‘MERCHANT OF VENOM’
Legendary insult king Don Rickles dead at 90
Don Rickles, the insult comedian who died at 90 of kidney failure yesterday at his Los Angeles home, was a warrior with words.
A standup who realized people loved seeing their betters (as it were) brought down to everyday size, Rickles was able — over a career that spanned six decades — to mock, disparage and humble with such ferocious glee that even his targets, which famously included Frank Sinatra being needled about his mob ties, couldn’t help but laugh.
No wonder he was nicknamed “The King of Zing” for his razorsharp wit and improvisational comebacks, or “The Merchant of Venom” for the joy he took in saying what others considered verboten.
After a decade-long slog on the fringes of show business, Rickles’ career was launched in 1957 by Sinatra, who caught his act in Miami Beach.
Onstage when Sinatra and his entourage entered the club, Rickles quipped, “Make yourself at home, Frank. Hit somebody.”
Sinatra laughed and soon the bald comic was part of Sinatra’s celebrity Rat Pack alongside Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr.
Rickles’ act took on everyone and anyone. Ethnic jokes — about Italians, Poles, Jews like himself, black people — abounded. He mocked audience members for their looks, sexual orientation, spouses, jobs, whatever tickled him. “Is that your wife?” he would ask a man, who, once he said yes would see Rickles nod and say, “Oh well, keep your chin up.” A WWII Navy veteran, Rickles credited his mother Etta with encouraging him when he’d failed as an insurance agent and couldn’t make a living as an actor. After conquering Vegas, Rickles proved the naysayers wrong who’d said he was too rancid, too raw for television when in 1965 he appeared on Johnny Carson’s show. Without giving the host a chance to open his mouth, “Hi, dum dum,” he began, letting loose a barrage or insults that had Carson helplessly laughing. “That’s it, laugh it up. You’re making 50 million a year and your poor parents are back in Nebraska eating locusts for dinner.” Carson dubbed him “Mr. Warmth.” Regular gigs on Dean Martin’s show and celebrity roasts followed, along with a regular seat on the “Tonight Show.” Rickles’ low-key film career began with lowbudget ’60s “Beach Party” movies and eventually included we l l - re - garde d roles in Martin Scorsese’s “Casino” and as the voice of Mr. Potato Head in the “Toy Story” animated franchise. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Barbara; a daughter, Mindy Mann, and two grandchildren. A son, Lawrence, died in 2011.