Hey, Hockey Puck - The Great Don Rickles Quiz

Answer: May 8, 1926

Donald Jay Rickles was born in New York City on May 8, 1926. He grew up in the borough of Queens.

Answer: Navy

Rickles served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Cyrene as a S1/c. (Seaman first class). He was honorably discharged from the military in 1946.

Answer: Frank Sinatra

The story has been told about a 1957 performance that Rickles gave where he spotted Sinatra in the audience. To paraphrase, Rickles supposedly told Sinatra while on stage, "I just saw your movie, "The Pride and The Passion", and I want to tell you, the cannon's acting was great".

He also supposedly said "Make yourself at home Frank, hit somebody!" "The Pride and The Passion" was a 1957 film starring Sinatra, along with Cary Grant and Sophia Loren. Allegedly Sinatra loved Rickles so much that he encouraged other celebrities to see Rickles in person just to be insulted be him. Later in his career, it was considered an honor to be insulted by Rickles, and people would beg to sit in front during his performances in hopes of being picked on by Rickles.

In the end, Rickles and Sinatra became lifelong friends.

Answer: Mr. Warmth

The title of "Mr. Warmth" has stuck with Rickles since the early 1960s and he has made his career out of insulting anyone and everyone, from all walks of life, and every ethnic group. Rickles is probably one of the few comics who is exempt from being "politically correct".

He is usually introduced to audiences with matador music in the background, signifying the possibility that someone is about to be verbally gored.

Answer: Run Silent, Run Deep

Rickles had a small role as Petty Officer 1st Class Ruby in "Run Silent, Run Deep" (1958) starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster. The film itself dealt with a submarine crew in battle during World War II.

Answer: Summer at the beach

The Beach Party series ran from 1963 through 1966, and comprised a total of seven films. Rickles appeared in four of the first five films, which starred Frankie Avalon, and Annette Funicello in leading roles, supported by a bevy of comic actors, dancers and musicians. Rickles appeared in 1963's "Muscle Beach Party",which had such varied celebrities as Morey Amsterdam, Buddy Hackett, and Peter Lorre, as well as a young Stevie Wonder, followed by "Bikini Beach"(1964) with Keenan Wynn, Elizabeth Montgomery, and Boris Karloff, "Pajama Party"( 1964) with Buster Keaton, Dorothy Lamour, Teri Garr, and Toni Basil, and "Beach Blanket Bingo" with Linda Evans and Paul Lynde in 1965.

Answer: Johnny Carson

Don Rickles first appeared on "The Tonight Show" in 1965 and was one of the most frequent guests in the history of the show during the Carson era. He continued to appear on the Tonight Show often with Jay Leno, and made appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman when in New York. He was one of the most sought after celebrities and reached almost legendary status.

Answer: Hello Dummy

This album was a live album in which Rickles insulted anyone and anything. The subjects of race, and ethnicity, as well as physical appearance were all fair game for Rickles, and the audience roared with laughter. "Don Rickles Speaks!" was his second album, released in 1969.

Answer: Kelly's Heroes

Don Rickles was cast as "Sgt. Crapgame", a supply sergeant who was less than ethical, in a film which revolved around a plot by some World War II soldiers to rob a bank filled with gold, which was behind enemy lines. The 1970 film also starred Eastwood and Savalas, as well as Donald Sutherland, Carroll O'Connor, Stuart Margolin and Gavin MacLeod.

Answer: One season

The variety show was not very successful, lasting only that one season. Patterned after "The Tonight Show", with sidekick Pat McCormick, the show was cancelled due to poor ratings. He also had a sitcom of the same name, which debuted in 1972 and was rated even worse. That show was cancelled after 13 weeks.

Answer: C.P.O. Sharkey

"Sharkey" ran for two seasons. It debuted on Decmeber 1, 1976, and the last episode aired on July 28, 1978. The show gave Rickles a chance to showcase his comedic talent. It concerned Rickles as a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy. He was in charge of a group of Seaman recruits for the Navy, and wouldn't you know it.

There was an African-American, a Jewish-American, and Italian-American, an Hispanic-American, and of course, a Polish-American. Predictably, they all became targets for Rickles on the show, providing some very funny moments over the course of the series.

Answer: Casino

Rickles plays the character named "Billy Sherbert" who was Sam Rothstein's (Robert De Niro) right hand man in this mob thriller. "Casino" (1995) was about a mobster running a Las Vegas casino, and seeing profits skimmed. The actress who played De Niro's girlfriend/wife in the film was Sharon Stone, who recieved an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress for the role.

In addition, appearing in major roles in the film were Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent, (who would later be a key figure in "The Sopranos"), James Woods, and the late Alan King.

Answer: Mr. Potato Head

Of course it was "Mr. Potato Head", the cynical toy in the group. He was also outspoken and sarcastic, a perfect casting for Rickles. The role was reprised in "Toy Story 2".

Answer: Yes

A documentary about Rickles, called "Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project", debuted on HBO in December of 2007. It was directed by John Landis. Rickles won a Primetime Emmy for this film in 2008.

Answer: Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra was still in Don's corner in the 1980s. Rickles performed for Ronald Reagan in 1985 at the Inaugural Ball at the behest of Frank Sinatra. Sinatra was asked to perform and said he would only do so if Rickles was allowed to perform with him.

He also performed for George H.W. Bush at the 1989 Inaugural Ball with Sinatra. Just as an aside, both of these Presidents were Republicans, and Rickles was a life-long Democrat.