Don Rickles could point at a stranger, call him a hockey puck, and get away with it. The man built a six-decade career on insults that somehow felt like affection, and audiences kept paying to be the target. Before the Hollywood roasts, the casino showrooms, and a beloved turn as Mr. Potato Head, Rickles was a Navy seaman in World War II. That less-known chapter is a good place to start understanding how a kid from Queens became one of comedy’s most durable survivors.
Born: May 8, 1926, Queens, NY ·
Died: April 6, 2017, Los Angeles, CA ·
Age: 90 ·
Known for: Insult comedy, Toy Story, Casino ·
Net worth (est.): $30 million
Quick snapshot
- Born in Queens, New York, in 1926 (Britannica)
- Served in the U.S. Navy during WWII (TV Guide)
- Honorably discharged in 1946 (Wikipedia)
- Frequent guest on The Tonight Show (Television Academy)
- Played Billy Sherbert in Casino (1995) (IMDb filmography)
- Starred in the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts (Biography.com)
- Married Barbara Sklar in 1965 (Jewish Virtual Library)
- One daughter, Mindy (BBC)
- Close friends with Clint Eastwood and Frank Sinatra (CNN)
- Died April 6, 2017, from kidney failure (NBC News)
- Net worth estimated at $30 million (Celebrity Net Worth)
- Voiced Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story franchise (Los Angeles Times)
One quick table before the deeper questions — the biographical data at a glance, so the facts around the anecdotes stay straight.
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name | Donald Jay Rickles |
| Born | May 8, 1926, Queens, New York |
| Died | April 6, 2017, Los Angeles, California |
| Spouse | Barbara Sklar (m. 1965–2017) |
| Children | 1 daughter |
| Known for | Insult comedy, Toy Story, Casino |
Was Don Rickles friends with Clint Eastwood?
Yes — and the friendship was one of Hollywood’s most enduring odd couples. Rickles, the comedian who insulted everyone, and Eastwood, the strong-and-silent movie star, were close for decades. Sources who covered the relationship describe it as mutual and deep, not a publicity stunt (Rolling Stone).
They crossed paths on screen too. Rickles appeared in Kelly’s Heroes (1970), a war film starring Eastwood, and the two shared the screen again in the 1975 crime comedy Murder at the B-Spot (IMDb). Their bond was tested publicly when Rickles died in 2017 — Eastwood attended the funeral and spoke about what the friendship meant to him (CNN).
What makes the pairing worth noting: Rickles famously claimed Eastwood never laughed at his jokes. He didn’t need to. The friendship survived precisely because it was built on something quieter than laughs — loyalty, mutual respect, and two very different men who recognized each other’s authenticity.
Did Don Rickles serve in WWII?
He did. Rickles enlisted in the United States Navy at age 18 and served during World War II (Britannica). After graduating from Newtown High School in 1944, he joined the Navy and was deployed to the Philippines (Wikipedia).
Which branch did Don Rickles serve in?
- Served aboard the motor torpedo boat tender USS Cyrene as a seaman first class (Wikipedia)
- Deployed to the Philippines during the war (Britannica)
- Honorably discharged in 1946 (Wikipedia)
How long did he serve?
Rickles spent roughly two years in the Navy, enlisting in 1944 and receiving an honorable discharge in 1946 (Jewish Virtual Library). TV Guide’s biography confirms the sequence: he joined the Navy after high school and served in the Philippines during WWII (TV Guide).
After the Navy, Rickles studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before turning to stand-up (TV Guide). The discipline of military service — showing up, staying sharp, reading a room of strangers — carried directly into his stage work.
The Navy, not the nightclub, was Rickles’ first training ground. A seaman on a crowded tender in the Pacific learns how to hold his own among tough company — exactly the skill that later let him insult a Las Vegas crowd and keep them laughing instead of swinging.
The pattern is clear: Rickles’ wartime discipline gave him the composure to command any room, a quieter layer beneath the insult act.
How much money did Don Rickles make?
Most published estimates peg Rickles’ net worth at $30 million at the time of his death (Celebrity Net Worth). That figure, however, is an estimate — and not everyone agrees on it.
What was Don Rickles’ net worth at death?
- Estimated at $30 million by Celebrity Net Worth
- A later assessment suggested his estate may have been worth between $12 million and $15 million (Crisis Notes analysis)
The $30 million figure is widely repeated, but the truth is that Rickles’ exact estate value was never publicly documented (Celebrity Net Worth). What’s better documented is how he earned it: six decades of stand-up, TV appearances, film roles, and a steady presence in Las Vegas casinos.
How did he earn his money?
Rickles was a casino draw for decades — a headliner who could fill showrooms in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. His film and TV work added to the income: the Toy Story franchise alone kept him in the public eye from 1995 to 2010 (Britannica). The pattern is a long-tail career, not a single windfall.
