Rodney Dangerfield
Encyclopedia
Rodney Dangerfield was an American
comedian
, and actor
, known for the catchphrases "I don't get no respect!," "No respect, no respect at all... that's the story of my life" or "I get no respect, I tell ya" and his monologue
s on that theme. He is also famous for his 1980s film roles, notably in Easy Money, Caddyshack
and Back To School.
in the town of Deer Park
, the son of Jewish parents, the vaudevillian
performer Phil Roy (Philip Cohen) and Dotty Teitelbaum. His ancestors came to the United States from Hungary
. He would later say that his father "was never home—he was out looking to make other kids," and that his mother "brought him up all wrong."
At the age of 15, he got his start writing jokes for standup comics
, and started performing himself at the age of 20 under the name Jack Roy. He struggled financially for nine years, at one point performing as a singing waiter until he was fired, and also working as a performing acrobatic
diver
before giving up show business
to take a job selling aluminum siding to support his wife and family. He later said that he was so little known then that "at the time I quit, I was the only one who knew I quit!"
He came to realize that what he lacked was an "image"—a well-defined on-stage persona
that audiences could relate to and that would distinguish him from similar comics. Returning to the East Coast, after being shunned by the premier comedy venues, he began to develop a character for whom nothing goes right.
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 at least as early as the December 21, 1941, broadcast and later as a pseudonym
by Ricky Nelson
on the TV program The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
. The Benny character, who also received little or no respect from the outside world, served as a great inspiration to Rodney when Dangerfield was developing his own comedy character. The "Biography" program also tells of the time Jack visited Rodney backstage after one of Rodney's performances. During this visit Jack complimented Rodney on developing such a wonderful comedy character and style. However, Jack Roy retained his legal name, as he mentioned from time to time. During a question-and-answer session with the audience on the album No Respect, Rodney joked that his real name was Percival Sweetwater.
needed a last-minute replacement for another act. Dangerfield became the surprise hit of the show.
Dangerfield began headlining shows in Las Vegas
and made frequent encore appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. He became a regular on The Dean Martin Show
and appeared on The Tonight Show
a total of 35 times. In 1969 Rodney Dangerfield teamed up with longtime friend Anthony Bevacqua to build Dangerfield's. Rodney now had a venue in which to perform on a regular basis, without having to constantly travel. The club became a huge success. Dangerfield's has been in continuous operation for over 40 years. Dangerfield's was the venue for several HBO shows which helped popularize many standup comics, including Jerry Seinfeld
, Jim Carrey
, Tim Allen
, Roseanne Barr
, Robert Townsend, Jeff Foxworthy
, Sam Kinison
, Bill Hicks
, Rita Rudner
, Andrew Dice Clay
, Louie Anderson
, and Bob Saget
.
His comedy album, No Respect, won a Grammy Award
. One of his TV specials featured a musical number, "Rappin' Rodney", and the associated video became an early MTV
hit.
led to starring roles in Easy Money and Back To School.
Throughout the 1980s, Dangerfield appeared in a series of commercials for Miller Lite
beer, including one where various celebrities who had appeared in the ads were holding a bowling match. After he was told "All we need is one pin, Rodney", Dangerfield's ball was shown going down the alley and bouncing off the pins, knocking down none of them.
One of Dangerfield's more memorable performances was in the 1980 golf comedy Caddyshack
, in which he played a nouveau riche
developer who joined a golf club and began shaking up the establishment of the club's old guard. His role was initially only a cameo appearance, but because he, Chevy Chase
and Bill Murray
(who also appeared in the movie) were so deft at improvisation, their roles were greatly expanded, much to the chagrin of some of their castmates .
In a change of pace from the comedy persona that made him famous, he played an abusive
father in Natural Born Killers
in a scene for which he wrote or rewrote all of his own lines.
Dangerfield was rejected for membership in the Motion Picture Academy in 1995 by the head of the Academy's Actors Section, Roddy McDowall
. After fan protests the Academy reconsidered, but Dangerfield then refused to accept membership.
