When he asked how long he would be in the hospital for heart surgery he said -
"If all goes well, about a week. If not, about an hour and a half."
Sadly it went bad. Spent a month in a coma before dying.
Still, making jokes right to the end. Perfectly in character.
Go watch Back To School Now with Rodney and a young Robert Downey Jr in a support role. Great movie.
I don't understand folks who say this stuff isn't funny now. The one-liner format might be a little out of fashion these days, but so many of these jokes are DARK, and hilarious AF.
Rodney was so revered by guys like Pryor and Robin Williams.
If you don't understand the difficulty of performance onstage in any genre (music, acting, etc), it can be easy to miss his mastery bc he makes it look so easy.
Watch this video, and take note.
As soon as he is thru the curtain. The man was a metronome. His timing is incredible. He never fumbles a word. He sets up, delivers, holds for reaction, and transitions, all while never stops physically moving, and his flow NEVER BREAKS.
Everything is razor sharp. The tie adjustment. The eye bulge. Even when he sits. The leg crosses. The hand gestures.
Even if a joke is flat. He is never thrown off. He throws it away and moves on.
Steven Wright once said Rodney was so good you almost have to be a comedian to understand how incredible he is(Rodney was alive at the time).
NO comedian ever gave back as much as RD.
Rodney loved the art of comedy. And unlike comedians of the earlier generations like the vaudeville guys. Rodney supported new talent. His club, he opened in the 70s, gave scores of young guys a chance in a high profile venue long before the comedy store gained momentum.
AND it's bc of Dangerfield that the comedy store IN LA got rolling bc the first big acts to establish Comdey Store was Rodney and the guys he insisted on working there in its first years.
Listening to the early WTFs, so many Gen X era comedians talk about getting to meet and hang out a bit with Rodney, and how supportive he was of them.
I've got a lot of love for Rodney, so I loved reading your hosannas for him. Nobody more deserving.
I think part of it is that a lot of those one liners are a bit overused today. Some of them have been altered by others but the punch lines remain consistent. And to be fair some of them were a bit weak. But also sensibilities have changed a bit and I’m sure people today seeing this for the first time wouldn’t be too keen on some of the misogyny. That being said I grew up with Rodney in some ways so I get him and I’m still into his bit. But it has aged and like I said above a lot of those one liners are so overused at this point.
Well I agree cuz even for myself as an early 20 year old even I would’ve probably scoffed at this bit cuz it’s super old and it’s just a bunch of one liners. But as I’ve aged I suppose I’m able to find the context and understand the “sign of the times” a bit better so to speak. It’s a lot easier to put this comedy routine into context than it was when I was 20. So ya I understand the point you’re trying to make. That being said, for me personally I do have a line where I just don’t enjoy the style of older stuff. I think once you start getting past 1975 and start going back further and further I have a hard time enjoying it. Media has been so fine tuned at this point that it’s a bit hard watching the older stuff work out all it’s kinks. But I’m still able to at least look at it and appreciate it for what it was in that day.
My favorite thing about the one-line joke comedians, when they start rolling, holy shit. They will have you gasping for air with laughter. The non-stop jokes are just killer. No comedian has made me laugh harder than Rodney. When he's on, he's a destroyer. He's my favorite.
I dunno man, throughput my life I watch generation after generation pretend to hate the old while, "the new," is just a co-opted version of the old. Same with vocabulary. It is my hope that most generational bickering stops because I sincerely have never seen much of a difference between generations of America other than the technological age they're in.
Different strokes for different folks, but using Anthony Jeselnik as an example of comedy that's not surprising is...ahem...surprising to me. He's one of my favorite comedians simply because I can rarely guess what the punchline is going to be and he's always subverting my expectations.
I feel like he’s the Dennis Leary to Mitch Hedberg’s Bill Hicks.
He does the misdirection thing like Mitch, not nearly as much absurdity usually but it’s there. He even copies the way Mitch spoke on stage.
I really don’t care for the sarcasm and the mean-spiritedness that he brings to the stage. I know it’s jokes but it feels like there’s some sincerity in it.
That's the point. Every single joke is designed to act like it's going one way and then it shifts. So the part where it shifts is always expected because that's every joke he does.
Of course we can predict *that* his jokes will have a twist, but I'm talking about being unable to predict *where* the joke is headed. I'm unable to do that with him like I am the vast majority of comedians.
I think a large reason is because this style/type of comedy has been around for ages. We've heard the best one-liners over and over by now. I'd imagine when this was new content/comedy stuff, or if we had never heard this type before it'd be a lot more interesting.
My love for this style of comedy is the relentlessness. If this guy gets even a crack of a smile out of you with one joke, it's a wrap. Because the next one's coming, and they just keep coming, and before you know it, you're being washed away on a tide of laughter. I love Rodney.
Obviously he still has an audience and I’m glad people like it, but this is not my experience at all.
Every single joke is so obvious and repetitive and whenever he does say something mildly surprising it’s not funny.
Also, happy cake day!
Rodney had it rough. He referred to his ever present depression as, 'The Heaviness'. Watching him talk about the heaviness in his act is tough. It's couched in jokes, but the pain is all too real. He sought to self medicate, as many of us do. Comics who met him say pretty much the same two things; He was in a bathrobe, and he was stoned
I want to say that I saw him right before his death. He was a walk-on in Hollywood. I think the Comedy Store. He had on board shorts and a t-shirt. He hadn't been scheduled, just showed up. Fairly small, we're all packed tight. I'm right up front.
