Don Rickles

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Rickles in October 2010

Donald Jay "Don" Rickles (born May 8, 1926 in Queens , New York - † April 6, 2017 in Beverly Hills , California ) was an American comedian , actor and entertainer . Especially in the United States, he was known as a "comedy legend" through appearances on talk shows and films, and his trademark was quick-witted insults. His film roles included U 23 - Deadly Depths (1958) with Clark Gable and Shock Troop Gold (1970) with Clint Eastwood . From 1976 he played in CPO Sharkey for two years . Rickles, a headline artist in Las Vegas hotel casinos and peripheral member of the Rat Pack by friendship with Frank Sinatra , was a frequent guest on talk shows and variety shows, including The Dean Martin Show , The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson , Late Show and later Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story series. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for the 2007 documentary Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project .

Occur

Rickles' humor was described in the New York Times as "a mixture of personal degradation and exaggerated stereotyping ", and because of the insulting remarks made to the audience in his stand-up appearances, he was referred to as a kamikaze comedian.

Rickles was accompanied by the music of a matador during shows . According to his own statement, this reflected his attitude towards his audience.

life and career

Rickles was born on May 8, 1926 in Queens, New York. He grew up an only child in a Jewish family, served in the Navy during World War II, and began studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in the late 1940s . He later worked as a stand-up comedian, making the acquaintance of Frank Sinatra , who promoted him. He subsequently appeared in various shows in Las Vegas and participated in activities of the so-called Rat Pack . He made his film debut in U23 - Deadly Depths from 1958 with Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster .

Rickles increased his popularity in the 1960s, among other things through numerous appearances on the late night show by Johnny Carson . In 1968 he got his own show on ABC called The Don Rickles Show . In addition, he was a regular participant in the Roast shows directed by Dean Martin , in which a celebrity such as Ronald Reagan , Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr. , Bob Hope , and also Rickles himself from several successive comedians were present in each issue was ridiculed. From 1976 to 1978 he starred in the NBC series CPO Sharkey . In the 90s he was seen in the film Casino by Martin Scorsese , where he played the right hand of Ace Rothstein ( Robert De Niro ). He also spoke Mr. Potato Head (in German Charlie Naseweis ) in the Toy Story films .

Rickles published his memoir in 2007, and the following year he received an Emmy Award for the documentary Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project , directed by John Landis and which, in addition to material from Rickles' career, received accolades from a variety of prominent actors and comedians such as Robert De Niro, Whoopi Goldberg , Chris Rock , Clint Eastwood and Jay Leno .

He was married to Barbara Sklar from 1965 until his death. They had 2 children together: Mindy and Larry .

Rickles died of kidney failure at his Beverly Hills home at the age of 90 .

Filmography (selection)

Other works

  • 1968: Hello Dummy! (Vinyl record)
  • 1969: Don Rickles Speaks! (Vinyl record)
  • 2007: Rickles' Book (book, with David Ritz)
  • 2008: Rickles' Letters (book, with David Ritz)

Web links

Commons : Don Rickles  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ US comedy legend and actor Don Rickles has died. In: derstandard.at . April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Don Rickles, David Ritz: Rickles' Book: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7432-9305-1 , p. 91.
  3. ↑ Alex Witchel: I'm No Howard Stern, You Dummy . In: The New York Times . August 25, 1996 (English, nytimes.com ): “Rickles's humor is a combination of personal put-down and exaggerated stereotyping”
  4. ^ Lawrence E. Mintz: Standup Comedy as Social and Cultural Mediation. In: American Quarterly Volume 37, No. 1, 1985, Special Edition: American Humor, p. 79.
  5. ↑ Guy MacPherson: Don Rickle's Interview. In: The Comedy Couch. October 6, 2006 ( comedycouch.com ), accessed April 6, 2017.
  6. ^ Don Rickles, Equal Opportunity Offender of Comedy, Dies at 90. In: The New York Times . April 6, 2017 (English, nytimes.com ).
personal data
SURNAME Rickles, Don
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rickles, Donald Jay (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American comedian, actor, and entertainer
DATE OF BIRTH May 8, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Queens , New York , United States
DATE OF DEATH April 6, 2017
Place of death Beverly Hills , California , United States