance, he achieved headliner status in Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe, and he was frequently seen in the company of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack.
He took to the stage in the L.A. production of Neil Simon's 'The Odd Couple,' playing Felix. Later he took 'The Don Rickles Show' on tour around the country. He also made more movies, including Carl Reiner's 'Enter Laughing' and WWII heist comedy 'Kelly's Heroes.'
His first try at a TV series, CBS' 'Kibbe Hates Finch' in 1965, never got beyond a pilot. Variety series 'The Don Rickles Show' lasted a single season in 1969-69, and his mid-'70s sitcom 'C.P.O. Sharkey' lasted two. He co-hosted reality clip show 'Foul-Ups, Bloops and Blunders' with Steve Lawrence for a single season in 1983-84 on ABC. His last attempt was Fox's 1993 sitcom 'Daddy Dearest' co-starring Richard Lewis, which quickly folded.
More successful were his guest starring appearances on TV in a variety of shows including comedies such as 'Archie Bunker's Place,' 'The Lucy Show,' 'F Troop' (in a recurring role as Bald Eagle), 'Get Smart,' 'Newhart' and, in 2011, 'Hot in Cleveland.' He also acquitted himself on TV dramas like 'Medical Center' and 'Chrysler Theater.' He guested on 'The Single Guy' and 'Murphy Brown' in the late '90s, appeared in a supporting role in 2004 telepic 'The Wool Cap' and appeared as himself within a dream sequence in a 2007 episode of CBS drama 'The Unit.'
Bob Newhart, Tom Hanks, Other Stars Remember Don Rickles: ‘A God Died Today'
In January 2005, Rickles appeared with Bob Newhart, whom he considered his best friend, on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' the day after Johnny Carson's death to reminisce about their many guest appearances on Carson's show.
During the late '70s and a good part of the '80s, Rickles' humor was out of fashion, and while he continued appearing at casinos, the luster of his star had faded. Then, things turned around again, and a new generation of comedians that he had influenced came into favor. Rickles was once again in vogue.
Rickles' humor, while enjoyed better in person, also landed on record with albums such as 'Hello Dummy!' and 'Don Rickles Speaks.'
In Scorsese's 1995 film 'Casino,' Rickles had a substantial role as a trusted cohort to Robert De Niro's casino owner. And the 'Toy Story' animated features kept Rickles busy, voicing Mr. Potato Head in the 1995 original, the 1999 sequel and the enormously successful third entry in 2010. He reprised the role in a 2011 short called 'Hawaiian Vacation,' and he voiced the Frog character in the 2011 live action/animated hybrid 'Zookeeper,' starring Kevin James and Rosario Dawson.
The comedian's memoir, 'Rickles' Book,' was published in 2007. John Landis directed a documentary on Rickles, 'Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project,' which debuted on HBO the same year. For his performance in the documentary, Rickles won an Emmy for individual performance in a variety or music program.
In May 2014 the funnyman was saluted by the likes of David Letterman, Jerry Seinfeld and Jon Stewart in the Spike TV special 'One Night Only: An All-Star Comedy Tribute to Don Rickles.'
Survivors include Rickles' wife of 52 years, Barbara; a daughter; and two grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Larry Rickles Endowment Fund at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Slot floppies patch.
By David Amoruso
Would you tell a vicious mobster to his face that his wife looks like a moose? Seriously. Would you have the balls to do that? Forget about balls for a second, would you be crazy enough to do that? You, probably not. But comedian Don Rickles built his entire act around it. Nicknamed the King of Zing, Rickles pokes fun at everyone. Blacks, whites, Jews, Italians, politicians, and, most surprisingly, the powerful, vicious gangsters attending his shows.
Rickles' routine as an insult comic began when he was doing stand-up comedy in the 1950s. Audiences didn't think his material was all that funny and began heckling the young comedian, hurling insults at him. Rickles' natural quick-witted responses blew all of them out of the water and made them laugh harder than at any point during his regular bit. He found his calling.
Working the nightclubs in New York, Florida, and California, Rickles developed a timing that caused his insults to hit targets with pitch perfect accuracy for maximum comedic effect. That is, if you were in on the joke. But not everyone was.
Like that one time when Rickles played a gig in New Jersey.
'So there I am, going along, singing a song, the audience loving me, when I notice this beautiful girl whose boyfriend resembles a small gorilla,' Rickles writes in his memoir. 'Just looking at him, I know he's connected [to the Mafia]. 'Is that your wife?' I ask. He nods yes. ‘Geez,' I say, ‘She looks like a moose.' The audience sees my take and laughs. The gorilla stares at me like I stole his banana.'
After the show that angry gorilla shows up backstage and starts coming straight at Rickles. Now what?
Jon Stewart, comedian and host of The Daily Show, was baffled about that as well. 'You're a young kid, nobody knows who you are,' Stewart tells Rickles. 'You're opening up for strippers, you're playing gin joints in Jersey, and you're doing the same thing in front of mobsters! How did you not die?!'
'Well,' Rickles answers with a smile, 'I had guys in Brooklyn who went ‘Don't hurt the kid he's with us!' No, those guys were tough, but when they got to know you they were pussycats.'
When they got to know you? Or when they got to know who protected you?
For an insult comic it's probably best to have more than one protector. Luckily for Rickles he had protectors everywhere, chief among them his doting mother. 'Joey Gallo, who's gone now,' Rickles reminisces. 'I'm at the Copacabana and I'm working the room and the place is packed. Everyone went up into the lounge in those days before the second show was on. I would be out there and my mother would be with me. She's very strict, she's like a Jew Patton, very strict. So we're in the Copa and the [Gallos] are there and my mother walks over and says ‘The only way you get to talk to my Don is if you put your guns on the table. Guns must be on the table.' I said, ‘Mom, will you stop it!' ‘Will YOU stop it! I know what I'm saying,' she said. Joey Gallo, all [his guys], put their guns on the table. And there I was sitting with five guys with guns on the table.'
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In the end, Rickles doesn't need any protection. His comedy routine quickly made him one of the most beloved comedians in America. He became close friends with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin (right) and was considered an unofficial member of the Rat Pack. He starred in his own television show and dozens of movies, most notably in Toy Story 1 and 2 as Mr. Potato Head and in Martin Scorsese's mob epic Casino, where he played Robert De Niro's right-hand man.
Rickles can insult anyone and instead of making them angry he makes them laugh harder than they ever did in their life. At the ripe old age of 88 he still performs for sold-out crowds.
So what happened to that mobbed up gorilla looking to stomp Don into the floor after insulting his girl at a show in New Jersey? Rickles: 'I'm backstage relaxing. In walks Ape Man on the arm of his lovely lady. ‘Tell me again,' he asks belligerently. ‘Does she look like a moose?'
''It's a joke,' I say. ‘I swear to God, it's a joke.' ‘If you really think that's funny,' he snaps back. ‘I'm gonna have to straighten you out.' His look convinces me that he's not lying. I immediately run to the phone and call a friend who's connected to some good people in New York.'
'Following night, Mr. Charm returns, a different man. Apparently, he got a call. Without missing a beat, he puts his arm around me and says, ‘You're right. She's a moose. You crazy bum, I love ya!''
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