Don Rickles

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Biography

Donald Jay " Don " Rickles (born May 8, 1926) is an American stand-up comedian and actor . A frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson , Rickles has acted in comedic and dramatic roles, but is best known as an insult comic .

Early life

Rickles was born in the New York City Borough (New York City)|borough of Queens to Max Rickles, who had emigrated in 1902 with his parents Joseph and Frances Rickles from Kaunas , Lithuania World War I draft registration, NY City, #31-9-149-B, Max S. Rickles, born 12 Aug 1897 in Kovna (Kaunas), Russia (then in the Russian Empire ), and Etta (Feldman) Rickles, born in New York to immigrant parents from the Austrian Empire .US Census, 1930. Queens, New York, Supervisor's District 33, sheet 6A, family #136US Census, 1920. NY City, Enumerationer's district 1508, Sheet 33A, family #13855113/mr-warmth-the-don-rickles-project-mr-warmth---the-don-rickles-project His family was Jew ish and spoke Yiddish at home. Rickles grew up in the Jackson Heights, Long Island|Jackson Heights area.Witchel, Alex. , The New York Times , August 25, 1996. Accessed 2007-10-08.

After graduating from Newtown High School (New York City)|Newtown High School , Rickles enlisted in the United States Navy|U.S. Navy and served during World War II on the USS Cyrene (AGP-13)|USS Cyrene as a seaman first class. He was honorable discharge|honorably discharged in 1946. Two years later, he studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and then played bit parts on television . Frustrated by a lack of acting work, Rickles began doing stand-up comedy . He became known as an insult comedian by responding to his heckler s. The audience enjoyed these insults more than his prepared material, and he incorporated them into his act. When he began his career in the early 1950s he started calling ill-mannered members of the audience a "hockey puck". The Tonight Show with Jay Leno April 15, 2009 His style was similar to an older insult comic, "Mr. Warmth" Jack E. Leonard , though Rickles denies that Leonard influenced his style.

Career

1950s–1960s

While working in a Miami Beach nightclub known as "Murray Franklin's" early in his career, he spotted Frank Sinatra and remarked to him, "I just saw your movie, The Pride and the Passion and I want to tell you, the cannon's acting was great." He added, "Make yourself at home, Frank. Hit somebody!" Sinatra, whose pet name for Rickles was "bullet-head", enjoyed Rickles so much that he encouraged other celebrities to see Rickles' act and be insulted by him. Sinatra's support helped Rickles become a popular headline performer in Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas .

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. When he is introduced to an audience or on a television talk show, Spain|Spanish matador music, "La Virgen de la Macarena", will usually 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."

In 1958, Rickles made his film debut in a serious part in Run Silent, Run Deep starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster . Throughout the 1960s, he appeared frequently on television in sitcom s and dramatic series. Rickles guest-starred in Get Smart as "Sid", an old war buddy of Max who comes to stay with him. In an episode of the 1960s drama series Run for Your Life (TV series)|Run for Your Life , Rickles played a distressed comedian whose act culminates when he strangles a patron while imploring the patron to "Laugh!" Rickles took a dramatic turn in the Roger Corman film X (1963 film)|X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes as a carnival barker out to exploit the title character.
Rickles also appeared in the popular Beach Party film| Beach Party film series. He recalled in his memoirs that at a White House dinner, Barbara Bush teased him about his decision to appear in those films, and remarked "Was your career really going that badly? ". Rickles' agent, Jack Gilardi , was married to Annette Funicello when Rickles was cast in the Beach Party films.

In 1968, Rickles released a live comedy album, Hello, Dummy ! , which reached #54 on Billboard Hot 100| Billboard 's Hot 100 . The same year he starred in his own variety show on ABC, The Don Rickles Show , with comedy writer Pat McCormick as his sidekick. The show lasted one season. During the 1960s, Rickles made guest appearances on The Dick Van Dyke Show , The Munsters , The Addams Family , The Mothers -in- Law , '' Gilligan's Island , Get Smart , The Andy Griffith Show and I Dream of Jeannie .

1970s–1980s

In 1970, Rickles had a notable role as the Confidence man|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.
In 1973 Don Rickles was a popular comedian at The Dean Martin Roasts.

In 1976, he starred in the sitcom C.P.O. Sharkey , which lasted two seasons. The show is primarily remembered for the C.P.O. Sharkey#The cigarette box incident|cigarette box incident when Johnny Carson visited during an episode's taping because he was "incensed" that Rickles broke his cigarette box while Bob Newhart was guest-hosting. The incident was often replayed in Tonight Show retrospective s and was considered a highlight of the 1970s era of the show.