Dangerfield appeared in an episode of The Simpsons
titled "Burns, Baby Burns
" wherein he played a character who is essentially a parody of his own persona, Mr. Burns
' son Larry Burns. He also appeared as himself in an episode of Home Improvement.
Dangerfield also appeared in the 2000 Adam Sandler
film Little Nicky
, playing Lucifer
, the father of Satan
(Harvey Keitel
) and grandfather of Nicky (Sandler).
He was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution
, which put one of his trademark white shirts and red ties on display. When he handed the shirt to the museum's curator, Rodney joked, "I have a feeling you're going to use this to clean Lindbergh's
plane."
Dangerfield played an important role in comedian Jim Carrey
's rise to stardom. In the 1980s, after watching Carrey perform at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, Rodney signed Carrey to open for his Las Vegas show. The two would tour together for about two more years.
were also very good friends.
The confusion of Dangerfield's stage persona with his real-life personality was a conception that he long resented. While Child described him as "classy, gentlemanly, sensitive and intelligent," people who met the comedian nonetheless treated him as the belligerent loser whose character he adopted in performance. In 2004 Dangerfield's autobiography, It's Not Easy Bein' Me: A Lifetime of No Respect but Plenty of Sex and Drugs (ISBN 0-06-621107-7) was published. The book's original title was My Love Affair With Marijuana
, a reference to his smoking material of choice for 60 years.
In 2001 Dangerfield had a mild heart attack while backstage at the Tonight Show. During Dangerfield's hospital stay, the staff was reportedly upset that he smoked marijuana in his room. But he was back at the Tonight Show a year later, performing on his 81st birthday. On April 8, 2003, Dangerfield underwent brain surgery
to improve blood flow in preparation for heart valve
-replacement surgery on August 24, 2004. Upon entering the hospital, he uttered another characteristic one-liner when asked how long he would be hospitalized: "If all goes well, about a week. If not, about an hour and a half."
In October 2003, the Orlando Sentinel
, and numerous other media outlets as well, reported that Rodney met with members of the Raelian religion (See Raëlism
) to discuss cloning himself. Joan Child, who was rumored to be a member of the religion, appeared with Rodney on television to discuss the meeting.
In September 2004, it was revealed that Dangerfield had been in a coma
for several weeks. Afterward, he began breathing on his own and showing signs of awareness when visited by friends. However, on October 5, 2004, he died at the UCLA Medical Center, from complications of the surgery he had undergone in August. He was a month and a half short of his 83rd birthday. Dangerfield was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
in Los Angeles. His headstone reads, "Rodney Dangerfield... There goes the neighborhood.”
Joan held an event in which the word "respect" had been emblazoned in the sky, while each guest was given a live Monarch butterfly
for a Native American
butterfly-release ceremony led by Farrah Fawcett
.
sitcom's episode "Leave it to Lopez" was dedicated in the memory of Rodney Dangerfield.
UCLA’s Division of Neurosurgery
named a suite of operating rooms after him and gave him the “Rodney Respect Award”, which his wife presented to Jay Leno
on October 20, 2005. It was presented on behalf of the David Geffen
School of Medicine/Division of Neurosurgery at UCLA at their 2005 Visionary Ball.
Saturday Night Live
ran a short sketch of Dangerfield (played by Darrell Hammond
) at the gates of heaven
. Saint Peter
mentions that he heard Dangerfield got no respect in life, which prompts Dangerfield to spew an entire string of his famous one-liners. After he's done, he asks why Saint Peter was so interested. Saint Peter replies, “I just wanted to hear those jokes one more time” and waves him into heaven.
On September 10, 2006, Comedy Central
aired a special titled Legends: Rodney Dangerfield which commemorated his life and legacy. Featured comedians included Adam Sandler
, Chris Rock
, Jay Leno
, Ray Romano
, Roseanne Barr
, Jerry Seinfeld
, Bob Saget
, Jerry Stiller
, Kevin Kline
and Jeff Foxworthy
.
