Don Rickles and David Ritz - Rickles' Book Review

How big a fan am I of Don Rickles? Well, in 1965, I was a mere lad of 8 when he made his first appearance on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.  I think I remember it, or maybe I just remember my parents talking about that appearance, because everyone did.  I mean, at being introduced for the first time by the king of late night, Rickles walks out on stage and says, "Hello, dummy."  How did Carson respond to being greeted this way by some insolent, not-yet-well-known comic?  He had Don Rickles back on the show, over and over again. I watched many of those appearances and was always amazed at how dude could get away with hurling such insults as "Who picks your clothes? Stevie Wonder?" and, to Johnny Carson, "How's  you mother, John? Is she still working on your farm?"  At any rate, from that day forward, if I knew Rickles was going to be on TV, I did everything in my power to be in front of that boob tube to see it.  I was never disappointed.

Whatever it was, the stars and the crowds ate it up.  Don Rickles became a household name in the mid-60's, was in more than a few movies and had two television shows.  He's played to sold out showrooms in Las Vegas for years and, in fact is insulting audiences there nightly right now, at age 83.  And now, there's Rickles' Book: A Memoir.

Don Rickles is a comic unlike any other in the history of stand up and retains his uniqueness in his autobiography.  You see, while people who don't know him don't expect the venom that spews forth in his shows, people who are familiar will be surprised by the tone of his book.  Don't read this expecting to unearth some dirt on anyone.  Instead, what we get are 239 pages of a grandpa sittin on his front porch, his grandkids sitting at his feet and listening intently while he fondly reminisces.

Born May 8, 1926 in Queens, New York City to Max and Etta Rickles, Don begins his book there, and sets the tone telling us how special his Dad was and how strong willed and lovable his mother, the driving force behind his success, was.  Fact is, through out the book, Mr. Rickles speaks fondly of everyone he knows.  And he pretty much knows everyone.

His story is a fractured journey and he narrates it mostly in small chapters, each detailing some important, at least to him, moment in his long life.  He talks of his early need for attention and how that made him funny because, well, didn't do well with girls and high school completely frustrated him.  He enlisted in the Navy at the urging of his father, was told repeatedly he would be in "Special Services" as an entertainer, only to wind up on the in the Philippines during WWII.

He tells of failing as an insurance sales man, of somehow getting into the famed American Academy of Dramatic Arts with the likes of Jason Robards and Anne Bancroft, yet drifted into near obscurity while those great actors went on to stardom. But, even when he talks of his failures, you can almost see the smile on his face.  No regrets.  Good times.

Rickles' story unfolds like a series of little vignettes as he recalls his nights lounging with other unknown comics in agent's offices and how he finally got his big break as Frank Sinatra enters a small club he was playing.  How Sinatra came to be there is a fascinating little tribute to the wiles of his mother, Etta.   Sinatra enters the little room with his entourage and the shy little Jewish kid from Queens looks at him and says the first thing that enters his mind.  "Make yourself at home Frank.  Hit somebody.".  Thus the Don Rickles we've come to know and love is thrust into the spot light.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Often memoirs of famous people are rife with bones they want to pick, chips they want to knock off shoulders, or details of sordid pasts.  Not Don Rickles.  Don recalls his insults but never hurls them at anyone. Instead we get some choppy, uneven story telling that will put a smile on your face as the man who knows he's dang lucky to have lived the life he has and spreads the love where it's due. He's a family man who loves his family and just happens to make a living as an insult comic, oh and as Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story movies.  It's easy to see why everyone loves him and why the stars have always lined up to get taunted by the great Don Rickles.  They love him and he them.  GRADE: B+