I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous -- everyone hasn't met me yet -- Rodney Dangerfield
There are some performers who transcend the screen. Heck, they transcend multiple generations. Rodney Dangerfield (born Jacob Cohen in 1921), who passed away Tuesday in Los Angeles at the age 81, was such a guy.
He was the comedian's comedian. Self-deprecating, ugly as sin, and flat out hilarious, he worked his audience hard, leaving little room for recovery. But then, who would want to recover from the dangers of Dangerfield?
After all, this was the fellow who made Ed Sullivan laugh on his very first appearance, synonymous to a comedic grand slam. This was the golf savant who put the honka-honka in one of the most conservative sports on the planet in "Caddyshack." This was the Hubba-Hubba rapper who came out with the song "Rappin Rodney" with lines such as "When I was young / They put me at a dog show -- and I won!" He even discovered Jerry Seinfeld.
Dangerfield's most famous catch phrase was that "he got no respect." Rodney, you couldn't have been more wrong.
-- Alissa Green
