Of course it was going to be Don Rickles.
Rickles was a genius. There wasn't anyone like Rickles before Rickles. Don came from the same mold as George Carlin and Richard Pryor; in your face comedians who were trying to push the envelope and break down the comfortable cultural norms. Rickles wasn't simply making racial, ethnic and religious stereotype jokes. He was assaulting the dark, mean spirited comedy which had been going on in the back rooms of America, inappropriate jokes that made people look around the room before they delivered the punchline. He took the back room jokes and said, "I see you saying these horrible things, and not only am I going to say the joke in public, but I am going to make it a better joke." He and Mel Brooks were were the masters of this type of comedy.
People who WANTED to be separated disliked Rickles. In actuality, he tore down the walls between people.
There are people who try to mimic him, but they usually fail. The mistake they make is thinking Rickles was simply a blunt object, a mean guy. On the contrary, he was a master comedian whose insults were far more complex than "insert racial joke here." That's why the insult comedians since him generally don't last too long. Guys like Andrew Dice Clay and Adam Sandler might have a few good jokes, but a lot of what they are saying is based on trying to be mean spirited. That's why they don't have the longevity off Rickles.
To act as if Rickles was a return to comedians from the past, comedians who never existed, is an insult to his legacy. To act as if Rickles was just mean person insults the complexity of what he was actually able to accomplish.
He was a very funny man.
A litany of segments from him, including the very funny set he did for Reagan at his 2nd Inauguration. Plus some talk shows, award shows and roasts. Enjoy!
Have a great weekend everyone.
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