In 2007, it was reported that a Rodney Dangerfield tattoo is among the most popular celebrity tattoos in the United States.
In The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
on 29 May 2009, Leno credited Dangerfield with the style of joke Leno had been using for the past few years. The format of the joke is that the comedian tells a sidekick how bad something is—in this case, guitar player Kevin Eubanks
—and the sidekick sets up the joke by asking just how bad that something is.. Eubanks has now been replaced by Ricky Minor.
Impressed by Dangerfield's role in Caddyshack
, Europet's design manager Allen Shuemaker brought forth the idea of creating a line of animal chew toys modeled after the comedian. The line had a short run in 1989 and, in recent years, have become highly desirable by a small group of collectors.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, known for the catchphrases "I don't get no respect!," "No respect, no respect at all... that's the story of my life" or "I get no respect, I tell ya" and his monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
s on that theme. He is also famous for his 1980s film roles, notably in Easy Money, Caddyshack
Caddyshack
Caddyshack is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis, and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, and Bill Murray...
and Back To School.
Early life
Dangerfield was born on Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
in the town of Deer Park
Deer Park, New York
Deer Park is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 27,745 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, the son of Jewish parents, the vaudevillian
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performer Phil Roy (Philip Cohen) and Dotty Teitelbaum. His ancestors came to the United States from Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. He would later say that his father "was never home—he was out looking to make other kids," and that his mother "brought him up all wrong."
At the age of 15, he got his start writing jokes for standup comics
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
, and started performing himself at the age of 20 under the name Jack Roy. He struggled financially for nine years, at one point performing as a singing waiter until he was fired, and also working as a performing acrobatic
Acrobatics
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...
diver
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
before giving up show business
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
to take a job selling aluminum siding to support his wife and family. He later said that he was so little known then that "at the time I quit, I was the only one who knew I quit!"
Early career
In the early 1960s he started down what would be a long road toward rehabilitating his career as an entertainer, still working as a salesman by day. He divorced first wife Joyce in 1961 and returned to the stage, but still with minimal success. He fell in debt about $20,000 by his own estimates, and couldn't get booked. As Rodney would later joke, "I played one club...it was so far out, my act was reviewed in Field & Stream."He came to realize that what he lacked was an "image"—a well-defined on-stage persona
Persona
A persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a character played by an actor. The word is derived from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatrical mask. The Latin word probably derived from the Etruscan word "phersu", with the same meaning, and that from the Greek πρόσωπον...
that audiences could relate to and that would distinguish him from similar comics. Returning to the East Coast, after being shunned by the premier comedy venues, he began to develop a character for whom nothing goes right.
He took the name Rodney Dangerfield, which had been used as the comical name of a faux cowboy star by Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
on his radio program at least as early as the December 21, 1941, broadcast and later as a pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
by Ricky Nelson
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
on the TV program The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years...
. The Benny character, who also received little or no respect from the outside world, served as a great inspiration to Rodney when Dangerfield was developing his own comedy character. The "Biography" program also tells of the time Jack visited Rodney backstage after one of Rodney's performances. During this visit Jack complimented Rodney on developing such a wonderful comedy character and style. However, Jack Roy retained his legal name, as he mentioned from time to time. During a question-and-answer session with the audience on the album No Respect, Rodney joked that his real name was Percival Sweetwater.
Career surge
Fate intervened on Sunday March 5, 1967 when The Ed Sullivan ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
needed a last-minute replacement for another act. Dangerfield became the surprise hit of the show.
