No More Mr Warmth

Or

Cold as a Hockey Puck

Don Rickles, who narrowly survived breaking Johnny Carson’s cigarette box, has died of kidney failure at the age of 90. After years as a struggling actor in Run Silent, Run Deep, Bikini Beach, Muscle Beach Party and Pajama Party, and Beach Blanket Bingo, Rickles tried to make It as a stand-up comic. Early gigs had him performing at strip clubs between the dancers, but he found he got bigger laughs yelling at the hecklers who wanted him off the stage than from his actual jokes, and he found his voice. He spent the next half century ensuring that no audience member never left unoffended by mocking the appearance, ethnicity, spouses, sexual orientation, religion, hometowns, jobs and whatever other foibles he might happen upon. His big break came when Frank Sinatra happened to sit in on an appearance. Rickles seized the moment: “Make yourself at home, Frank, hit somebody.” Sinatra laughed so hard, he fell out of his seat. With Sinatra, Dean Martin and the rest of the Rat Pack singing his praises, he secured steady work in Las Vegas, where he made enough of a name for himself that he earned a spot on The Tonight Show, where Johnny Carson took the brunt of his trademark disdain. Rickles was a perfect fit when Martin began hosting celebrity roasts: “What’s Bob Hope doing here? Is the war over?” "Clint [Eastwood], I'm sorry, but I just gotta say what's on everybody's mind here tonight: You're a terrible actor." Though a hit with the casino crowd, other media were less suited to his style, and a variety show and a sitcom both called The Don Rickles Show, a father and son sitcom with Richard Lewis called Daddy Dearest and his longest running success, CPO Sharkey. Rickles found a new fan base insulting toys as Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story films.