| Don
Rickles |
| Birth name |
Donald Jay Rickles |
| Born |
May 8 1926 (1926--) (age 81)
New York, New York |
| Medium |
stand-up, television, film |
| Nationality |
American |
| Years active |
1948 – Present |
| Genres |
Improvisational comedy, Observational
comedy,
Musical comedy |
| Subject(s) |
American culture, race
relations, self-deprecation, marriage,
everyday life |
| Influenced |
Russell Peters,[1] Dave Attell, Lisa
Lampanelli, Jay Leno[citation needed] |
| Spouse |
Barbara Sklar (1965 – Present) (2 children) |
| Notable works and roles |
Hello Dummy!
Sgt. Crapgame in Kelly's Heroes
C.P.O. Sharkey in C.P.O. Sharkey
Billy Sherbert in Casino
Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story and
Toy Story 2 |
Donald Jay Rickles (born May 8, 1926 in New York City, New York)[2] is an American comedian
and actor.
Early life and career
Rickles was born in the New York City borough of Queens
to Jewish parents Etta and Max Rickles. He grew up in the borough's Jackson Heights neighborhood.[2] After graduating from high school, he served in the U.S.
Navy aboard the USS Cyrene as a S1/c until
1946, when he was honorably discharged. Two years later
he studied drama, and played occasional bit parts on television. Frustrated with the lack of acting work, he began doing stand-up comedy. He eventually became known as an insult comedian
by learning to respond to hecklers. The audience liked these insults more than his prepared
material, so he developed that part of his act. His act reminded some observers of the older insult comic Jack E. Leonard, though Rickles has denied that Leonard had any influence on his style.[3]
Career success
1950s-1960s
While working in a Los Angeles nightclub
early in his career, he spotted Frank Sinatra, and said "I just saw your movie,
The Pride and the Passion and I want to tell you, the cannon's acting was great." and "Make yourself at home, Frank: hit somebody!"[2][4] Sinatra, whose pet name for Rickles was "bullet-head", enjoyed Rickles so much that he encouraged
fellow celebrities to see Rickles' act and be insulted by him. Sinatra's support helped Rickles become a popular headline
performer in Las Vegas.[4]
Rickles earned the nicknames "The Merchant of Venom" and "Mr. Warmth" for his insult comedy in which he pokes fun at people of
all ethnicities and walks of life. Often when he is introduced to an audience or on a television talk show, Spanish matador music, usually "La Virgen de la Macarena", will be played subtly
foreshadowing that someone is about to be metaphorically gored. Rickles has said "I always pictured myself facing the audience as
the matador."[3]
In 1958, he made his film debut in Run Silent, Run Deep Throughout the 1960s, he appeared
frequently on television in sitcoms and dramatic series. In an episode of the 1960s
drama series Run for Your Life, Rickles played a distressed
comedian whose act culminates with his strangling a patron while imploring the patron to "Laugh!" He also appeared in the popular
Beach Party film series. He reported in his memoirs that at a White House dinner, Barbara Bush teased him about his decision to
appear in those films: "Was your career really going that badly?"
As his career progressed, he made more and more appearances on television talk shows,
making his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny
Carson in 1965. He became a frequent guest and guest host and would go on to make over
100 appearances on The Tonight Show throughout the rest of its run during Carson's era. He also began making frequent
appearances on The Dean Martin Show and became a fixture on Martin's roast specials which continued until 1984.
In 1968, he came out with the live comedy album Hello, Dummy! which reached #54 on
Billboard's Hot 100.[5] That same year, he starred in his own variety show The Don
Rickles Show which lasted for one season.
1970s-1980s
In 1970, Rickles had a notable role as the con man
Sgt. Crapgame in the hit film Kelly's Heroes with Clint Eastwood. In 1972, he starred in the sitcom The Don Rickles
Show which lasted for thirteen episodes. He also starred in a series of television specials. In his memoir, Rickles
acknowledged that a scripted sitcom was not well-suited to his ad-lib style of performing.
Don Rickles
(right) on the set of
C.P.O. Sharkey, with
Johnny Carson who visited during a taping because he was incensed that Rickles had broken
his cigarette box.
In 1976, he began starring in the sitcom C.P.O.
Sharkey which lasted for two seasons. It is mostly remembered for the cigarette box
incident occurred during the show. This incident was often replayed in Tonight Show retrospectives and was considered a highlight of the 1970s era of the
show.
1980s-1990s
In the early 1980s. Rickles began performing with singer Steve
Lawrence in concerts in Las Vegas. In 1983, the duo co-hosted the short-lived ABC-TV series Foul-Ups, Bleeps &
Blunders, an imitation of NBC's TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes.
In 1985, when Frank Sinatra was asked to perform at Ronald
Reagan's Second Inaugural Ball he stated he would not perform unless Rickles was allowed to perform with him. Rickles
considers this performance the highlight of his career.[6]
In 1992, he was cast in the film Innocent
Blood, directed by John Landis. In his memoir, Rickles reported that he recalled
the then-unknown Landis being a "Production Assistant" to director Brian
Hutton during the filming of Kelly's Heroes. During the filming of
Innocent Blood, he would sometimes tease Landis by yelling at him to go get coffee or to run other errands befitting his
one-time "gofer" status.
In 1993, he starred in another short-lived sitcom, Daddy Dearest, with comedian
Richard Lewis. In 1995, he made a return to film
in two high-profile projects: a dramatic role as Robert De Niro's trusted colleague in
Martin Scorsese's Casino, and voicing
Mr. Potato Head in the Pixar computer-animated film
Toy Story. He reprised the latter role in Toy Story
2.
2000s-Present
Rickles continues to be very active on the stand up comedy scene to this day. He is still a popular performer in Las Vegas and
has many dates booked through the end of 2007. He has no plans to retire as he recently said in an interview: "I'm in good
health. I'm working better than I ever have. The audiences are great. Why should I retire? I'm like a fighter. The bell rings and
you come out and fight. My energy comes alive. And I still enjoy it."[6]
In February 2007, Rickles made a cameo appearance (as himself) in a strange,
recurring dream sequence that was woven through an episode (titled "Sub Conscious") of the CBS dramatic series,
The Unit.[7]
Rickles' memoir, Rickles' Book, was released on May 8,
2007 by Simon & Schuster. A documentary about him directed by John Landis is scheduled for
release in 2007.
Personal life
Rickles and his wife Barbara are fast friends with comedian Bob Newhart and his wife,
Ginnie, and they often vacation together. Rickles and Newhart appeared together on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on January 24,
2005, the Monday following Johnny Carson's death, reminiscing about their many guest appearances on
Carson's show, including footage of the "cigarette box incident".
Rickles has been married for over 41 years to his wife, who hails from the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. He and Barbara
have a daughter, Mindy, a son, Larry and two grandchildren, Ethan and Harrison Mann. According to Rickles' memoir, his
granchildren are much more impressed by his having played "Mr. Potato Head" than by any of his other career achievements.
Works
Filmography
Selected television work
Discography
- Hello Dummy! (1968)
- Don Rickles Speaks! (1969)
References
External links
| Persondata |
| NAME |
Donald Jay Rickles |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES |
Don Rickles |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION |
American comedian, actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH |
May 08, 1926 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH |
Queens, New York City, New York, United States of America |
| DATE OF DEATH |
|
| PLACE OF DEATH |
|
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