Dangerfield began headlining shows in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
and made frequent encore appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. He became a regular on The Dean Martin Show
The Dean Martin Show
The Dean Martin Show is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by crooner Dean Martin...
and appeared on The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
a total of 35 times. In 1969 Rodney Dangerfield teamed up with longtime friend Anthony Bevacqua to build Dangerfield's. Rodney now had a venue in which to perform on a regular basis, without having to constantly travel. The club became a huge success. Dangerfield's has been in continuous operation for over 40 years. Dangerfield's was the venue for several HBO shows which helped popularize many standup comics, including Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
, Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
, Tim Allen
Tim Allen
Tim Allen is an American comedian, actor, voice-over artist, and entertainer, known for his role in the sitcom Home Improvement...
, Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Cherrie Barr is an American actress, comedian, writer, television producer and director. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the sitcom Roseanne. The show was a hit and lasted nine seasons, from 1988 to 1997...
, Robert Townsend, Jeff Foxworthy
Jeff Foxworthy
Jeffrey Marshall "Jeff" Foxworthy is an American comedian, television and radio personality and author. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a comedy troupe which also comprises Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall and Ron White. Known for his "you might be a redneck" one-liners, Foxworthy...
, Sam Kinison
Sam Kinison
Samuel Burl "Sam" Kinison was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Kinison was known for his intense, harsh and politically incorrect genre humor...
, Bill Hicks
Bill Hicks
William Melvin "Bill" Hicks was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material largely consisted of general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy, and personal issues. Hicks' material was often controversial and steeped in dark comedy...
, Rita Rudner
Rita Rudner
Rita Rudner is an American comedienne, writer and actress.-Early life:Rudner was born in Miami, Florida, the daughter of Frances, a homemaker, and Abe Rudner, a lawyer. Her mother died when she was 13. After graduating from high school at 15, Rudner left Miami and headed to New York City to embark...
, Andrew Dice Clay
Andrew Dice Clay
Andrew Dice Clay is an American comedian and actor who played the lead role in the film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.Clay has been in several movies and has released a number of stand-up albums...
, Louie Anderson
Louie Anderson
Louie Perry Anderson is an American stand-up comedian. Anderson created the cartoon series Life with Louie, has written three books, and was the initial host of the second revival of the game show Family Feud, from 1999 to 2002....
, and Bob Saget
Bob Saget
Robert Lane "Bob" Saget is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Although he is best known for his roles as Danny Tanner in Full House, host of America's Funniest Home Videos and Future Ted Mosby on How I Met Your Mother, Saget is also known outside of television for his blue...
.
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
. One of his TV specials featured a musical number, "Rappin' Rodney", and the associated video became an early MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
hit.
Career peak
Dangerfield's career peaked during the early 1980s, when he began acting in comedy movies. His appearance in CaddyshackCaddyshack
Caddyshack is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis, and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, and Bill Murray...
led to starring roles in Easy Money and Back To School.
Throughout the 1980s, Dangerfield appeared in a series of commercials for Miller Lite
Miller Lite
Miller Lite is a 4.2% abv pale lager brand sold by MillerCoors of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Sibling beers include Miller Genuine Draft and Miller High Life.-History:...
beer, including one where various celebrities who had appeared in the ads were holding a bowling match. After he was told "All we need is one pin, Rodney", Dangerfield's ball was shown going down the alley and bouncing off the pins, knocking down none of them.
One of Dangerfield's more memorable performances was in the 1980 golf comedy Caddyshack
Caddyshack
Caddyshack is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis, and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, and Bill Murray...
, in which he played a nouveau riche
Nouveau riche
The nouveau riche , or new money, comprise those who have acquired considerable wealth within their own generation...
developer who joined a golf club and began shaking up the establishment of the club's old guard. His role was initially only a cameo appearance, but because he, Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
and Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
(who also appeared in the movie) were so deft at improvisation, their roles were greatly expanded, much to the chagrin of some of their castmates .
In a change of pace from the comedy persona that made him famous, he played an abusive
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
father in Natural Born Killers
Natural Born Killers
Natural Born Killers is a 1994 crime/black comedy film directed by Oliver Stone about two victims of traumatic childhoods who became lovers and psychopathic serial killers, and are irresponsibly glorified by the mass media...
in a scene for which he wrote or rewrote all of his own lines.
