The Death of Don Rickles
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2017/04/08
Numerous outlets have reported on the death of the “insult comedian” Don Rickles, who died at the age of 90 on April 6. Jimmy Kimmel provided a heartfelt and teary-eyed series of personal stories about the late insult comedian. Kimmel was moved in reminiscing about the passing of Don Rickles.
He said that he loved Rickles “very much.” He noted that he went to dinner with Rickles after 17 appearances on his show. He described Don Rickles as a man of great warmth to the audience.
Seth Meyers another comedian in the late-night television show world described how he introduced himself to Don Rickles after a party where he was a member of the Saturday Night Live crew at the time.
Stephen Colbert considered the meeting of Rickles at the Emmys an “incredible honor.” Variety reported that Don Rickles had a career spanning six decades. Rickles was common in the nightclub acts as well as in performances in Las Vegas.
He took part in films such as Toy Story, in which he voiced Mr. Potato Head. Rickles had a career with many “ups and downs” changing with the comedic taste of the culture. The San Diego Chicago-Tribune provided some of his best lines:
- “Show business is my life. When I was a kid I sold insurance, but nobody laughed.”
- “Is that your wife, sir? … What was it, a train?”
- “You are a politician. Black, white, Jew, gentile, we’re all working for one cause: to figure out how you became governor.”
- “It’s tough having the last name ‘Rickles.’ Luckily, my kids handled it great.”
- “Room service is great if you want to pay $500 for a club sandwich.”
- “Struggling is hard because you never know what’s at the end of the tunnel.”
- “I’ve got an accountant who’s been with me forty years. If he makes a mistake, he dies.”
- “Eddie Fisher married to Elizabeth Taylor is like me trying to wash the Empire State Building with a bar of soap.”
- “Clint’s idea of a good time is sitting on a pickup truck watching his dog bark.”
- “Who picks your clothes – Stevie Wonder?”
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