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Rodney Dangerfield Filmography
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Rodney Dangerfield (November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004), born
Jacob Cohen, was an American comedian and actor, best known for the line
"I don't get no respect" and his monologues on that theme.
He was born in Babylon, Long Island, USA, the son of vaudevillian Phil Roy (Philip Cohen). As a teenager, he got his start writing jokes for standup comics; he became one himself at 19, and struggled financially for nine years under the name
Jack Roy before giving up show business to support his wife.
He returned to stand-up in the early 1960s; to give his career a fresh start, he changed his name to
Rodney Dangerfield. The movie The Godfather inspired his trademark line about the lack of respect he received. Headlining performances in Las Vegas and dozens of performances on The Ed Sullivan Show
and The Dean Martin Show
kept him in the public eye. Dangerfield made 70 appearances on The Tonight Show
. Dangerfield also made an appearance on The Simpsons as Mr. Burns' son, Larry. Larry Burns was modeled after Dangerfield, including his tie tug.
Wanting to remain near his children after his divorce from their mother, he became the owner of a Manhattan nightclub in 1969; the nightclub, "Dangerfield's", was the venue for an HBO show and helped popularize many stand-up comics, including
Jerry Seinfeld,
Jim Carrey,
Tim Allen,
Roseanne Barr, Jeff Foxworthy, Sam Kinison,
Rita Rudner, and Bob Saget.
Dangerfield's career peaked during the early 1980s, with his appearance in Caddyshack and the release of his Grammy Award-winning comedy album
No Respect.
In 1994, Dangerfield won an American Comedy Award for lifetime creative achievement. He was also recognized by the Smithsonian Institution, which put one of his trademark white shirts and red ties on display.
In 1995, his application for membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was rejected. At the time, Dangerfield commented on how then-president of AMPAS,
Roddy McDowall, who acted in a monkey suit in the Planet of the Apes series of films, possibly felt that Dangerfield wasn't dignified enough to join the organization. AMPAS would later change their decision and offer membership, an offer he declined.
In 2004, Dangerfield's autobiography,
It's Not Easy Bein' Me: A Lifetime of No Respect but Plenty of Sex and Drugs (ISBN 0066211077) was published. The book's original title was My Love Affair With Marijuana, a reference to the drug he smoked daily for sixty years.
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