Don Rickles - Hello Dummy!
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Music Reviews of Hello Dummy!
Music Review: The Master of Insult Is Really a Nice Guy
Rating: 4 Stars
I remember when Don Rickles first appeared on the stand up comic scene. Before he became the master of the insult, he was an actor appearing on television and movies. I always wondered how his stand up act got started in the first place. Many who may not like this recording need to keep in mind what American society was like in the late 60s and what the state of comedy was. No one, and I mean no one, was doing comedy like Don Rickles back then. Today there is a huge plethora of comics who use insult and put downs as part of their act. Everyone single one of them owe a huge debt to Don Rickles. He did it first. During this time period in America, a huge upheaval of sorts was going on in American society. This was when hippies and flower children were in full bloom, antiwar protest was common place, the so called sexual revolution was going one, racism and bigotry was being challenged, and above all else people were becoming more socially conscious, for lack of a better term. In the middle of all this came Don Rickles who's rapier wit spared no one. Everyone and everything was his target. As others have pointed out every race and creed was a target for his insults. Mr. Rickles is not funny just because he insults. There really is no humor in just that. It is what he says and how he says it, and often who he says it to. There are jokes here folks. There is wit. The things he says are often so crazy and preposterous you can't help but laugh. Sarcasm is part of his arsenal, not just insults. I also think it is important to point out that no one ever took him seriously. Despite the things that come out his mouth, none of it is done with a mean spirit. During the late 60s and 70s Don Rickles was a favorite guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson who was one of his biggest fans. He was always hysterical on his show, but a little bit of the "real" Don Rickles came out. He would often talk of his friendship with Bob Newhart. He often let his guard down a bit with Johnny, revealing what down inside was actually a very nice guy. I have heard far worse things come out of Joan Rivers mouth than Don. Often way too cruel. Mr. Rickles has never been cruel. Nor did he ever have a problem putting his own self down including his Jewishness. This recording was considered a bit adult and risque at the time. Of course by today's standards it is very tame. Above all else is very funny. I always wished he had put out more comedy albums.
The legendary Groucho Marx always used insult and put downs as part of his schtick. He onec complained that when he really wanted to insult someone he didn't like, no one took him seriously, instead they would say to their friends, "Do you know what funny thing Groucho said to me?" I wonder if Mr. Rickles has has the same problem. Don Rickles is a true comic legend, and there will never be anyone who can replace him. He really is a very nice guy, but I would never want to sit on the front row while listening to his act in Vegas!
Music Review: "The Merchant of Venom"
Rating: 5 Stars
As long as there's been stand-up comics, there's been hecklers and show-offs interrupting their acts. The best comedians have a prepared arsenal of put-downs and squelches that's used to deflate these miscreants. In the 1950s, nightclub comic Fat Jack E. Leonard was more famous for his insults than for "material." Whether influenced by Leonard or not, Don Rickles raised excoriation to an art form.
One night in 1957, Frank Sinatra caught Don's act in Miami and he too was a target of unsolicited razor sharp barbs. Instead of being insulted however, Frank embraced the master of ad hominem attacks and helped Rickles become a Las Vegas headliner.
This CD of HELLO DUMMY! is of a Don Rickles performance recorded in 1968 at the Hotel Sahara in Las Vegas, NV. Highest Billboard Hot 100 chart position: #54.
In typical scattergun fashion, Don hurls bricks at every ethnic group, religion, race and sexual orientation. He singles out a few attendees for special attention, often to their obvious embarrassment. At show's end Rickles graciously thanks the audience for being such good sports, assuring us that everything was in jest and not meant personally. It's a friendly yet incongruent conclusion to a one-sided war of words.
TOTAL TIME: 35:48
Music Review: Hello Dummy
Rating: 1 Stars
I never received this item. How might one RATE an item that was NEVER RECEIVED? Perhaps you should CHANGE the format of the Create Your Review to include NEVER RECEIVING an item. Who has time day and night to track these many insipid items let alone REVIEW the transaction?Music Review: Hello Dummy, keep reading
Rating: 5 Stars
It is hard to appreciate everything without being in the audience. And at the time, I was almost but not quite 13, so I would not have been able to write this review. It does get funnier each time you listen to it.Music Review: Funny!!!!
Rating: 5 Stars
This was a gift for my husband-- He loved it. Don Rickles has wonderful humor.It is funny.