I only met him once, backstage at the "Late Show with David Letterman," and he insulted everyone except me. So I followed him outside and got him to ask me "where are you from? Pakistan? India?" I told him I was born in Maryland and he said "oh, that's better?!"
For many people, Rickles was either the voice of Mr. Potato Head in "Toy Story," or a comedian who spewed ethnic insults. For me, I could appreciate him when he quipped about "dropping my pants and firing a rocket," or calling someone a "baby gorilla" or ignoring Johnny Carson or insinuating that President Reagan was senile.
I wrote about one of Rickles' great TV appearances back in this post, but figured that now, I should list what I feel are his Top 10. For people who think I'm biased (most of these appearances are from the 1970s and 1980s), it's only because he really only started doing his act in the early 1960s, and there's very little existing film or tape of him until the late 1960s. In the last decade, he had slowed down considerably, especially after his son passed away, so that leaves out most everything after the turn-of-the-century (with one major exception below). In between, there was also a period where he was trying to be more of an actor (on sitcoms like "CPO Sharkey" and "Daddy Dearest") or "versatile performer" (such as on variety specials or the weird "Two Top Bananas" with Don Adams). So there aren't many avenues to choose from aside from talk shows... but what's there is dynamite.
1) Saturday Night Live, 1984: I wrote about his epic monologue here; it's about 10 minutes of prime Rickles, in an era when he was finding himself less-welcome on major talk shows. It almost seems like he was trying to re-establish his career. And he did!
2) Late Show with David Letterman, 2008: Most of Don's appearances with Dave are very memorable, but this one stands out because Denzel Washington stayed on the couch to interact with Don. What ensues is classic.
3) Reagan inaugural, 1985: Lifelong Democrat Don Rickles played Ronald Reagan's second inaugural at the request of host Frank Sinatra. Rickles has often told the story of how Sinatra said, "if you won't have Rickles, you don't have me." Don absolutely destroys the celebrities in the audience, and has said it was one of the biggest honors of his career.
4) AFI Salute To Martin Scorsese, 1997: Once again, Rickles masterfully destroys an audience of celebrities.
5) Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, 1976: Rickles comes out as a "surprise" guest during Frank Sinatra's lone appearance with Carson. Once again, having an extra celebrity to play off of seems to give Don a charge. (Honorable mention: Rickles as guest when Sinatra guest-hosted a year later).
6) Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 10th Anniversary, 1972: Don popped over (while taping a special) to pay tribute to Johnny, on a stage that includes Jack Benny and Joey Bishop. His advice to Benny is classic, and I wish Johnny had let him finish the story about Jack in Las Vegas.
7) Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, 1991: Die-hard Rickles fans probably think I'm crazy for placing the Carson appearances lower than some of the others. However, if you watch them today, many times they drag a bit since Don and Johnny spend a great deal of time as friends just catching up. On other shows, Don was there solely to KILL. Still, this penultimate appearance on the "Tonight Show" is one of my favorites.
8) Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, 1968: One of the few NYC-era Carson clips to survive, it's funniest if you see the whole thing (and not the short excerpt that was used in compilations). Don's increasing needling is what makes this work.
9) Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, 1978: The "cigar box incident" probably would have placed higher if I hadn't seen it 10,000 times already. Still good, especially if you can find the longer version in which Johnny imitates Don's racial taunting. (Modern airings of this clip edit that out, since they probably figure it would inadvertently make Johnny seem racist).
10) The Dean Martin Show, 1968: One of the first times anyone had dared put Rickles on national television, just doing his act. It might drag in places near the end, or seem dated with all the references to then-current celebrities, but it's still funny. Sad to think that only Bob Newhart, Pat Boone and Barbara Eden are still living.
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