Rickles always lived up to his nickname: 'Merchant of Venom'

LOS ANGELES - Don Rickles, the master insult comic who created laughs with ridicule and sarcasm in a decades-long career that earned him the nickname "Merchant of Venom," died of kidney failure at his Los Angeles home on Thursday.

He was 90.

Rickles, who said he devised his brand of mockery-based humor because he was no good at telling traditional jokes, had developed a bacterial infection in recent months that led him to cancel a number of performances.

His death was confirmed by his spokesman, Paul Shefrin. Rickles would have turned 91 on May 8.

The comedian last appeared on stage in Las Vegas in October, but he continued to work after falling ill in February, taping segments of an upcoming internet series titled Dinner with Don, hosting one-on-one conversations with celebrities, Shefrin said.

The New York-born Rickles had an intense, often-ad libbed, rapid-fire delivery and a wide, impish grin. He delighted nightclub audiences, Hollywood royalty and politicians by hurling invective at them, all in good fun.

Encountering Frank Sinatra for the first time during a stand-up act in 1957, Rickles greeted the mercurial singer as Sinatra walked in with a retinue of tough guys by saying: "Make yourself at home, Frank - hit somebody."

Luckily for Rickles, the line amused Sinatra, who became one of his biggest boosters and took to calling the short, bald Rickles "Bullethead". The comedian soon became an ex-officio member of the Sinatra-led group of popular entertainers known as the "Rat Pack".

Dishing it out

Performing decades later at the second inaugural gala of US president Ronald Reagan in 1985, Rickles did not hesitate to zing the commander-in-chief, asking: "Is this too fast for you, Ronnie?"

But the most frequent targets of the "Merchant of Venom" were the fans who packed his performances for a chance to be belittled as a "dummy", a "hockey puck" or worse.

Celebrities often showed up just for the honor of being mocked by Rickles, and no minority or ethnic group was immune to a his barbs.

Rickles also mocked himself and shied away from describing his act as insult comedy, insisting his humor stemmed not from mean-spiritedness but from wild exaggerations played for laughs.

"If I were to insult people and mean it, that wouldn't be funny," he once said.

"He was called the 'Merchant of Venom' but in truth, he was one of the kindest and most sensitive human beings we have ever known," actor-comedian Bob Newhart said in a statement.

Reuters - AP