Rickles occasionally appeared as a panelist on Hollywood Squares and was depicted in comic book form by Jack Kirby during his work on the Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen series.

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 American Broadcasting Company|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 stipulated he would not perform unless Rickles was allowed to perform with him. Rickles considers this performance the highlight of his career.

In 1990, he appeared in the second season of Tales from the Crypt (TV series)|Tales From the Crypt in the episode "The Ventriloquist's Dummy".

In 1992, he was cast in the film Innocent Blood (film)|Innocent Blood , directed by John Landis . In his memoir, Rickles wrote that he recalled that Landis was once a "Production Assistant" to director Brian G. Hutton during the filming of '' Kelly's Heroes . During the filming of Innocent Blood , Rickles would kid Landis by ordering him to get coffee or to run other errands befitting his one-time "gofer" status.

In 1993, Rickles starred in another short-lived sitcom, Daddy Dearest , with comedian Richard Lewis (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 (film)|Casino , and voicing Mr. Potato Head (Toy Story)|Mr. Potato Head in the Pixar computer-animated film Toy Story . He reprises the latter role in Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 . In 1998 he portrayed a movie theater manager in Dirty Work (1998 film)|Dirty Work , starring Norm Macdonald and Artie Lange . Again in 1998, he was the voice of Cornwall, one of the heads of a two-headed dragon, in the movie "Quest for Camelot".

2000s–present

Rickles continued to be very active on the stand-up comedy scene, and is still a popular performer in Las Vegas. 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."

In February 2007, Rickles made a cameo role|cameo appearance as himself in a strange, recurring dream sequence that was woven through an episode titled Sub Conscious (The Unit)|"Sub Conscious" of the CBS Dramatic programming|dramatic series , The Unit ., from TV.com

Rickles' memoir , titled ''Rickles' Book , was released on May 8, 2007 by Simon & Schuster . Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project '', a Documentary film|documentary about Rickles directed by John Landis , made its debut on HBO on December 2, 2007. Rickles won two Emmys for the documentary, including one for "Individual Performance" besting a number of notable comics, including David Letterman , Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert . To this Rickles remarked, "Stephen Colbert's a funny man, but he's too young. He has got plenty of time to win awards, but this may be my last year and I think that I made it count. On second thought it was probably just a mercy award for an old man."

Rickles reprised the role of Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story Midway Mania! attraction at Disney California Adventure Park and Disney's Hollywood Studios . He voiced the character again in Toy Story 3 .

In 2009, Rickles appeared on Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List and met Griffin's mother, Maggie, to fulfill one item on Maggie's "bucket list".

In 2010, he appeared in a commercial during Super Bowl XLIV as a talking rose.

On June 27, 2010, he appeared on the 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards on CBS TV.

In 2011, Rickles joined Joe Pesci in a Snickers advertisement highlighting the actors known for their "short fuses." Also in 2011, he made a surprise appearance as the late husband of Elka ( Betty White ) on the TV Land original comedy Hot in Cleveland -- a "surprise" because Rickles' character was thought to be dead.

Style

It is well known that Rickles has nothing against the people that he insults during his routine, and that it is all just part of the act. Although sarcastically nicknamed "Mr. Warmth" due to his offensive and insensitive stage personality, in reality most know him to be actually quite genial and pleasant. It has been said that being insulted by Rickles is like "wearing a badge of honor".

When asked by an interviewer if he ever worried that his insult comedy might ever become too offensive, Rickles replied, "You know, every night when I go out on stage to do my comedy routines, there's always one nagging fear in the back of my mind. I'm always afraid that somewhere out there, there is one person in the audience that I'm NOT going to offend!"
Rickles is known for lackadaisically saying the word "anyway" and "let me tell ya this", following most of his comedic insults, in order to appear nonchalant about the comic volley he had just thrown at an audience member, show host, etc. This is widely regarded as one of Rickles' classic comedic tactics that contribute to his impeccable sense of timing.

Personal life

Rickles has been married for more than 45 years to his wife, Barbara, who was raised in Philadelphia. The couple had two children; a daughter Mindy, and a son, producer Larry Rickles , who died in December 2011 at the age of 41. According to Rickles' memoir, his grandchildren, Ethan and Harrison Mann, are much more impressed by his role as " Mr. Potato Head " than by any of his other achievements. Rickles is a life-long Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat . However, he performed at the inaugurations of Republican Party (United States)|Republican presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush with his friend Frank Sinatra ., from Time Magazine

Rickles considers comedian Bob Newhart to be his best friend. Rickles, Newhart, and their wives often vacation together. Rickles and Newhart appeared together on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992 TV series)|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 " C.P.O. Sharkey#The cigarette box incident|cigarette box incident ".

