Rodney Dangerfield: An Icon of Classic Late Night Television Stand-up

He was recognized by his trademark phrase - ?I don?t get no respect.?



Born on November 22, 1921 in Babylon, New York, Rodney Dangerfield began writing jokes at age 15 and performing his comedy by his late teens. For decade, he struggled as a stand up comedian and worked as being a singing waiter to create ends meet. When his comedy career still did not really lift off, Dangerfield, who had been working in entertainment as Jack Roy, left show business to get a regular job. He spent the 1950?s selling aluminum siding in New Jersey while supporting his first wife and two children.



He took another chance at show business after his divorce in 1961 and became noted for the rest of his life as Rodney Dangerfield. By this time, he was approaching his fortieth birthday. His big break came when he appeared as being a guest on ?The Ed Sullivan Show.? He did what few individuals were able to do ? he made Ed Sullivan laugh. During the 1960?s he made the rounds of several of the most popular variety shows. He performed his standup on ?The Joey Bishop Show,? ?The Merv Griffin Show? and ?The Jackie Gleason Show.? In 1969 he made his first of 35 appearances on ?The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.? In addition to his gigs on tv, he spent his time making the rounds of comedy clubs through the country.



In 1969, the comedian opened his own standup comedy club, Dangerfield?s in New York City. From its inception, many experts have one of the most popular comedy clubs in America, receiving rave reviews by top newspapers and entertainment guides. Since Dangerfield?s opened its doors almost forty years ago it's seen companies Jay Leno, Jim Carey, Chris Rock, Andrew Dice Clay, Tim Allen and Jerry Seinfeld grace its stage. Many of the comedy club?s biggest draws end up as guests on ?The Tonight Show with Jay Leno? or ?Late Night With David Letterman.?



Having cemented his place in stand up comedy history, Dangerfield turned his attention to acting. He had his first movie role inside the 1971 film The Projectionist coupled with a role about the television show ?Benny and Barney: Las Vegas Undercover? later within the decade. The acting roles came slowly however in 1980 he landed a job that made him a family group name. He starred because the obnoxious real estate developer Al Czervik inside the comedy smash Caddy Shack. Suddenly people that didn?t know much about comedians knew information on Rodney Dangerfield.



He followed Caddy Shack with two other 1980?s comedies, Easy Money and Back To School. In 1991, he made the animated movie Rover Dangerfield, the story of a dog that gets no respect. Throughout his career, his line about getting no respect was his trademark.



Dangerfield branched out in to a serious role next. He totally abusive father to Juliette Lewis? character in the controversial film Natural Born Killers. It has been reported that Dangerfield was permitted to write his or her own lines to the role. This was to be his only serious film role. He followed it with increased comedies like Meet Wally Sparks and The Godson. In 2000, the almost 80-year-old comedian starred alongside Adam Sandler in Little Nicky.



His last acting role was those of God in 2005?s Angels with Angels. It was released posthumously. Dangerfield died on October 5, 2004. He had fallen right into a coma after heart surgery and not regained consciousness. His tombstone reflects his comedy. It reads ?Rodney Dangerfield ? There Goes the Neighborhood.?



His comedy career spanned over 60 years. In addition to all of his stage and screen accomplishments during those years, actually is well liked won two awards for his achievements. In 1981 he won a Grammy Award for his comedy recording titled No Respect. In 1995 the American Comedy Awards honored him having a Creative Achievement Award.



One of his lesser-known achievements was which he was the first entertainment personality to have his or her own website. In 1995 he created Rodney.com, which Funnyordie, http://neverrepeatajoke.com/, is still in existence today.



During Rodney Dangerfield?s career he previously success on the comedy stage, in film, and about the television. He gave countless other comedians the chance to show their stuff on the stage at his or her own comedy club. His trademark line, ?I don?t get no respect? will forever be associated with the comedian who in spite of his onstage persona was loved and respected by numerous fans.



~Ben Anton, 2007Article Source: invite you to learn more about Rodney Dangerfield's evening classic television appearances

and that relating to other classic celebrities by reading our classic TV blog.