Personal Life
Rickles has been married for 47 years to his wife, Barbara, who was raised in Philadelphia. The couple had two children; a daughter Mindy, and a son, producer Larry Rickles, who died in December 2011 at the age of 41. According to Rickles' memoir, his grandchildren, Ethan and Harrison Mann, are much more impressed by his role as "Mr. Potato Head" than by any of his other achievements. Although a lifelong Democrat, he performed at the inaugurations of Republican presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush with his friend Frank Sinatra.
Rickles considers comedian Bob Newhart to be his best friend. Rickles, Newhart, and their wives often vacation together. Rickles and Newhart appeared together on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on January 24, 2005, the Monday following Johnny Carson's death, reminiscing about their many guest appearances on Carson's show, including footage of the "cigarette box incident".
Read more about this topic: Don Rickles
Famous quotes containing the words personal and/or life:
“The personal touch between the people and the man to whom they temporarily delegated power of course conduces to a better understanding between them. Moreover, I ought not to omit to mention as a useful result of my journeying that I am to visit a great many expositions and fairs, and that the curiosity to see the President will certainly increase the box receipts and tend to rescue many commendable enterprises from financial disaster.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“Life is hard, we say. An oyster’s life is worse. She lives motionless, soundless, her own cold ugly shape her only dissipation ...”
—M.F.K. Fisher (b. 1908)