He was born Jacob Cohen in 1921 on Long Island, performed in a father-son comedy-juggling act as a young Phillip Roy, worked comedy clubs in the Catskills before age 20 as Jack Roy and left show business at 27 to better support his family. Luckily for us, he returned 15 years later as Rodney Dangerfield, a mix of Charlie Brown and a fifth of whiskey.
Jacob Cohen, a.k.a. Rodney Dangerfield, died Tuesday at age 82, and it's time to pay our full respects.
A few years ago, I saw a New York City subway ad for The New School — an adult learning post for musicians, artists, writers, etc. — that read, "Create Something." Those two simple words gave me a profound and deserved appreciation for those who build something out of nothing — words on a blank page, melodies out of thin air — cultural contributions that otherwise wouldn't have existed. The Beatles gave us 13 albums, but they also gave us countless musicians who might not have otherwise picked up a guitar or a bass. For photographers, painters, sculptors and, yes, comics, you can make the same analogy. Dangerfield's influence goes far beyond his own stand-up acts and movies. The world of comedy will bear his DNA long after we're gone, too.
And you know why they call it the gift of laughter? 'Cause it is.
PK.com Remembers Rodney Dangerfield:
• Rodney Dangerfield's Best One-Liners — Picking a favorite is like choosing which Playboy centerfold to most want to have sex with. I guess I'll go with "My wife does a lot of charity work. She handles all the policemen's balls."
• My Favorite Movies — My plot summary of No. 3, Back to School: "Thornton Melon takes his self-made money and shoves it up the ass of Grand Lakes University. Along the way, he manages to sneak into a sorority and intoxicate more minors than an NBA star on the road."
• Head 2 Head: Grand Lakes University vs. Adams College — Which college would you rather attend, the one from Back to School or Revenge of the Nerds?
• The Official PK.com All-Time Oscars Nominees — Back to School gets two nominations, for Best Actor and Best Picture. In the final results, though, Eddie Murphy and Hamburger ... The Motion Picture come out ahead.
"They say, 'Love thy neighbor as thy self.' What am I supposed to do? Jerk him off too?"
Posted by Tequila Dave at October 6, 2004 7:35 AMJust classic stuff.