Don Rickles

I read that Don Rickles passed away. That is so sad for me. I didn't hear about it until a couple days after it happened.

I saw him once in Reno, Nevada. He didn't enter on stage. The lights were down. And then a giant spotlight lit up a spot in the audience and it was Rickles standing there. It was right next to me! I was right next to Don Rickles. Then he made his way onto the stage.

I knew a guy that one time got called up on stage. He asked, "What do you do for a living?" "I'm a potato farmer from Malin, Oregon." And away we go. I'm sure Rickles had a field day with that lead in.

He was mostly the best on the Tonight Show. I don't know how much of his stuff was ad-libbed, but it seemed like it all was. You've got to have a great mind to be able to think like that. Here's a good example - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUI72AWj-pc They say he was the one that started insult comedy. Generally, I hate that. Everyone that does that after him is a bum. But Don Rickles was great.