Don Rickles

I do situations and make fun of authority and life. ”

You got to have a lot of courage. Secondly, whatever it is you're doing, you have to believe in it wholeheartedly. Thirdly, you have to be able to stand up in front of people and know that they'll laugh. ”

I busted my bird for 60 years in the business, but my grandkids only know me as Mr. Potato Head. ”

If something strikes me as funny, I'll put it in my performance. ”

Among my friends, I'm not a little Boy Scout, and they love my humor, thank God. ”

My mother was a big influence. She kept pushing me because I was very shy and inhibited. And schoolwork was very difficult for me because I couldn't concentrate. I was failing almost every subject. To this day, I'm not too good at reading a book. But I was the president of my high school comedy group, and they treated me like a king. ”

When I was a younger guy doing comedy, it was a big struggle. Promoters canceled me out of clubs left and right when I called somebody a dummy or a yo-yo. Then they realized I was different. ”

If I were to insult people and mean it, that wouldn't be funny. ”

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. ”

Half the battle is that people have to like you before you say one joke, one bit of humor. ”