Don Rickles Quotes
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After I graduated, I tried Broadway, which was difficult for me. It was tough to get a part on Broadway, so I just started talking to audiences at different social gatherings, and little by little I became Don Rickles - whatever that is.
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I was 28 when my father died, and I was an only child.
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When I got out of high school, I wanted to be an actor but was getting a lot of rejections. I was getting rejected by life. My mother, God rest her soul, told me not to quit.
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I call myself an actor. I always wanted to be one.
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Ninety percent of the people who come to see me are my fans.
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I ride a recumbent bike for half an hour every day.
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I enjoy mixed audiences, not one particular group. Short, tall, scientists, Jews, gentiles, whatever, as long as they breathe and like to laugh.
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The thing I love about Vegas is that it's a melting pot. It's like working Ellis Island.
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Compared to what some of the young comics use for material today, I'm a priest.
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If something strikes me as funny, I'll put it in my performance.
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I can get an audience screaming in Las Vegas and say, 'Barbara, that was a great show,' and she'll say, 'Would you please hurry up? We have dinner reservations at 9:30.'
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To me, the stand up part in my life is great. I know I can do that. When I get an acting chance, I'm really thrilled.
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I used to work over a bar. That was - there was no stage. I stood over a tiny bar. Louis Prima, rest his soul, he worked there. I was the guy that filled in when he was off the stage.
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I don't say I was the first, because, who knows, maybe there was a guy out in Minnesota doing it before me.
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The average person pushes an elevator button 6 or 7 minutes before realizing it's not working. I did a study on this, you know.
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I've been hot, I've been lukewarm, I've been freezing, but I've always been a headliner.
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It takes many years to be a great comedian.
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My mother was a big influence. She kept pushing me because I was very shy and inhibited. And schoolwork was very difficult for me because I couldn't concentrate. I was failing almost every subject. To this day, I'm not too good at reading a book. But I was the president of my high school comedy group, and they treated me like a king.
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When you enter a room, you have to kiss his ring. I don't mind, but he has it in his back pocket.
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At 90, I'm still working a couple of dates a month. My mind is very sharp on the stage, so why not? This may sound corny, but I do it because people - young and old - still come to see me, and they're very enthusiastic about my work. They treat me like the Godfather.
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I always rib people, but nobody ever gives me a hard time. I don't know why. Maybe they're afraid of what I might say. There's probably a lesson in that somewhere, but I don't know what it is.
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Even when I was in high school and the Navy, I was the guy who could rip somebody, and they'd laugh at it.
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My mother was a Jewish General Patton.
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The highlight of my career was being at the inaugural gala of Ronald Reagan, and I owe that to Mr. Sinatra.