Why did Don Rickles fail on television?

[Yong Fang]

I was looking around YouTube last night and watched some talk shows with Don Rickles (Jimmy Fallon, Jay Leno, Howard Stern etc.). Rickles is absolutely hilarious. Seems that most of the time he just ad libs and is just amazing in his humor.

But he just did not make it headlining his own TV show. He had The Don Rickles Show and CPO Sharkey and neither show made it, at least not past season two, which makes me wonder why that is.

I think Rickles would have been fantastic in a Sanford and Son like show. Can you imagine Rickles and Redd Foxx together trading barbs and insults? That would have been incredible.

Maybe Rickles just could not fit in with scripted television, but Robin Williams was given pretty much full reign on Mork and Mindy to do what he wanted. I don't know. But they tried in the 1970's to put Rickles in a TV vehicle and it just did not click with audiences, why?

[70s show watcher]

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

I was looking around YouTube last night and watched some talk shows with Don Rickles (Jimmy Fallon, Jay Leno, Howard Stern etc.). Rickles is absolutely hilarious. Seems that most of the time he just ad libs and is just amazing in his humor.

But he just did not make it headlining his own TV show. He had The Don Rickles Show and CPO Sharkey and neither show made it, at least not past season two, which makes me wonder why that is.

I think Rickles would have been fantastic in a Sanford and Son like show. Can you imagine Rickles and Redd Foxx together trading barbs and insults? That would have been incredible.

Maybe Rickles just could not fit in with scripted television, but Robin Williams was given pretty much full reign on Mork and Mindy to do what he wanted. I don't know. But they tried in the 1970's to put Rickles in a TV vehicle and it just did not click with audiences, why?

he had a Sanford and son like show called daddy dearest co starring with Richard lewis that show was a flop too my fave series of his was cpo sharkey

[bencasey]

The show that he did for CBS which ran for 13 episodes was very funny. Unfortunately the show was bought prior to Fred Silverman taking over as programming director and he wanted nothing to do with it since it wasn't his idea. So he buried it on the schedule on Friday nights at 10:30. I'm a huge Rickles fan and I never even saw it at the time.

[comedyfreak]

I was never a Don Rickles fan, growing up I didn't get his comedy and thought he was a jerk for insulting everyone.

[king of comedy]

He's best doing supporting roles instead of being the star.

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by comedyfreak

I was never a Don Rickles fan, growing up I didn't get his comedy and thought he was a jerk for insulting everyone.

Which is why Don Rickles was never successful as a lead character in a TV series! It's necessary for the lead character in any TV show to be sympathetic in some way so the audience will want to watch and find out what happens to the character. Since Don Rickles was best know as an insult comic it was difficult for TV viewers to have sympathy for any charactwer he was playing. that being said, Don Rickles was great as a guest star on many TV series in the 60's and 70's!

[bencasey]

Only women didn't like him. Every guy I know thought he was hysterical.

[TimOhara123]

Some people are just better at Stand up comedy

[bencasey]

I loved his ABC variety series too.

[Babalu]

Five or ten minutes of Rickles can be funny.

A half hour can be grating.

Every week is waterboarding.

[TMC]

Short-Lived Sitcom Potpourri (XIV)

Thoughts: Your enjoyment of this short-lived sitcom is entirely predicated on how much you appreciate the well-established comic persona of “Mr. Warmth,” Don Rickles, for whom this show is a vehicle. Yes, there’s something of a solid premise here — the abrasive dad, separated from his wife, now moving in with his own recently divorced single-parent son — but every character and relationship ends up feeling underbaked and irrelevant outside of Rickles’ brand of insult comedy. That’s no fault of the strong cast though, with Richard Lewis as the structural anchor and most important humanistic connection to Rickles, and Seinfeld’s Barney Martin and The Nanny’s Renée Taylor adding comic support from the sidelines. Also, scripts come from veteran scribes of classics like Newhart, Night Court, and The Golden Girls, and they’re chock full of yuks. What’s more, with a penchant for notable guest stars — including Rickles’ real-life pal Frank Sinatra — there’s plenty of episodic hooks to make entries memorable… However, that’s part of the problem, for most sitcoms of this era are riding on more than just one star’s pre-series persona and the kind of accompanying gimmicks his casting allows. So, although this is a unique sitcom from a lot of fine folks, with the potential for some genre-affirming returns based on its design and pedigree, it’s ultimately not a great situation comedy, as Rickles’ one overarching characterization singularly dominates — for better and for worse.