Dangerfield was rejected for membership in the Motion Picture Academy in 1995 by the head of the Academy's Actors Section, Roddy McDowall
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
. After fan protests the Academy reconsidered, but Dangerfield then refused to accept membership.
Dangerfield appeared in an episode of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
titled "Burns, Baby Burns
Burns, Baby Burns
"Burns, Baby Burns" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons eighth season, first aired by the Fox network on November 17, 1996. Mr. Burns' long lost son Larry returns and although they at first get along well, Mr. Burns begins to see that his son has turned out to be an oaf. It was directed by Jim...
" wherein he played a character who is essentially a parody of his own persona, Mr. Burns
Montgomery Burns
Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer and previously Christopher Collins. Burns is the evil owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and is Homer...
' son Larry Burns. He also appeared as himself in an episode of Home Improvement.
Dangerfield also appeared in the 2000 Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
film Little Nicky
Little Nicky
Little Nicky is a 2000 American comedy film directed by Steven Brill. It stars Adam Sandler as Nicky, one of Satan's three sons.-Plot:The story revolves around a struggle to determine which of Satan's three sons will succeed their father as ruler of Hell...
, playing Lucifer
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
, the father of Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
(Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...
) and grandfather of Nicky (Sandler).
He was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, which put one of his trademark white shirts and red ties on display. When he handed the shirt to the museum's curator, Rodney joked, "I have a feeling you're going to use this to clean Lindbergh's
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
plane."
Dangerfield played an important role in comedian Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
's rise to stardom. In the 1980s, after watching Carrey perform at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, Rodney signed Carrey to open for his Las Vegas show. The two would tour together for about two more years.
Personal life
He was twice married to Joyce Indig, with whom he had a son, Brian, and a daughter, Melanie. He asked international platform speaker Dr. Cody Sweet to marry him in 1970, but she turned him down, respectfully. From 1993 to his death, he was married to Joan Child, who was instrumental in setting up his Internet site. He and comic Sam KinisonSam Kinison
Samuel Burl "Sam" Kinison was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Kinison was known for his intense, harsh and politically incorrect genre humor...
were also very good friends.
The confusion of Dangerfield's stage persona with his real-life personality was a conception that he long resented. While Child described him as "classy, gentlemanly, sensitive and intelligent," people who met the comedian nonetheless treated him as the belligerent loser whose character he adopted in performance. In 2004 Dangerfield's autobiography, It's Not Easy Bein' Me: A Lifetime of No Respect but Plenty of Sex and Drugs (ISBN 0-06-621107-7) was published. The book's original title was My Love Affair With Marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
, a reference to his smoking material of choice for 60 years.
Later years and death
Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spine, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system.-In the United States:In...
to improve blood flow in preparation for heart valve
Heart valve
A heart valve normally allows blood flow in only one direction through the heart. The four valves commonly represented in a mammalian heart determine the pathway of blood flow through the heart...
-replacement surgery on August 24, 2004. Upon entering the hospital, he uttered another characteristic one-liner when asked how long he would be hospitalized: "If all goes well, about a week. If not, about an hour and a half."
In October 2003, the Orlando Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel
The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. As of 2005, the Sentinel’s president and publisher was Kathleen Waltz; she announced her resignation in February 2008...
, and numerous other media outlets as well, reported that Rodney met with members of the Raelian religion (See Raëlism
Raëlism
Raëlism is a UFO religion that was founded in 1974 by Claude Vorilhon, now known as Raël.The Raëlian Movement teaches that life on Earth was scientifically created by a species of extraterrestrials, which they call the Elohim...
) to discuss cloning himself. Joan Child, who was rumored to be a member of the religion, appeared with Rodney on television to discuss the meeting.
