Don Rickles

Don Rickles was an American stand-up comedian and actor known for his insult comedy, who built a six-decade career on Las Vegas stages, late-night talk shows, and film and television roles.

Donald Jay Rickles was born on May 8, 1926, in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, New York. His father, Max Rickles, was an insurance agent of Lithuanian Jewish descent, and his mother, Etta, was Austrian Jewish. He grew up in New York City as an only child.

After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II aboard the USS Cyrene, he studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Struggling to find serious acting work, he turned to stand-up comedy in nightclubs in the early 1950s, refining his style of teasing audience members.

Rickles became a regular in Las Vegas showrooms and on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, appearing more than 100 times. He acted in films including Run Silent, Run Deep, Kelly's Heroes, and Martin Scorsese's Casino, and voiced Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story series. He won an Emmy for the 2007 documentary Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project and died in Los Angeles on April 6, 2017.

Their name Don derives from the Gaelic name Donald, meaning world ruler, and is also used as a short form. Don has been used as a given name in English-speaking countries since the early 20th century.