美国国家公共电台 NPR Comedian Don Rickles, Merciless 'Merchant Of Venom,' Dies At 90

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

Before Comedy Central's celebrity¹ roasts, before American Idol's Simon Cowell, before Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, one man abused people on TV and in clubs like no other.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Ladies and gentlemen, here is the sultan of insults, the merchant of venom², the pussycat with claws, Mr. Don Rickles.

MCEVERS: Comedian³ Don Rickles died today at age 90. NPR's Ted⁴ Robbins has this look at Rickles' long career.

TED ROBBINS, BYLINE⁵: He couldn't get away with it in quite the same way today, but from the 1950s on, Don Rickles had a simple successful recipe. Be merciless, and spare no one.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DON RICKLES: That's all Jews do - sit in their underwear, belch⁶ and watch TV.

(LAUGHTER)

RICKLES: The Irish guys are staggering around. The colored guys are going (singing) glory, glory, hallelujah. The Mexicans - I'm going to the toilet; I don't care what the colored guys do. And the queers are going, let's go in the park and have a love-out.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "MR. WARMTH: THE DON RICKLES PROJECT")

CHRIS ROCK: Oh, it's very offensive but not if you're into comedy.

ROBBINS: That's comedian Chris Rock in the 2007 documentary "Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project." Rickles didn't use four-letter words. Back then, that would have been more transgressive than racial and ethnic⁷ stereotypes⁸. For personal invective⁹, he called people dummies¹⁰ and hockey pucks. And when people heckled him in clubs, he shot right back.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RICKLES: Where you from, tiny?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Alabama.

RICKLES: Alabama - that's trouble, boy. That's troubling.

(LAUGHTER)

RICKLES: What's your first name, Rufus?

ROBBINS: Don Rickles was born in Queens in 1926, the son of Lithuanian Jewish immigrants. He served in the Navy during World War II, then began to pursue comedy full-time¹¹, working east coast nightclubs and burlesque¹² houses. His career took off in the late 1950s and '60s thanks in part to his friend and longtime supporter Frank Sinatra. Rickles was the Rat Pack's court jester. Here's Sinatra on "The Tonight Show" telling a legendary¹³ story. No one but Rickles could have gotten away with this. It happened between them at a restaurant.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JOHNNY CARSON")

FRANK SINATRA: And he came over to the table, and he said, Frank, do me a favor, will you? He said, I'm sitting with a very pretty girl, and I'm trying to make out, you know? And he said, I told her I know you, and she really doesn't believe me. Would you stop by the table. I said, all right. I was just about finished, and I walked by the table, and I said, how are you, Don? Nice to see you. He said, can't you see I'm eating, Frank? What are you...

(LAUGHTER)

ROBBINS: Rickles became a Las Vegas fixture¹⁴ at Rat Pack hangouts like the Sands Hotel where every audience became a target. In 1968, he recorded a best-selling comedy album at the Sands called "Hello Dummy¹⁵!"

(SOUNDBITE OF ALBUM, "HELLO DUMMY!")

RICKLES: Don't scratch, Sir. It clears right up. There's a new thing out called soap and water.

(LAUGHTER)

ROBBINS: In Hollywood, being insulted by Rickles was a compliment. His most memorable¹⁶ and ubiquitous performances were on late night talk shows. For decades, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno and David Letterman relied on Rickles' ability to tickle¹⁷ viewers with his infinite arsenal¹⁸ of zingers.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RICKLES: You're not married.

DAVID LETTERMAN: No, no.

RICKLES: I wonder why.

(LAUGHTER)

ROBBINS: Don Rickles acted in dozens of movies and TV shows. He did the voice of Mr. Potato Head for the "Toy Story" movies.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TOY STORY 3")

RICKLES: (As Mr. Potato Head) Oh, you're a sight for detachable eyes.

ROBBINS: There was always a sentimental¹⁹ side to Don Rickles. Not convinced - then consider this, you hockey puck, from that album "Hello Dummy!"

(SOUNDBITE OF ALBUM, "HELLO DUMMY!")

RICKLES: Will Rogers once said, I never picked on a little guy, only big people. May I say it to this entire audience on a hectic²⁰ night. You are pretty big. And I do thank each and every one of you.

(APPLAUSE)

ROBBINS: Don Rickles wanted everyone to know that his insults were all in fun. But let's face it. It's the insults we're remembering. Ted Robbins, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SANTO AND JOHNNY SONG, "SLEEPWALK")

1 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

2 venom   

n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨

参考例句：

• The snake injects the venom immediately after biting its prey.毒蛇咬住猎物之后马上注入毒液。
• In fact,some components of the venom may benefit human health.事实上，毒液的某些成分可能有益于人类健康。

3 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

4 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 belch   

v.打嗝，喷出

参考例句：

• Cucumber makes me belch.黃瓜吃得我打嗝。
• Plant chimneys belch out dense smoke.工厂的烟囱冒出滚滚浓烟。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 invective   

n.痛骂，恶意抨击

参考例句：

• He retorted the invective on her.他用恶言讽刺还击她。
• His command of irony and invective was said to be very classic and lethal.据说他嬉笑怒骂的本领是极其杰出的，令人无法招架的。

10 dummies   

n.仿制品( dummy的名词复数 )；橡皮奶头；笨蛋；假传球

参考例句：

• If he dummies up, just try a little persuasion. 如果他不说话，稍微劝劝他就是了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All the articles in the window are dummies. 橱窗里的全部物品都是仿制品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

12 burlesque   

v.嘲弄，戏仿；n.嘲弄，取笑，滑稽模仿

参考例句：

• Our comic play was a burlesque of a Shakespearean tragedy.我们的喜剧是对莎士比亚一出悲剧的讽刺性模仿。
• He shouldn't burlesque the elder.他不应模仿那长者。

13 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

14 fixture   

n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款

参考例句：

• Lighting fixture must be installed at once.必须立即安装照明设备。
• The cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.无绳电热水壶现在可能是多数厨房的固定设备。

15 dummy   

n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头

参考例句：

• The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
• The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。

16 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

17 tickle   

v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒

参考例句：

• Wilson was feeling restless. There was a tickle in his throat.威尔逊只觉得心神不定。嗓子眼里有些发痒。
• I am tickle pink at the news.听到这消息我高兴得要命。

18 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

19 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

20 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。