Rodney Dangerfield Died

This was a sad thing to wake up to today.

Dangerfield had a strange career in show business. At 19 he started as a standup comedian. He made only a fair living, travelling a great deal and appearing in rundown joints. Married at 27, he quit to earn a better living.

He returned to comedy at 42, appeared on the Ed Sullivan show seven times and on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson more than 70 times. After his standout film role in Caddyshack, he began starring in his own movies.

Back in 1995 Dangerfield entered the world of cyberspace, becoming one of the first entertainers to have a personal website. The joke of the day it offered yesterday, on the day he died: “I tell ya I get no respect from anyone. I bought a cemetery plot. The guy said, `There goes the neighbourhood!’”

No matter how bad his movies were (Back to School, Meet Wally Sparks, Ladybugs), you always knew Rodney would would make you laugh. With the exception of Caddyshack, I usually felt like I was watching Rodney make the movie instead of the movie itself.

There’s no being on the fence with the guy. You either loved him or you wouldn’t know comedy if it fell from the sky.


Comments

5 responses to “Rodney Dangerfield Died”

  1.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    What strikes me in that bio is his starting as a standup comedian at 19. I didn’t know there was such a thing 1n 1941.
    J

  2. it’s obvious that he must have pioneered the concept of stand up comedian.

    or so i think . . . . .

  3.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Well sure there was comedy on stage back in 1941, but did they call it that? This looks like a job for PBS’s History Detectives.