In September 2004, it was revealed that Dangerfield had been in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
for several weeks. Afterward, he began breathing on his own and showing signs of awareness when visited by friends. However, on October 5, 2004, he died at the UCLA Medical Center, from complications of the surgery he had undergone in August. He was a month and a half short of his 83rd birthday. Dangerfield was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
The Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles, California. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood....
in Los Angeles. His headstone reads, "Rodney Dangerfield... There goes the neighborhood.”
Joan held an event in which the word "respect" had been emblazoned in the sky, while each guest was given a live Monarch butterfly
Monarch butterfly
The Monarch butterfly is a milkweed butterfly , in the family Nymphalidae. It is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies. Since the 19th century, it has been found in New Zealand, and in Australia since 1871 where it is called the Wanderer...
for a Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
butterfly-release ceremony led by Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...
.
Legacy
The George LopezGeorge Lopez
George Lopez is an American comedian, actor, and talk show host. He is mostly known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom George Lopez. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including the Mexican American culture...
sitcom's episode "Leave it to Lopez" was dedicated in the memory of Rodney Dangerfield.
UCLA’s Division of Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spine, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system.-In the United States:In...
named a suite of operating rooms after him and gave him the “Rodney Respect Award”, which his wife presented to Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
on October 20, 2005. It was presented on behalf of the David Geffen
David Geffen
David Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990...
School of Medicine/Division of Neurosurgery at UCLA at their 2005 Visionary Ball.
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
ran a short sketch of Dangerfield (played by Darrell Hammond
Darrell Hammond
Darrell Hammond is an American actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. He was a regular on Saturday Night Live from 1995 until 2009, the longest tenure of any cast member. Upon his departure, Hammond, at age 53, was the oldest cast member in the show's history...
) at the gates of heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
. Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
mentions that he heard Dangerfield got no respect in life, which prompts Dangerfield to spew an entire string of his famous one-liners. After he's done, he asks why Saint Peter was so interested. Saint Peter replies, “I just wanted to hear those jokes one more time” and waves him into heaven.
On September 10, 2006, Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
aired a special titled Legends: Rodney Dangerfield which commemorated his life and legacy. Featured comedians included Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
, Chris Rock
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
, Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
, Ray Romano
Ray Romano
Raymond Albert "Ray" Romano is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian, best known for his roles on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond and in the Ice Age film series. He recently starred in the TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age.-Early life:Romano was born in Queens, New York to Italian...
, Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Cherrie Barr is an American actress, comedian, writer, television producer and director. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the sitcom Roseanne. The show was a hit and lasted nine seasons, from 1988 to 1997...
, Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
, Bob Saget
Bob Saget
Robert Lane "Bob" Saget is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Although he is best known for his roles as Danny Tanner in Full House, host of America's Funniest Home Videos and Future Ted Mosby on How I Met Your Mother, Saget is also known outside of television for his blue...
, Jerry Stiller
Jerry Stiller
Gerald Isaac "Jerry" Stiller is an American comedian and actor.He spent many years in the comedy team Stiller and Meara with his wife Anne Meara...
, Kevin Kline
Kevin Kline
Kevin Delaney Kline is an American theatre, voice, film actor and comedian. He has won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award.- Early life :...
and Jeff Foxworthy
Jeff Foxworthy
Jeffrey Marshall "Jeff" Foxworthy is an American comedian, television and radio personality and author. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a comedy troupe which also comprises Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall and Ron White. Known for his "you might be a redneck" one-liners, Foxworthy...
.
In 2007, it was reported that a Rodney Dangerfield tattoo is among the most popular celebrity tattoos in the United States.
In The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
on 29 May 2009, Leno credited Dangerfield with the style of joke Leno had been using for the past few years. The format of the joke is that the comedian tells a sidekick how bad something is—in this case, guitar player Kevin Eubanks
Kevin Eubanks
Kevin Tyrone Eubanks is an American jazz guitarist and composer who was the leader of the Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno from 1995 to 2010. He also led The Primetime Band on the short-lived The Jay Leno Show.- Personal background :Eubanks was born into a musical family...
