R.I.P Rodney Dangerfield

[JonD]

He was a damn good comedian!

[zero&stich]

what? when did this happan?

[Cruciform]

He was in a coma for nearly a month. It was expected.

[Brent Strande]

Hey, maybe he'll finally get some respect...

[Ian]

oh Brent that was bad heh

[JonD]

Comedian Rodney Dangerfield dies at 82

BY HAL BOEDEKER

The Orlando Sentinel


ORLANDO, Fla. - (KRT) - Rodney Dangerfield made a career out of saying he could get no respect. But colleagues rated him a gifted comedian, admired his resilience and lauded his support for younger performers.

Dangerfield, 82, died Tuesday of complications following heart valve replacement surgery on Aug. 25, his wife said.

Following the surgery, he slipped into a coma, from which he emerged briefly before his death.

Ever the joker, Dangerfield had cracked: "If things go right, I'll be there about a week, and if things don't go right, I'll be there about an hour and a half."

Dangerfield was "tops at the one-liners," Phyllis Diller said, shortly before his death. "You have to respect each person for their art. His is great art. That nervous thing with the tie - come on, that was a whole bit. It was choreography. And the bulgy eyes? And what about the voice? The voice is a French horn."

"Rodney was always hilarious and brilliant," Joan Rivers said recently. "He's had one good life. He's one of the great comedy minds. He spans so much time. The longevity - it's a testament to how funny he is."

Dangerfield's shtick became so familiar that his name was a synonym for all things overlooked or unappreciated. He noted that, unlike most comedians today, he had a sharply defined persona that was a throwback to the era of W.C. Fields and Groucho Marx.

"That image is something everyone identified with," Dangerfield once said. "They all feel like life treated 'em wrong and they got no respect."

Diller applauded Dangerfield's strategy as a savvy career move. "He set up a premise and from there all goodness flows," she said.

Dangerfield appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Tonight Show," "Saturday Night Live" and "Home Improvement" in addition to lending his voice to "The Simpsons."

After he once told jokes on the Sullivan show, Dangerfield's sister criticized his "I can't get no respect" line, comedian Rivers recalled.

"She said, `You're using bad grammar.' She told him it should be `I can't get any respect,'" Rivers said. "He said, `She missed the whole point.'"

Dangerfield became an improbable movie star with the opening scenes of 1980's "Caddyshack" in which he portrayed the gauche new member of an exclusive golf club. (In real life, Dangerfield said he never played the sport.)

His other films included "Easy Money" (1983), "Back to School" (1986), "Ladybugs" (1992), "Natural Born Killers" (1994), "Meet Wally Sparks" (1997) and "Little Nicky" (2000). He co-wrote some of his movies, such as "Easy Money" and "Meet Wally Sparks."

His "No Respect" won a Grammy as outstanding comedy recording in 1980. His memoir, "It's Not Easy Bein' Me," came out this year. It is subtitled: "A Lifetime of No Respect but Plenty of Sex and Drugs."

His nightclub in New York, Dangerfield's, and his HBO specials were important showcases for younger comedians ranging from Tim Allen and Bob Saget to Jerry Seinfeld and Jeff Foxworthy.

"He fostered plenty of mainstream comedians, but his heart really went out to the edgy performers, those men (Sam Kinison) and women (Roseanne) who had a hard time getting booked when they were starting out because they weren't `user-friendly,'" Jim Carrey wrote in the foreword to Dangerfield's book.

Dangerfield, who was born in Babylon, N.Y., started life as Jacob Cohen. His father was part of a vaudeville comedy team, and his mother rarely showed affection.

"I guess that's why I went into show business - to get some love," he wrote in his book. "I wanted people to tell me I was good, tell me I'm OK. Let me hear the laughs, the applause. I'll take love any way I can get it."

He began writing jokes at 15 and landed his first paying job as a comic at 18 under the name Jack Roy. At 28, he left the business to support his family by selling aluminum siding. His second go at comedy started at 40, and a club owner made up the name Rodney Dangerfield.

"Show business was my escape from life," he wrote. "I had to have it. It was like a fix."

He twice married Joyce Indig, a singer, and they had two children, Brian and Melanie. Dangerfield is survived by his wife, Joan.

In recent years, bad health often put Dangerfield in the headlines. He acknowledged that he worked quickly to finish his memoir.

"Life is a short trip," he wrote. "You'll find out. You were 17 yesterday. You'll be 50 tomorrow. Life is tough, are you kiddin'? What do you think life is? Moonlight and canoes? That's not life. That's in the movies."

[Matt_K]

Yup, heard it on my way home from the river.. Pretty Crazy.. He was awesome, especially in Natural Born Killers!

[JonD]

Originally posted by Matt_K
Yup, heard it on my way home from the river.. Pretty Crazy.. He was awesome, especially in Natural Born Killers!

For sure!
Ah Natural Born Killers, such a good wholesome family movie!

[BoidKeeper]

That's terrible, I had no idea he was even sick! I loved him on the Simpsons. I think I'll have a caddy shack marathon in his owner this weekend.
RIP,
Trevor

[Brent Strande]

Originally posted by Ian
oh Brent that was bad heh

He's a comedian... he'd probably appreciate it! I'd want people to be able to laugh and smile at my funeral. In fact, they're probably have to play "Send Me On My Way" by Rusted Root at my funeral.

Dont worry Ian, I didn't mean to give him no respect

[latazyo]

I am deeply saddened by this, I will be watching Caddyshack adn Back to School no fewer than thrice each

but on another note, how ****** was Ladybugs?

[treegirl]

Caddy Shack all the way!

R.I.P. Rodney!

[spikey_blonde]

i loved the ladie bugs movie

-hannah's a dork!!

[Navonod]

Just cause he is dead doesn't mean we all have to pretend he was actually funny

Just kidding, he was great.

[paul vader]

Originally posted by treegirl
Caddy Shack all the way!

R.I.P. Rodney!

the ONLY time I've ever enjoyed a golf movie..(is there another??) the stereo and bar in his golf bag??? Loooooooooooooove it... he wasn't too far out of character either !!