Don Rickles the Comic Can Zing You, Too
Don’t miss your chance to get a Don Rickles Talking Figurine as seen tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live! The bobblehead, made in an exact likeness of the comic, features Don’s own voice speaking 21 hilarious phrases like “You’re a dummy!,” “Kiss my hockey puck!” and “How about a new word: Go away!”
Ninety-year-old Don Rickles has been poking fun of audiences and making people laugh since the 1950s, when Frank Sinatra, a target for his taunts at a Miami Beach nightclub, helped the comedian catapult to fame. Rickles became a headliner in Vegas showrooms and earned the moniker “The Merchant of Venom” and “Mr. Warmth.” No ethnicity, profession, sex or race was safe from Rickles’ jabs.
Don Rickles’ Film and TV Career
Don Rickles began his film career in 1958’s Run Silent, Run Deep with Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster and appeared in a series of Beach Party movies. In the 1970s he shared the screen with Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas and Carroll O’Connor in Kelly’s Heroes.
On TV he appeared most frequently, with over 100 guest spots, on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and his own series The Don Rickles Show and CPO Sharkey. In more recent years he voiced Mr. Potato Head in three Toy Story movies and played Betty White’s last husband on Hot in Cleveland.
In 2014, Rickles’ friends and fans gathered at the Apollo Theater in New York City to honor the comic legend on the Spike TV special One Night Only: An All-Star Comedy Tribute to Don Rickles. Master of Ceremonies Jerry Seinfeld was joined by David Letterman, Tracy Morgan, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Jon Stewart, Johnny Depp, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and more. In addition, Bob Newhart, Jimmy Kimmel, Eddie Murphy and others provided prerecorded messages for their hero.
Don Rickles Continues to Entertain
Yu can learn more about Don Rickles in the HBO special Mr. Warmth: Don Rickles Project. He also still hits the stage several times a year and appears on various TV shows, including tonight’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! He is scheduled for seven appearances in the coming months, several with his lifelong friend Regis Philbin.
Don Rickles Tour Dates 2016 and 2017:
October 22-23, 2016, Orleans Hotel – Las Vegas, NV
November 12, 2016, Saban Theatre – Beverly Hills, CA – with Regis Philbin
November 18, 2016, Canyon Club – Agoura Hills, CA – with Regis Philbin
November 20, 2016, The Rose – Pasadena, CA – with Regis Philbin
May 6, 2017, Paradise Cove Margaritaville – Tulsa, OK
Don Rickles Captured as a Bobblehead
If you can’t make it to a Don Rickles comedy event, why not take a little Don figurine home with you, so the comic can zing you on a daily basis? The figurine is 4” tall plus a base and can be purchased for $24.99 at Heroes Entertainment.