Don Rickles

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Lore & Background

Rickles was a stocky, bald man with a broad, expressive face and a sharp, rapid-fire delivery. His defining characteristic was his insult comedy, a style he developed by accident when he began responding to hecklers in his early nightclub performances. The audience responded more enthusiastically to these barbs than to his prepared material, so he made them the centerpiece of his act. He would call ill-mannered audience members "hockey pucks." His approach was compared to that of older insult comic Jack E. Leonard, though Rickles denied any influence. He earned the nicknames "The Merchant of Venom" and "Mr. Warmth" for his habit of mocking people of all ethnicities and backgrounds. His entrance was often accompanied by the Spanish matador music "La Virgen de la Macarena," a theatrical cue that he likened to facing the audience as a matador. A veteran of Las Vegas hotel-casinos, he was a peripheral member of the Rat Pack through his friendship with Frank Sinatra, who called him "bullet-head." His film roles ranged from serious parts, such as his debut in *Run Silent, Run Deep*, to comedies like the *Beach Party* series. He also voiced Mr. Potato Head in the first three *Toy Story* films. On television, he starred in two short-lived eponymous shows: a 1968 ABC variety series and a 1972 CBS sitcom, as well as the NBC sitcom *C.P.O. Sharkey* from 1976 to 1978. He was a frequent guest and guest host on *The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson*, appearing over one hundred times.

Reader's Guide

His legacy includes influencing later comedians and his iconic voice role as Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story franchise, which introduced him to new generations. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for the 2006 documentary Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project. His style, while controversial for its ethnic humor, was widely accepted as part of his persona, and he remained active until his death in 2017.

Rickles’s act was built on insult comedy, a style he developed after discovering that audiences enjoyed his spontaneous, sharp-tongued responses to hecklers more than his prepared material. He would call disruptive audience members “hockey pucks” and often entered to Spanish matador music, framing himself as a matador facing the crowd. This earned him the nicknames “The Merchant of Venom” and “Mr. Warmth.” His career was boosted by Frank Sinatra, who, after being playfully insulted by Rickles in a Miami nightclub, encouraged other celebrities to attend his shows. Rickles became a headline performer in Las Vegas and a peripheral member of the Rat Pack. He was a frequent guest on *The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson*, appearing over 100 times, and on *The Dean Martin Show* and its celebrity roasts. His film work included serious roles in *Run Silent, Run Deep* and *Casino*, as well as parts in the *Beach Party* series and *X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes*. He starred in two short-lived eponymous shows—a 1968 ABC variety series and a 1972 CBS sitcom—and later played the lead in the NBC sitcom *C.P.O. Sharkey* from 1976 to 1978. In 2014, fellow comedians honored him in a taped special at the Apollo Theater.

Did You Know?

• Rickles spoke Yiddish at home as a child.
• He originally intended to be a dramatic Shakespearean actor before turning to comedy.
• He earned the nicknames 'The Merchant of Venom' and 'Mr. Warmth'.
• He won a Primetime Emmy Award for the 2006 documentary Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project.