The Tragic Death of Don Rickles & His Wife Barbara

don rickles is widely accepted as being one of the most gifted comedians in history his career spanned an impressive 62 years from 1955 to 2017. he was particularly revered for his work in insult comedy as a stand-up comedian but he also worked as an actor and an author don rickles was born may 8th 1926 in queens to parents max and etta rickles after high school he enlisted in the army and served in world war ii he was honorably discharged in 1946 at first rickles aspired to be a dramatic actor and studied at the american academy of dramatic arts for a while he managed to scrape together a few parts on tv but never landed any major ones rickles grew more and more upset with his lack of success in acting realizing he may not have what it takes to be a dramatic actor he began performing as a stand-up comic most comedians learned to ignore their hecklers but don rickles had a more direct approach he responded to and humiliated his hecklers earning him the reputation of being an insult comedian in fact at one point in his career he even managed to roast the legendary frank sinatra himself before long audiences couldn't get enough people all over the country realized don was a comedian with guts don rickles also saw a fair share of tragedies throughout his life he eventually lost his life in 2017 which left his wife of many decades barbara rickles devastated more recently barbara also died in today's video we're going to take a look at the life and legacy of don rickles as well as the tragic death of both himself and his wife stick around because we're also going to look at how the couple dealt with a devastating and unexpected loss together don and barbara rickles beautiful love story many celebrities are notorious for marrying and divorcing several people often due to affairs and various other drama for don rickles however monogamy was extremely important for a long time he attempted to find someone who he could spend the rest of his life with when he was 38 years old he still hadn't found anyone then his agent hooked him up with a beautiful woman named barbara sklar the two got to know each other but barbara didn't quite understand his sense of humor that's when don knew he had fallen in love the two married on march 14 1965 and stayed together for 52 years until dawn's death they had a long and happy marriage as well as two beautiful children the tragic death of their son together they had two children mindy and larry they were quite proud of their children and larry even went on to become a producer and screenwriter he won an emmy award for his work on a documentary about his father titled mr warmth the don rickles project on december 3rd 2011 however tragedy struck larry rickles was stricken with pneumonia and hospitalized he passed away surrounded by his family and loved ones dawn barbara and their daughter mindy were all devastated larry was a successful young man who had a bright future ahead of him and died too young at age 41. how don rickles narrowly avoided death in the 70s rickles became friends with the infamous mobster crazy joe gallo one night crazy joe attended his set and he was warned by many others not to poke fun at him don rickles however was never one to shy away from danger and decided to mercilessly roast the mobster during his performance joe gallo actually loved the ribbing and the two sparked a friendship gallo invited him to a restaurant called umberto's clam house but rickles politely said no it's a good thing he did because that very night there was a shooting at the clam house and joe gallo was killed hey if you're enjoying this video so far make sure you give it a like and subscribe to facts verse if you haven't already and stick around to find out how barbara was able to cope with the loss of her husband he had a lot of high profile friends you'd think an insult comedian would have a difficult time making and maintaining friendships but don's warm personality actually meant he had lots of friends including many celebrities early in his career rickles became friends with frank sinatra and the two even performed together at ronald reagan's inauguration despite being a democrat all of his life ricko still considered that performance his crowning achievement rickles also considered bob newhart his best friend the two spent a lot of time together and their wives were also close friends with one another even though rickles was merciless when it came to insulting people it was done in good faith in fact he seemed to inspire friendliness and warmth wherever he went not in spite of but because of his frequent teasing after his death the world stopped for a moment to grieve the loss of such a warm and bright person don rickles is death rico's lived a long and rich life while he struggled to find work as an actor at first he eventually found fame and success as a stand-up he made many close friendships along the way and had a beautiful family he inspired comedians all around the world with his signature style as well as his bold tendency to roast anyone who crossed his path he continued to work as an actor and comedian right up until the year he died on april 6 2017 don rickles died of kidney failure in beverly hills he was 90 years old while he lived a long life people all over the world were devastated to hear the news many notable people including jimmy kimmel stephen colbert seth meyers and jim carrey all took a moment to pay their respects to the fallen legend even after his death however don rickles continues to be an icon and an inspiration to millions of people particularly other comedians and actors barbara rickles death barbara rickles had been lovingly married to dawn for 52 years and was understandably devastated at the loss however she continued to persevere for several years until eventually dying on march 15 2021 from complications from non-hodgkin's lymphoma she was 84 and she died on the same day that would have been her 56th anniversary with dawn don rickles often described barbara as the light of his life and was an incredibly good sport due to her putting up with his constant teasing and poking while he often made fun of her during performances he assured the world that none of it was true and that he loved his dear wife more than anything else the two were an inseparable pair and the world mourns their loss don rickles was an amazing comedian whose silly personality earned him the nickname mr warmth despite his joyous nature however he suffered great personal tragedy throughout his life were you more saddened to learn about the tragic way don lost his life or to hear about how dawn and barbara had to deal with the loss of their beloved son let us know in the comments below and if you enjoyed this video be sure to give it a like and subscribe to facts first if you haven't already click the bell icon to stay updated on all our latest content you

Channel: Facts Verse

Views: 246,412

Rating: 4.9104519 out of 5

Keywords: The Tragic Death of Don Rickles & His Wife Barbara, tragic death of don rickles and his wife barbara, death of don rickles, don rickles death, rip don rickles and his wife barbara, death of don rickles and his wife, death of don rickle's wife barbara, tragic death of don rickles, tragic death of don rickles wife barbara, don rickles wife barbara death, don rickles facts, facts about don rickles, don rickles behind the scenes

Id: mUam7BH_PkY

Length: 8min 1sec (481 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 27 2021