Nobody Breaks Celebrities Like Don Rickles

Most comedians roast people carefully. Don Rickles psychologically rearranged them in real time — and the craziest part is they thanked him for it every single time. Frank Sinatra once did him a favour. Walked over to his table at a New York restaurant to impress a girl Rickles was trying to win over. Rickles looked up at him and said can't you see I'm eating Frank. Sinatra told that story himself. On television. Still laughing about it decades later. Johnny Carson was one of the most powerful men in late night television. Rickles treated every single appearance on his show like an eviction notice being served in person. When Carson announced his retirement after thirty years Rickles showed up and told him they asked you to get out and you're walking away gracefully. Then described in detail how many people Carson employed just to catch his spit. Clint Eastwood spent decades building the most intimidating image in Hollywood. Rickles spent those same decades completely ignoring it. Told him on stage in front of Spielberg and a room full of Hollywood's most powerful people that he was a lousy actor. Said Clint's idea of a good time was sitting on a pickup truck watching his dog bark. Eastwood laughed. Which was the only correct response. Robert De Niro sat across from Rickles on the Casino set and got told to stop with the method acting and the breathing and just learn the lines so everyone could go home. De Niro's face in that moment is one of the greatest reactions in Hollywood history. Martin Scorsese was being honoured at a major ceremony. Rickles walked to the podium at 11pm and announced he was fed up and tired. Then asked someone to get Scorsese a phone book so he could see over the lectern. Denzel Washington sat next to David Letterman on the same couch as Rickles and found out immediately that this was a mistake. Rickles pointed out Denzel makes $40 billion a year and was sitting there doing nothing. Letterman told Rickles he was always thinking about him. Rickles said sure you are and I'm Adolf Hitler. Then moved on without explaining why he said that. Ronald Reagan was sitting in the room when Rickles reminded him they had met exactly once in a hallway at NBC. Reagan had said get out of the way kid. Rickles said he never forgot those words. Reagan laughed. This was the correct response from the most powerful person on earth. Roberto Benigni sat across from Rickles and started explaining he'd begun his career as a magician in Italy. Rickles looked at him and said what the hell does he want from me. Then looked genuinely confused by his own reaction. At a ceremony honouring Mr T Rickles opened by saying he had met Mr T many years ago in a 7-Eleven and Mr T had said give me your money. Mr T was in the room. The audience wasn't sure what had just happened. Rickles moved to the next joke before anyone could process it. Nobody was safe. Not presidents. Not Oscar winners. Not legends. Not neighbours. Not the most feared men in Hollywood. Every single one of them got the same treatment. Every single one of them came back for more. Hashtags #DonRickles #DonRicklesFunny #MrWarmth #FrankSinatra #JohnnyCarson #ClintEastwood #RobertDeNiro #MartinScorsese #DenzelWashington #DavidLetterman #RonaldReagan #MrT #RobertoBenigni #JayLeno #JuliaRoberts #CelebrityRoast #ComedyLegend #InsultComedy #ClassicHollywood #PopCulture #EntertainmentCommentary #Iconic #Viral #Unforgettable #OldSchoolComedy