Don Rickles - Hello Dummy!

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Don Rickles - The Comedian Who Thumbs His Nose at Political Correctness

Recorded in 1968, Don Rickles is heard in this 40 minute audio recording performing his "typical" Las Vegas nightclub routine - as a man who thwarts political correctness and comedically savages every race, religion, media star, and profession known to mankind! I say this is "typical" Rickles because I have heard many of these routines before on U-Tube and on television, and these are the routines Rickles is known for. He blasts his Jewish heritage, "The Chosen Race", his wife, his sex life, Latinos, Polacks, American Indians, Blacks, Puerto Ricans, "queers" (as he calls them), fat guys, fellow comedian Don Adams, and even the legend himself, Ed Sullivan! The put-downs come a mile a minute and one has to listen closely to hear every last one of them. Some hit the funny bone dead-on, while others miss the mark slightly. Overall, I think this is a funny recording, especially the first time you listen to it. As with all recorded comedy routines, (which for the most part rely on the element of surprise to make you laugh), this is not an album that you will listen to over and over. I will probably listen to it one a year or so. I bought it because I wanted the younger generation to hear whom I considered a very funny man in my day.

My 23 year old son commented that Rickle's comedy was so different from any other form of comedy he had heard before. He wondered how Rickles could get away with the racial jokes - the same jokes that would be considered "hate-speech" today. And yet, this was an era before the advent of political correctness (thank goodness). My 18 year old daughter hardly laughed at all when she heard the album, so evidently, some of Rickle's humor does not translate through the generations. My wife thinks Rickles is an idiot. I really do think that it comes down to whether you enjoy his humor and can see the comedic genius that resides in this remarkable man. Some can see the genius and laugh, while others turn away shocked and dismayed. Rickles is not for everyone.

Rickle's humor is unique. No one else did what he did, or if they tried, could not do it as well as Rickles. He was and is the master of the put-down, yet he always closes his routine with a plea for humans to love one another across racial and religious lines. He explains that his humor is meant to poke fun at the preconceived notions we have about other races and religions, and to dispel bigotry, not promote it.

I have the Don Rickles Project (DVD), and I actually like this audio recording better, as it does not have the profanity the DVD contains. If you want a small taste of what Don Rickles is like, you can't go wrong with this album. To me, Rickles is one of the funniest men in America. He really tickles my funny bone. Rickles is an aquired taste and is not for everyone however. If you buy "used" you are only chancing less than 4 dollars for this recording - a small price to pay for a great comedian.

Jim Koenig



November 14, 2008

I hoped it would be better, but it's still Don Rickles.

I've been a fan of Don Rickles since I was a kid. His charm comes from his quick wit and biting sarcasm which is belied by a kind of warmth and a sense of playfully poking fun without a shred of true malice.

This kind of implicit irony may qualify Rickles as, at the very least, the progenitor of post-modern and alternative comedy. It should be noted that it is quite an achievement for an insult comedian to rise to the level that Rickles achieved. Contemporary comics like Carlos Mencia and Lisa Lampanelli, along with many others, owe a great debt to Don Rickles.

Sadly, Rickles' Hello Dummy CD was a tad disappointing. His performance comes off as a little bit rote and his conspicuous use of the transitional phrase "anyway gang" becomes very tiresome. Still, there is quite a bit that is amusing, if somewhat dated, on this CD. After all, it's still Don Rickles.

Admittedly, my opinion of this CD is partially colored by my having seen Rickles in other contexts performing with much higher energy, sounding more off-the-cuff, and as brilliant as any comic I have seen or heard anywhere. So, compared to Rickles' very best stuff, Hello Dummy doesn't quite measure-up.

Still, this CD would be very interesting, and possibly indispensable, for hardcore Rickles fans (like me) and students of stand-up comedy. If I could, I would give this CD 3.5 stars. November 8, 2007

Rickles Vintage 1968 at a Night Club

Rickles is not for everyone but he is just spontaneous and pretty funny, and a bit raw, in this 1968 live night club performance as he typially makes fun of everyone in the audience regardless of color or ethnic background that includes himself. A little crude at times but not significantly so considering these times. And he ribs just about everyone in the audience who respond in good humor regardess of religous or ethnic background. Post Imus, this may be unsettling to some but Rickles was an equal opportunity insult comic and he includes himself. Favorte line to a young Jewish couple as he asks the new husband, "What line of business is your father-in-law in that will let you to retire on his money?" July 20, 2007

Great and Funny if a little dated

This is a great example of Don Rickles humor from the late 60s. The judge it by what is funny in todays politically correct time is to due it a great injustice. Rickles has always been great and this shows him at his prime. The humor is a little insensitive but perhaps we as an audience have just become too sensitive. Judge it as a record of it's time and not as Rickles today. If you are judging comedy of the past by today's standards then don't listen to L.Bruce, R.Pryor,G.Carlin, or even R.Dangerfield because they all would fail today's "PC" police. May 11, 2006

Awful.

I agree with the nay-sayers. I have always liked Don Rickles, but this CD isn't just not clever or funny, it's embarassingly bad. (Maybe he was better on TV??) Times have changed, of course, but besides the political incorrectness - picking on "the Mexican" and "the queer" in the audience - (very weak, unfunny jibes )- it just isn't good Don Rickles. I agree with someone else's comment that there must be much better Rickles material than this, available in the vaults. I have now heard this CD, and have just thrown it in the trash. I wouldn't give this to anybody as a gift. I can use the plastic case that it came in, at least. January 19, 2006

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