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Remembering Rodney Dangerfield on his 102nd Birthday [1]
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Date: 2023-11-22
Rodney Dangerfield (Nov 22, 1921 – Oct 5, 2004), the comedic genius, would have been 102 today.
Let’s take a few moments off the stressful news cycle and celebrate his birthday by taking a look at his life, his struggles, his rise to fame and the everlasting gift he gave to the world — the gift of laughter.
(Note: this diary is mostly a copy of a diary posted 4 years ago).
Here is a short synopsis of his life and career, culled mainly from en.wikipedia.org/….
Rodney Dangerfield was born Jacob Rodney Cohen in Babylon, Long Island, New York, OTD on November 22, 1921.
After Cohen's father abandoned the family, he delivered groceries and sold newspapers and ice cream at the beach, to support the family.
At the age of 15, he began to write for stand-up comedians while performing at a resort in Ellenville, New York. At the age of 19 he legally changed his name to Jack Roy. He struggled financially for nine years, at one point performing as a singing waiter until he was fired, before taking a job selling aluminum siding in the mid-1950s to support his wife and family.
In the early 1960s, he was working a salesman by day and performing at many hotels in the Catskill Mountains, with minimal success. He took the name Rodney Dangerfield, which had been used as the comical name of a faux cowboy star by Jack Benny on his radio program.
On Sunday, March 5, 1967, The Ed Sullivan Show needed a last-minute replacement for another act, and Dangerfield became the surprise hit of the show. That’s when his career took off as he began headlining shows in Las Vegas and continued making frequent appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. He also became a regular on The Dean Martin Show and appeared on The Tonight Show a total of 35 times.
One of his quips as a standup comedian was, “I walked into a bar the other day and ordered a drink. The bartender says, ‘I can’t serve you.’ I said, ‘Why not? I'm over 21!’ He said, ‘You’re just too ugly.’ I said as always, ‘Boy I tell you, I get no respect around here’.” The “no respect” phrase would come to define his act in the years that followed.
The 1980’s brought him more “respect” and fame when he starred in such memorable comedy films as Caddyshack, Easy Money and Back to School.
Dangerfield died on October 5, 2004 at the age of 83, after complications from heart valve surgery.
Now let’s take a look at Dangerfield’s words, famous one-liners and a few clips from his appearances on TV shows and films, starting with an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1969.
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Johnny Carson would crack up when Rodney was the guest on his show.
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Here are few compilations of his stand-up one-liners.
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The two films I remember him most by are Caddyshack and Back to School. In both films, he played more complex and characters than his “No respect” persona. His on-screen character, although goofy and crass at times, had the audience rooting for him all the way. And he was funny as ever. I never tire of watching these well-crafted movies.
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Quotes
Here are a few of his delicious one-liners (source en.wikiquote.org/…) —
I was an ugly kid. When I was born, after the doctor cut the cord, he hung himself.
In my life I've been through plenty. when I was three years old, my parents got a dog. I was jealous of the dog, so they got rid of me.
What a childhood I had. Once on my birthday my ol' man gave me a bat. The first day I played with it, it flew away.
When I was a kid I got no respect. When my parents got divorced there was a custody fight over me... and no one showed up.
When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them
It was the same thing when I was a kid. No respect. My yo-yo, it never came back.
I told my doctor I broke my arm in two places. He told me to keep out of those places.
A homeless guy came up to me on the street, said he hadn't eaten in four days. I told him, "Man, I wish I had your willpower."
I tell ya, I grew up in a tough neighborhood. The other night a guy pulled a knife on me. I could see it wasn't a real professional job. There was butter on it.
I like to date schoolteachers. If you do something wrong, they make you do it over again.
I tell ya, my wife's a lousy cook. After dinner, I don't brush my teeth. I count them.
Marriage...it's not a word, it's a sentence
I get no respect. The way my luck is running, if I was a politician I would be honest.
I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out.
I met the surgeon general - he offered me a cigarette
I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous, everyone hasn't met me yet.
Why, that's the story of my life--no respect; I mean, I don't get no respect at all!
The SNL Tribute
The weekend after his death, Saturday Night Live ran a short sketch of Dangerfield (played by Darrell Hammond) at the gates of heaven. Saint Peter asks a bunch of questions, which Dangerfield answers with his famous one-liners. After he's done, he asks Saint Peter “what’s with all the questions?” Saint Peter replies, “I just wanted to hear those jokes one more time” and waves him into heaven, prompting Dangerfield to joyfully declare: “Finally! A little respect!”
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Come share your memories, stories, favorite scenes and one-liners from one the greatest comedians of all time, Rodney Dangerfield.
Further Reading
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