Works

Filmography

Run Silent, Run Deep (1958)

The Rabbit Trap (1959)

The Rat Race (1960)

X (1963 film)|X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)

Muscle Beach Party (1964)

Bikini Beach (1964)

Pajama Party (film)|Pajama Party (1964)

Beach Blanket Bingo (1965)

Enter Laughing (film)|Enter Laughing (1967)

The Money Jungle (1968)

''Where It's At (1969)

'' Kelly's Heroes (1970)

The Love Machine (film)|The Love Machine (1971)

''Keaton's Cop (1988)

Innocent Blood (film)|Innocent Blood (1992)

Casino (film)|Casino (1995)

Toy Story (1995) (voice)

Redux Riding Hood (1997) ( short subject ) (voice)

''Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's (1997) ( Documentary film|documentary )

Quest for Camelot (1998) (voice)

Dirty Work (1998 film)|Dirty Work (1998)

Dennis the Menace Strikes Again (1998)

Toy Story 2 (1999) (voice)

Goodnight, We Love You (2004) (documentary)

The J-K Conspiracy (2004) (documentary)

The Aristocrats (film)|The Aristocrats (2005) (documentary)

The Last Laugh (2006) (documentary)

Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007) (documentary)

Toy Story 3 (2010) (voice)

Hawaiian Vacation (2011) (voice)

Zookeeper (film)|Zookeeper (2011) (voice)

Small Fry (film) (2011) (voice)

Vacation in India with Amruth raj (2012) (voice)

Selected television work

The DuPont Show with June Allyson (1959 episode – "No Place to Hide and the 1960 episode – "The Women Who")

The Twilight Zone (1961 episode – Mr. Dingle, the Strong )

The Addams Family (TV series)|The Addams Family (1964 episode – Hallowe'en With the Addams Family)

The Dick Van Dyke Show (1964 episodes - "4 1/2" and "The Alan Brady Show Goes to Jail")

The Dean Martin Show (1965–1974) (Guest Star)

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1965) (Guest Star)

The Andy Griffith Show (1965) (Guest Star)

F-Troop (1965 episode - The Return of Bald Eagle) (Guest Star)

The Munsters (1965 episode – Dance With Me, Herman)

Kibbee Hates Fitch (1965) (unsold pilot)

'' Gilligan's Island (1966) (Guest Star)

The Lucy Show (1967)

Get Smart (1968 episode – The Little Black Book, Parts I and II)

Laugh-In (1968–1969)

The Don Rickles Show (1968–1969)

The Don Rickles Show (1972)

The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast s (1974–1984)

C.P.O. Sharkey (1976–1978)

For the Love of It (1980) ( TV movie )

Foul-Ups, Bleeps & Blunders (1984–1985)

Don Rickles: Rickles on the Loose (1986) ( television special )

'' Tales from the Crypt (TV series)|Tales from the Crypt (The Ventriloquist's Dummy) (1990)

Daddy Dearest (1993)

Mike & Spike (1995) Episode: "Person To Shoe" as Ace Feathers

The Larry Sanders Show (1997)

Muppets Tonight (1997)

The Bernie Mac Show (2002)

The Wool Cap (2004) (TV movie)

The Catch (TV series)|The Catch (2005) (unsold pilot)

Live with Regis and Kelly (2007)

The Daily Show (2007)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (2007)

Late Show with David Letterman (2008)

The Daily Show (2008)

'' Late Night with Conan O'Brien (2008)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (2009)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2009)

Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (2009)

Late Show with David Letterman (2009)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (2009)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (2010)

Late Show with David Letterman (2010)

Tonight Show with Jay Leno (2010)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2010)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (2011)

Late Show with David Letterman (2011)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (2011)

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (2011)

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2011)

Hot in Cleveland (2011)

Discography

Hello Dummy! (1968)

Don Rickles Speaks! (1969)

Books

''Rickles' Book: A Memoir by Don Rickles with David Ritz (Simon & Schuster, 2007), ISBN 978-0-7432-9305-1

''Rickles' Letters by Don Rickles with David Ritz (Simon & Schuster, 2008), ISBN 978-1-4165-9663-9

Copyright Citations

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Don Rickles Photo by: media.masslive.com


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