10 Indelible Quotes From King of Insult Comedy Don Rickles
Remembering the celebrated comic, who died Thursday.
By Nina Zipkin •
Legendary comedian Don Rickles died today at the age of 90 in his Los Angeles home. The stand up and late night mainstay got his start as the controversial equal opportunity insult comic he is remembered as today by poking fun at the famously temperamental Frank Sinatra.
He performed for presidents, was feared at celebrity roasts, co-starred with big name movie stars such as Clark Gable and Debbie Reynolds and was the voice of Mr. Potato Head in Pixar's Toy Story movies.
Read on for 10 of the most incisive and inspiring quotes from the man known as "Mr. Warmth" about originality and being yourself.
Related: 4 Ways to Engage Your Audience Like a Comedian
1. "Whatever you do to gain success, you have to hang in there and hope good things happen. Always think positive."
2. "You know, every night when I go out on stage, there's always one nagging fear in the back of my mind. I'm always afraid that somewhere out there, there is one person in the audience that I'm not going to offend!"
3. "Why should I retire? I'm like a fighter. The bell rings and you come out and fight."
4. "When you stand alone and sell yourself, you can't please everyone. But when you're different, you can last."
5. "You can't study comedy, It's within you. It's a personality. My humor is an attitude."
6. "Some people say funny things, but I say things funny."
7. "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."
8. "You got to have a lot of courage. Secondly, whatever it is you're doing you have to believe in it wholeheartedly. Thirdly, you have to be able to stand up in front of people and know that they'll laugh."
9. "Struggling is hard because you never know what's at the end of the tunnel."
10. "You throw your best punch -- otherwise, don't do it."