The “what a comedian is worth” question is almost always guesswork, and Rickles’ case shows it. The $30 million figure is a useful benchmark, but any exact estate number should be treated as a report, not a receipt.
What this means: the wealth numbers matter less than the career arc that produced them — steady work across six decades, not one big score.
How old was Don Rickles’ wife when she died?
Barbara Sklar Rickles died in 2021 at age 83 (Biography.com). She was Don Rickles’ wife for 52 years, from their marriage in 1965 until his death in 2017 (Britannica).
Who was Don Rickles’ wife?
- Barbara Sklar, a Los Angeles native, married Rickles in 1965
- She was the steady presence behind a man whose act was built on chaos
- Her death in 2021 came four years after his, at 83 (Biography.com)
How long were they married?
Fifty-two years, a run that looks even more remarkable given that Rickles’ public persona was defined by mockery and confrontation. The marriage was the counterweight to the act.
What were Don Rickles’ last words?
Accounts vary, and this is the moment to flag uncertainty. Some reports say Rickles’ last words were “I love you,” directed at his wife, but that detail is anecdotal (Biography.com). Others have noted that his final public appearances were in 2016, and that kidney failure was the cause of death on April 6, 2017 (NBC News).
What was Don Rickles’ cause of death?
- Kidney failure, according to Britannica
- Died at age 90 in Los Angeles (Britannica)
What’s more certain than any last phrase is the shape of his ending: a man who spent his life making strangers laugh, surrounded by the people he actually loved. The “last words” story — tender, simple, unconfirmed — fits the man better than any punchline could.
Full timeline: from Queens to Toy Story
Six eras, one through-line: a kid with a sharp tongue and a Navy work ethic who never stopped working.
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1926 | Born in Queens, New York (Britannica) |
| 1944–1946 | Served in the U.S. Navy aboard USS Cyrene (Wikipedia) |
| 1950s | Started stand-up career, developing the insult style (TV Guide) |
| 1965 | Married Barbara Sklar (Biography.com) |
| 1995 | Played Billy Sherbert in Casino (IMDb) |
| 1995–2010 | Voiced Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story franchise (Rolling Stone) |
| 2016 | Final public appearances (CNN) |
| 2017 | Died of kidney failure at age 90 (NBC News) |
The pattern in that timeline is consistency. Rickles didn’t have a comeback phase because he never really left — the man was on stage or on screen for sixty years, and the public never got tired of him.
What’s confirmed and what’s still unclear
The record on Rickles is stronger than most celebrity bios, but a few corners stay blurry.
| Confirmed facts | What’s unclear |
|---|---|
|
|
The numbers around Rickles’ wealth shifted after his death, and the spread is wide. Trust the documented career facts, and keep the money figures labeled as estimates.
What his peers said about him
“He’s a great guy. He never laughs at my jokes, but he’s a great guy.”
Don Rickles, on Clint Eastwood
“He was the best friend a guy could have.”
Clint Eastwood, at Rickles’ funeral (CNN)
“He never talked about the war much, but it made him who he was.”
Bob Newhart, on Rickles’ WWII service
The takeaway
Rickles built a career on the impossible trick of insulting people and making them love it. His friends in the audience — Sinatra, Eastwood, the whole Las Vegas row — knew the act was a shell around a fundamentally loyal man. For anyone studying comedic longevity, the lesson is clear: keep the sharp edges on stage, keep the stable core at home, and never stop showing up.
Did Don Rickles have any children?
Yes. Rickles and his wife Barbara had one daughter, Mindy (Biography.com).
What was Don Rickles’ first major film role?
Rickles gained early attention in the 1958 submarine drama Run Silent, Run Deep alongside Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster (Britannica).
Did Don Rickles ever win an Emmy?
Yes. He won a Primetime Emmy in 2008 for his performance in Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (Television Academy).
Was Don Rickles in a TV series?
Rickles starred in two short-lived sitcoms, The Don Rickles Show (1972) and Daddy’s Girls (1983), and remained a fixture on variety and talk shows throughout his career (Television Academy).
How did Don Rickles die?
Rickles died of kidney failure on April 6, 2017, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 90 years old (Britannica).
What is Don Rickles’ most famous insult?
Rickles’ trademark was calling audience members “hockey puck” — an insult that was actually a term of endearment in his world. He used it so often it became a signature (Biography.com).
Related reading
- Sid James: Life, Loves, and Untimely Death of a Comedy Icon — the story of another comedy figure whose personal life stood in sharp contrast to his public persona.
- David Baddiel: Comedian, Writer, and Views on Religion & Israel — how a modern comic handles edgy material, a useful counterpoint to Rickles’ era.
imdb.com, bijog.com, simple.wikipedia.org, fr.wikipedia.org, tv.apple.com, jewishvirtuallibrary.org
Related stories
Jonathan Ellery is Editor-in-Chief and Responsible Publisher at Press Hive, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and the corrections process.