Legendary Comedian Don Rickles Dead at Age 90

Don Rickles, a legendary comedian who could wise crack with the best of them, has passed away at the age of 90, as reported today.

Don Rickles would be the kind of comedian your dad knows, but for some of us younger folks, the voice of Mr. Potato Head will live on forever. If you’ve seen Toy Story, then you’re familiar with the wisecracking toy who constantly put Woody the Cowboy in his place. Remember the famous line, “What are you lookin’ at, you hockey puck?”

That was all Don Rickles. The very phrase “hockey puck” was attributed to Don Rickles, because he called people that all the time. Insulting people was what he was good at. In the most endearing way possible.

Because when he performed or took the stage or dropped a joke, there was a level of spice that nobody else could beat. Don Rickles was a legend, even though the peak of his career was back in the ’50s and ’60s.

Rickles was born in 1926, and by 1943, he was a star. He was part of the Rat Pack, a group famous by name alone that consisted of people like Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.

Throughout the ’60s, he tried to launch a variety of sitcoms and comedy shows, but none of them really stuck, even with a masterful comedian like Rickles at the helm. Still, he worked for decades upon decades and never seemed to fade from the spotlight. He was always in the background. When you think of legendary comedians, Rickles always comes up in conversation.

Unfortunately, the last joke we hear from Rickles may come from Toy Story 4 in 2019, but it’s unclear how much production was completed before his death.

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Don Rickles deserves to be remembered for his humor, but luckily, if you ever need a laugh, you can go back to old Johnny Carson videos or just pop in Toy Story just one more time.