—and the sidekick sets up the joke by asking just how bad that something is.. Eubanks has now been replaced by Ricky Minor.
Impressed by Dangerfield's role in Caddyshack
Caddyshack
Caddyshack is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis, and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, and Bill Murray...
, Europet's design manager Allen Shuemaker brought forth the idea of creating a line of animal chew toys modeled after the comedian. The line had a short run in 1989 and, in recent years, have become highly desirable by a small group of collectors.
Filmography
- The ProjectionistThe Projectionist (film)The Projectionist is a 1971 film written and directed by Harry Hurwitz. It featured the film debut of Rodney Dangerfield. The film employs the use of superimposition of older films, the first time such techniques were used.-Plot:...
(1971) - CaddyshackCaddyshackCaddyshack is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis, and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, and Bill Murray...
(1980) - Easy Money (1983) (also writer)
- Back to School (1986) (also writer)
- Moving (1988) (Cameo)
- Rover DangerfieldRover DangerfieldRover Dangerfield is an animated feature film produced by Hyperion Pictures and released by Warner Bros., starring the voice talents of comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who also wrote and co-produced the film. It is about a street dog named Rover, who is owned by a Las Vegas showgirl. Rover gets dumped...
(1991) (voice) (also writer and producer) - LadybugsLadybugs (film)Ladybugs is a comedy and sports movie released in 1992 starring Rodney Dangerfield as Chester, a business man who takes over a girls soccer team which the company he works for sponsors to get them to win and get a promotion...
(1992) - Natural Born KillersNatural Born KillersNatural Born Killers is a 1994 crime/black comedy film directed by Oliver Stone about two victims of traumatic childhoods who became lovers and psychopathic serial killers, and are irresponsibly glorified by the mass media...
(1994) - CasperCasper (film)Casper is a 1995 American comedy fantasy film starring Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci, based on the Casper the Friendly Ghost animated cartoons and comic books. The ghosts featured in the film were created through computer-generated imagery...
(1995) (cameoCameo appearanceA cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
) - Casper: A Spirited BeginningCasper: A Spirited BeginningCasper: A Spirited Beginning is a direct-to-video spin-off prequel to the 1995 film Casper, produced by Harvey Comics and Saban Entertainment and released by 20th Century Fox on September 9, 1997...
(1997) - Meet Wally SparksMeet Wally SparksMeet Wally Sparks is a comedy film released in 1997 by Trimark Pictures. It stars Rodney Dangerfield and was directed by Peter Baldwin.-Plot:...
(1997) (also writer and producer) - Rusty: A Dog's TaleRusty: A Dog's TaleRusty: A Dog's Tale is a 1997 family film directed by Shuki Levy, starring Hal Holbrook and Rue McClanahan.- Synopsis :The film is about two orphans named Jory and Tess...
(1998) (voice) - The Godson (1998)
- Pirates: 3D Show (1999) (short subject)
- My 5 WivesMy 5 WivesMy 5 Wives is a 2000 film starring Rodney Dangerfield, directed by Sidney J. Furie.-Plot:A wealthy businessman, Monty Peterson, travels to Utah hoping to open a ski resort after his third marriage ends in divorce...
(2000) (also writer and producer) - Little NickyLittle NickyLittle Nicky is a 2000 American comedy film directed by Steven Brill. It stars Adam Sandler as Nicky, one of Satan's three sons.-Plot:The story revolves around a struggle to determine which of Satan's three sons will succeed their father as ruler of Hell...
(2000) - Back by MidnightBack by MidnightBack By Midnight is a 2002 comedy film starring Rodney Dangerfield, Phil LaMarr, Harland Williams, Randy Quaid, Gilbert Gottfried, and Kirstie Alley. However, it was not released until 2005...
