Dead at 90. Announced by spokesperson.
A long run for Don, but I haven’t seen him on anything lately, so I don’t know what his health status was. RIP Mr. Warmth.
RIP to a legend, you hockey pucks!
damnit. RIP, sir.
Oh man. One of the greats. RIP
This hits me tough, he was my father’s favorite and also mine.
He was without question one of the best. If you could ask him, he would tell you this!
I don’t think something like the Carson cigarette box incident could ever happen on live tv again.
The first thing I thought of when I saw this thread.
Don Rickles was amazing. I loved the stories he used to tell about Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack, and I was tickled when he popped up in Innocent Blood.
Props to him for never losing his edge and working right up to the end.
Given how racist Carson was during that bit? I doubt it.
I must have missed it, what did Carson do that was racist during that particular piece?
It’s pretty blatant. Early on when he busts in on Rickles, Carson spots a black actor on the set, and shouts: “Hey! A black man! Hey, how’s it doin’, daddy?” Then, later, when Rickles makes a joke about “millions of dollars” going down the toilet because of Carson’s entrance, he leans into the black guy again and quips: “I hope you kept a cotton mill down south! This show goes like the others, you’re out of work come January.” A different time and all, but not exactly the kind of thing that plays well these days.
I never liked Rickles, I just didn’t like his insulting-style of comedy that everyone everywhere seemed to find hilarious. But after watching the Netflix “Mr. Warmth” thing, I’ve since had a very serious, deep respect for the guy. He was unique, new, and the best thing around anywhere in his time, and his time was a very great time.
The name to me was instantly recognizable but I don’t remember ever actually watching him perform other than the YouTube compilation I just watched. I don’t think any of his humor would make it to TV these days and that’s a good thing. The only parts I found funny was when he was tweaking the late show hosts. His racist jokes were not only inherently wrong but even worse, unfunny.
I never found the premise of insult comedy all that interesting, and I still find the whole “roast” thing to be fundamentally nasty. Rickles was smart, though, and perceptive, and his sensitivity gave him a generally reliable feel for how to say terrible and horrifying things. As Sarah Silverman said, there was joy in it.
But, yeah, very much of its time, and a lot of it his old material is just flatly offensive. Maybe you had to be there…
Seinfeld’s recent Comedians in Cars “clip show” of other comics on Rickles is sweet. Seth Meyers’ recollection of when he first met him is really wonderful.
Came across this Dinner with Don, 13 episode series from just before his passing, worth watching if you were a fan.
RIP Don.
“Some people say funny things, I say things funny.”