Editing Don Rickles (section)

===Rise to fame===
While working in the "Murray Franklin's" nightclub in [[Miami Beach, Florida]], early during his career, Rickles spotted [[Frank Sinatra]] and remarked to him, "I just saw your movie ''[[The Pride and the Passion]]'' and I wanna tell you, the cannon's acting was great." He added, "Make yourself at home, Frank. Hit somebody!"<ref name="dummy"/><ref name="puck"/> Sinatra, whose pet name for Rickles was "bullet-head", enjoyed him so much that he encouraged other celebrities to see Rickles's act and be insulted by him. Sinatra's support helped Rickles become a popular headline performer in [[Las Vegas]].<ref name="puck">{{cite web| url=http://www.thehockeypuck.com/bio.html| title=Biography| publisher=The Hockey Puck| access-date=May 17, 2007| archive-date=August 12, 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812091320/http://www.thehockeypuck.com/bio.html| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5_V9RT8aR8| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211102/q5_V9RT8aR8| archive-date=November 2, 2021| url-status=live| title=Frank Sinatra is Surprised by Don Rickles on Johnny Carson's Show, Funniest Moment| date=August 3, 2011| access-date=April 6, 2017| via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> During a ''[[The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast|Dean Martin Celebrity Roast]]'' special, Rickles was among those who took part in [[Roast (comedy)|roasting]] Sinatra,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-KeTNU-ods Don Rickles roasts Frank Sinatra], Dean Martin special</ref> and Rickles himself was also roasted during another show in the series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdPcjIrSvcs| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211102/sdPcjIrSvcs| archive-date=November 2, 2021| url-status=live| title=Comedian Foster Brooks roasts Don Rickles |via=YouTube |date=December 13, 2008 |access-date=April 10, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Rickles earned the nicknames "The Merchant of Venom" and "Mr. Warmth"<ref name=allmusic/><ref name=latimes>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-0624-don-rickles-20130624-story.html |title=Don Rickles to be honored for busting people's chops |date=June 24, 2013 |author=King, Susan |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=October 20, 2016}}</ref> for his poking fun at people of all ethnicities and all walks of life. When he was introduced to an audience or on a television talk show, Spanish [[matador]] music, "La Virgen de la Macarena", would usually be played, subtly foreshadowing someone was about to be metaphorically gored. As Rickles observed, "I always pictured myself facing the audience as the matador."<ref name="couch" />

In 1958, Rickles made his film debut in a serious part in ''[[Run Silent, Run Deep (film)|Run Silent, Run Deep]]'' with [[Clark Gable]] and [[Burt Lancaster]].<ref name=latimes/> Throughout the 1960s, he often appeared on television in sitcoms and dramatic series. Rickles guest-starred in ''[[Get Smart]]'' as Sid, an old war buddy of Max's, who comes to stay with him. In an episode of ''[[Run for Your Life (TV series)|Run for Your Life]]'', Rickles portrayed a distressed comedian whose act culminates in him strangling a patron while imploring the patron to "Laugh!" Rickles took a dramatic turn in the low-budget [[Roger Corman]] science-fiction/horror film ''[[X (1963 film)|X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes]]'' as a [[carnival barker]] out to exploit the title character (portrayed by [[Ray Milland]]).<ref>{{cite journal| url=https://deadline.com/2017/04/don-rickles-dies-legendary-comic-90-1202063770/| title=Don Rickles Dies: Legendary Comedian Was 90| first=Denise| last=Petski| date=April 6, 2017| journal=[[Deadline Hollywood]]| access-date=April 6, 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Don Rickles and Lorne Green.jpg|thumb|left|240px|Rickles and [[Lorne Greene]] on ''The Don Rickles Show'' in 1968]]
Rickles appeared in the ''[[Beach Party film|Beach Party]]'' film series. He recalled in his 2007 memoir that at a [[White House]] dinner, [[Barbara Bush]] teased him about his decision to appear in those films.<ref name=Rickles2007>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5IbANRNF1UIC&q=rickles+memoir+bush&pg=PA202 | title=Rickles' Book: A Memoir |author1=Rickles, Don |author2=David Ritz |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-9305-1 |year=2007 |page=202}}</ref> Rickles's agent Jack Gilardi was married to [[Annette Funicello]] when Rickles was cast in the ''Beach Party'' films. He subsequently began to appear more frequently on television talk shows, first appearing on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' in 1965.<ref name=allmusic/> Rickles became a frequent guest and guest host, appearing more than 100 times on ''The Tonight Show'' during Carson's era. An early Carson–Rickles ''Tonight'' highlight occurred in 1968 when, while two Japanese women treated Carson to a bath and foot massage, Rickles walked onto the set.<ref>{{YouTube|gauYtZ8S1zs}}</ref> Rickles also made frequent appearances on ''[[The Dean Martin Show]]'' and became a fixture on ''[[The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast]]'' specials.<ref name="latimes" />

In 1968, Rickles released a live comedy album titled ''Hello, Dummy!'', which reached number 54 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] album chart.<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p218|pure_url=yes}}|title =Don Rickles Charts & Awards|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=May 17, 2007}}</ref> The same year, he starred in his own variety show on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], ''The Don Rickles Show'', with comedy writer Pat McCormick as his sidekick; the show lasted only 17 episodes and was replaced by a prime time version of the game ''[[Let's Make a Deal]]''. During the 1960s, Rickles made guest appearances on ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'', ''[[The Munsters]]'', ''[[The Addams Family]]'', ''[[The Mothers-in-Law]]'', ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'', ''[[Get Smart]]'', ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' episode "[[Mr. Dingle, the Strong]]",<ref>{{cite web |title=Twilight Zone, The: Mr. Dingle, The Strong (TV) |url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?item=T:01969 |website=Paley Center for Media |access-date=June 15, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mr. Dingle, the Strong – The Twilight Zone (Season 2, Episode 19) |url=https://tv.apple.com/au/episode/mr-dingle-the-strong/umc.cmc.7ax3h2n513c31g5mpavaa8j8g?showId=umc.cmc.3tg58h9lglzj81tldi0n9167g |website=Apple TV |access-date=June 15, 2022 |language=en-AU |date=March 2, 1961}}</ref> ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'', ''[[Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.]]'', and ''[[I Dream of Jeannie]]''.