(2002) (also writer) - The 4th Tenor (2002) (also writer)
- Three 'S' a Crowd (2005)
- Angels with Angles (2005)
- The Onion MovieThe Onion MovieThe Onion Movie is a comedy film written by The Onion writers Robert D. Siegel and Todd Hanson along with the Chicago-based writing staff of the paper...
(2008)
TV work
- The Dean Martin ShowThe Dean Martin ShowThe Dean Martin Show is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by crooner Dean Martin...
(regular performer from 1972–1973) - The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
(frequent guest) - "The Tonight Show with Jay LenoThe Tonight Show with Jay LenoThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
" (frequent guest) - Benny and Barney: Las Vegas Undercover (1977)
- The Rodney Dangerfield Show: It's Not Easy Bein' Me (1982)
- Rodney Dangerfield: I Can't Take It No More (1983)
- Rodney Dangerfield: It's Not Easy Bein' Me (1986)
- Rodney Dangerfield: Nothin' Goes Right (1988)
- Where's Rodney (1990) (unsold pilot)
- Rodney Dangerfield's The Really Big Show (1991)
- Rodney Dangerfield: It's Lonely at the Top (1992)
- In Living ColorIn Living ColorIn Living Color is an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...
(1993) - The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
(1996) (voice of Mr. Burns's son, Larry Burns in the episode "Burns, Baby BurnsBurns, Baby Burns"Burns, Baby Burns" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons eighth season, first aired by the Fox network on November 17, 1996. Mr. Burns' long lost son Larry returns and although they at first get along well, Mr. Burns begins to see that his son has turned out to be an oaf. It was directed by Jim...
") - Suddenly SusanSuddenly SusanSuddenly Susan is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The show takes place at The Gate, a fictitious magazine which is based in San Francisco. Among the magazine's employees is Susan Keane , who always has been cared for by someone else...
(1996) (Plays Artie-an appliance repairman who dies while fixing Susans oven) - Home Improvement (1997) Himself
- Rodney Dangerfield's 75th Birthday Toast (1997)
- Dr. Katz, Professional TherapistDr. Katz, Professional TherapistDr. Katz, Professional Therapist is an American animated series that originally ran on Comedy Central from May 28, 1995 to December 24, 1999,–with a final set of three shelved episodes airing in 2002–starring Jonathan Katz, Jon Benjamin, and Laura Silverman...
(1997) (voice, as himself) in the episode "Day Planner" - The Electric Piper (2003) (voice)
- Phil of the FuturePhil of the FuturePhil of the Future is an American situation comedy that originally aired on Disney Channel from June 18, 2004, to August 19, 2006 for a total of two seasons. The series was created by Tim Maile and Douglas Tuber and produced by 2121 Productions, a part of Brookwell McNamara Entertainment...
(2004) (voice of Max the Dog in episode "Doggie Daycare") - Still StandingStill Standing (TV series)Still Standing is an American sitcom television series. It debuted on CBS on September 30, 2002, and ended March 8, 2006. Lifetime obtained the United States syndication rights to the show in February 2005 and aired it until 2009...
(2004) - RodneyRodney (TV series)Rodney is an American television sitcom that was shown on ABC from September 21, 2004, to June 6, 2006. Ric Swartzlander was the creator and executive producer of the comedy series...
(2004) Himself (Episode aired shortly after his death) - The George Lopez ShowGeorge Lopez (TV series)"The George Lopez Show" redirects here. For the late-night program hosted by the same comedian, see Lopez Tonight.George Lopez is an American sitcom starring comedian George Lopez...
(2004) Leave it to Rhett - Life insurance agent - Episode dedicated to his memory
Discography
- What's in a Name? (1966) re-released as The Loser (1977)
- I Don't Get No Respect (1980)
- No Respect (1981)
- Rappin' Rodney (1983)
- La Contessa (1995)
- Romeo Rodney (2005)
- 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Rodney Dangerfield (2005)
- Greatest Bits (2008)