Rickles' Book: A Memoir (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Insult comic Rickles has written a feel-good memoir that's loaded with photos and sentiment. The only son of loving parents, today he's an 80-year-old grandfather who still performs nationwide. The most interesting bits—his climb to the top—are told only in broad strokes. The tone is friendly and conversational, however, as he describes, among other things, his style: "I found a distinct sense of sarcasm and humorous exaggeration." Rickles wanted to be a serious actor, but he started as a comic in strip clubs and worked his way up. His break came when Sinatra heard him—and he used Sinatra's influence to get him better gigs. Yet for a guy famous for calling others a "hockey puck," Rickles's story is Hollywood lite. There's no backstage drama, no sex, no gossip. When he name-drops celebrities, it's always in glowing terms. We learn of his short-lived TV shows, CPO Sharkey and The Don Rickles Show, and how voicing Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story jump-started his later career. Those looking for a sardonic autobiography will be disappointed; Rickles accentuates the positive. If he has a bad word to say about anyone, he'll probably save it for his act. (June)
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Review

"What a terrific book. Honest, funny, down-to-earth. A helluva read."

-- Larry King --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition. 1 in number line edition (May 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743293053
• ISBN-13: 978-0743293051
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #300,680 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars RICK SHAQ GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "MERELY SNIPPETS OF RICKLES!", June 13, 2007

By	Rick Shaq Goldstein "Rick Shaq Goldstein" (Danville, Ca, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I believe the "mission" of a reviewer is to give the good and the bad in this review of Rickles' book. I am a lifetime Don Rickles fan, all the way back to when I was a kid and my parents let me stay up late to watch him on the Tonite Show. He was hilarious and irreverent then and he still is today. The first thing I want to emphasize in my review, is that I will not use the phrase "chapters" because the "SNIPPETS" are way too short to be confused with a chapter. The Amazon overview you've probably already looked at says this book is 256 pages. My book that is sitting right next to the keyboard as I type is 239 pages. And even the word page is an exaggeration! Between each snippet (i.e.: chapter, oops! I used the word after I said I wouldn't. Last time I promise!) is a blank page, yet the blanks count in the aforementioned 239. Next there are pictures throughout the book, some take full pages, some take ½ pages. So, if you subtract the blank pages, and the picture pages, this book couldn't be 150 pages. Wait! There's more! The print on the pages is large, and there are very large spaces between paragraphs, and last but not least, most of the "writing" are quick little comments like: "Got any spare change? He asked me. (That's a printed line.) "I gave him five bucks." (That's a line.) "Go buy yourself a ranch," I said. (That's a line.) My point Is, I wouldn't spend my money on the hard cover edition, I'd wait for the paperback. To give you an idea of the brevity of this book, if you travel a lot like I do, and you needed to purchase a book to read on a flight from California to New York and back, you better buy two books. You will have this book complete on the going, and if you didn't listen to me, you'd have nothing to read on the coming. One other reason, I was disappointed in the totality of this book. When I heard Rickles was releasing a book, I was so excited, and couldn't wait to get to hear all the inside stories of his amazing life, but I did not get stories I got "snippets". A perfect example: World War II, Rickles is in the Navy; Man! What stories this comic mad man will spin for us! Wrong! Not counting the page with a picture, his whole World War II experience, is told in a short 3-½ pages. In summary, if you realize this isn't really a book, you should buy it, but you should buy the paperback edition. Each snippet is like the little squares of comedy at the bottom of a Readers Digest page. In fact, if you saw him on Larry King last week, in his hour chit-chat with Larry, he actually verbalized the entire book. To the Amazon readers that read my review I hope you appreciate this review for the truth provided, and rate it as helpful.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Warmth!, May 6, 2007

By	Paul Manfredi (Pittsburgh, PA USA!) - See all my reviews

Very entertaining and easy to read book! Each chapter is only a few pages in length and this book is full of so many interesting stories, that this becomes a real page turner! I laughed out loud many times! I especially enjoyed the stories about Mr. S. (Sinatra), the great Johnny Carson, and Don's friendship with Bob Newhart. I wish this book was longer because it is so enjoyable. I saw Don perform in Las Vegas about five years ago (great show!) and it was good to read and learn about his other side: his wonderful wife Barbara. This book is a real who's who of Hollywood. There just aren't performers like Don Rickles anymore. This is a very enjoyable book and I highly recommend it!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy Beach Reading for the Summer especially if you only have Two Hours, May 25, 2007

By	Nathan A. Gordon (WESTPORT, CT USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I would guess that if I had read Don's book on a flight from NYC to LA, I would have finished it by the time we flew over the Mississipi. It's a fun book but unfortunately a short one (double-spaced, large print and plenty of wasted "white space"). But I still recommend it for Rickles' fans (I'm one of those) and I would buy it again for my personal show biz collection.

On the plus side, having followed Don's career since his early 30 Rock appearances in the mid-sixties with Johnny, I had a checklist of things I had hoped he would cover and--wouldn't you know it--he covered them all: his life-long obsession and multi-faceted relationship with Frank Sinatra (who nicknamed Don, "Bullethead"), his interactions with three of my all-time favorites--Jack Benny, Bob Hope and Milton Berle--his relationship with Johnny, his long friendships with Don Adams and Bob Newhart, how he met his wife and lastly, how his career surged forward after his success as a night club comic at the Slate Brothers in LA. We learn a little about Don's mother and father (his mother had Sandra Berlinger qualities). I did not know that Don was an only child.

But I just wish the book was three times longer than it was because I would have had three times the enjoyment. Any Don Rickles fan with a laptop could have sat with Don and fleshed out this great material into a deeper read but we should be thankful that he at least wrote what he did. His co-author was successful in capturing Don's voice throughout the entire book.

There are a few things that will surprise even the most dedicated Rickles' fan, one being his relationship with George and Barbara Bush and Barbara's joshful disdain of Don's appearances in the Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello "Beach" movies.

Isn't it interesting that Don is really the last comedian of his era that is still working night clubs in Las Vegas? What a survivor!