Don Rickles

“To this day, when I say that I went to the American Academy, people are very impressed. The reputation of the school has always been fantastic.”

“I was always the guy who made jokes and ribbed people at parties. After I went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts I got sidetracked into clubs and started doing comedy.”

“I've got an accountant who's been with me forty years. If he makes a mistake, he dies.”

“The man I adored, and miss him terribly, was Johnny Carson.”

“Alan King, a comedian I adored, was considered society, and I was considered the Jewish kid from the neighborhood.”

“I don't drink much anymore, but when I traveled with Frank Sinatra, God rest his soul, I used to drink like I could do it. He made it a test. In Vegas, the Rat Pack, which I was a little par...”

“Italians are fantastic people, really. They can work you over in an alley while singing an opera.”

“Asians are nice people, but they burn a lot of shirts.”

“In the 45 years I've worked in casinos, I dreamed of being honored by an organization like the American Gaming Association, especially since I don't even have a hunting license.”

“I don't care if the average guy on the street really knows what I'm like, as long as he knows I'm not really a mean, vicious guy. My friends and family know what I'm really like. That's what...”

“The average person pushes an elevator button 6 or 7 minutes before realizing it's not working. I did a study on this, you know.”

“We were Orthodox Jews, but we really didn't deserve it. I mean, bacon - my father said, 'Don't put bacon in the house,' but we had bacon. We didn't keep kosher. And we observed which today w...”

“I stopped smoking. But my personality I still have. I get up in the morning, and not everybody loves me, so if you want to call that a bad habit, there's that.”

“My wife, Barbara, is great. She arranges when I do work that I have a day off between performances.”

“Sinatra had a lot of mood swings, but he was wonderful to my wife Barbara and to me. He made no bones about who he liked and who he loved, and he had this great charisma. When he walked into...”

“Girls were scared of me because I can be loud. Barbara, my wife of 51 years, is very low-key. She was my picture agent's secretary.”

“I can get an audience screaming in Las Vegas and say, 'Barbara, that was a great show,' and she'll say, 'Would you please hurry up? We have dinner reservations at 9:30.'”

“Herb Solo at that time was the head of MGM. I said, 'I want to live like Clint Eastwood.' Did I know at that time Clint Eastwood, to him, Heaven was a truck, a dog, and a picnic basket for f...”

“After over 50 years of headlining, I've been received very beautifully. But I always say, when you're onstage, you can't please everybody. I'm sure there are people who may not take to what...”

“Why should I retire? I'm like a fighter. The bell rings, and you come out and fight.”