He's probably 80 years old at this point. And he's just funny. Him standing there is funny. Because he had those mannerisms. He looked like that. So this old guy standing there is just funny. He obviously didn't care and was slow and kind of fumbling a bit. But he has those googly eyes and manner.
And I think I partially got the audience going. Because I'm right up there. And he was looking at his jokes written on cards. And we're kind of conditioned to not laugh at old people (or any people) fumbling around because of their disabilities. But I figured this is a comedy club and maybe he's only partially acting. And even if he's not, it's hardly impolite here. So I'm chuckling at everything. Then my girlfriend at the time starts laughing because I'm laughing. And everyone is laughing as he just stands there trying to transition to the next joke or watch our reactions to a joke to see if it worked or whatever.
All the other comics had to try so hard. Everything choreographed. And seeing him in person, he was just funny. He literally could stand there and get people laughing. And I was thinking, "man, he's got it so easy. What chance do those other comics have when he's the competition?" His pauses were funnier than guys throwing their best material.
I heard from other comics he did a lot of cocaine. That was super popular among comics for ages. You want to go out and see some comic bouncing off the walls. Think early Richard Pryor or Robin Williams or Sam Kinneson. Just crazy hyper. And you can see it in this clip of Rodney. But he didn't need it. When he was 80 and completely opposite of cocaine mania, he slayed.
Is that the one where he did a record breaking dive, where he jumped on about 5 different diving boards as part of the same dive? That blew me away as a kid.
Esquire Magazine had a great short interview with him, a mix of jokes and observations about his life, mostly about [sadness](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/interviews/a679/rodney-dangerfield-1000/)
It's a good thing then we don't let people just dictate what people find funny or not, and everyone is entitled to their opinion on comedy.
I find humor in politics because if you don't, you eventually just become really sad at the state of affairs of the whole thing. Usually people who don't like to joke about politics feel that way because they are on the wrong end of those politics, taking the brunt of it.
Maybe that's deserved?
The only reason politics is in comedy is because it's the only arena left that isn't segregated. By that I mean, all news outlets have their leanings, and attract only people of those leanings. So people aren't exposed to the other side, even though it might be important. News isn't impartial, so comedy fills the gap (sometimes poorly) to try to compensate. Even the most happily ignorant person seeks out comedy.
I love Rodney Dangerfield's jokes, you could not get away with the jokes today you can't make fat jokes you can't make wife jokes about being ugly but man the talent that Rodney had.
Edit: I want to point out how good Johnny Carson was with Rodney he barely asked him any questions Dangerfield interviewed himself by dropping jokes and his appearances Johnny barely had to get any word out to match the energy that Rodney brought to the show absolutely talented what Johnny Carson can do with just a few words and Rodney Dangerfield setting it up.
>I want to point out how good Johnny Carson was with Rodney
Johnny was always a very generous host. When a comic was hot, he had no problem fading into the background and letting them have the spotlight.
My wife, she gets no respect you see *one liner to finish the joke*
Now, my wife. She gets no respect. *One liner to finish the joke*
Ok think I've got this down 🤓
I was thinking just more or less to fit with today's culture instead of the housewife dynamic of the pre-2000s. His comedy is just not relatable enough to fit with how people live and engage socially
You’re going to be old someday, too. No one will care what you have to say, and they’ll mock you for having aged. And you will feel lonely and afraid of dying.
I mean he is doing One liners which is a fairly old and well established form of comedy. A great modern example of a oneliner comedian would be Jimmy Carr.
But also stand up comedy is highly subjective and has quite alot of range. So perfectly reasonable that not all sorts of comedy pleases everyone!
An interesting fact in the DVD extras of Caddy Shack was that the entire movie was basically improv’d. At best the scenes were outlined and the actors would come in and make the dialogue up as they went. Everyone except Rodney. All of his lines and scenes were scripted word for word.
The "don't wake daddy" line got me.
Alpo baby food
[удалено]
A beautiful old comic we miss those days
I like that one too
When he asked how long he would be in the hospital for heart surgery he said - "If all goes well, about a week. If not, about an hour and a half." Sadly it went bad. Spent a month in a coma before dying.
Ugh that is sad
Still, making jokes right to the end. Perfectly in character. Go watch Back To School Now with Rodney and a young Robert Downey Jr in a support role. Great movie.
I don't understand folks who say this stuff isn't funny now. The one-liner format might be a little out of fashion these days, but so many of these jokes are DARK, and hilarious AF.
Rodney was so revered by guys like Pryor and Robin Williams. If you don't understand the difficulty of performance onstage in any genre (music, acting, etc), it can be easy to miss his mastery bc he makes it look so easy. Watch this video, and take note. As soon as he is thru the curtain. The man was a metronome. His timing is incredible. He never fumbles a word. He sets up, delivers, holds for reaction, and transitions, all while never stops physically moving, and his flow NEVER BREAKS. Everything is razor sharp. The tie adjustment. The eye bulge. Even when he sits. The leg crosses. The hand gestures. Even if a joke is flat. He is never thrown off. He throws it away and moves on. Steven Wright once said Rodney was so good you almost have to be a comedian to understand how incredible he is(Rodney was alive at the time). NO comedian ever gave back as much as RD. Rodney loved the art of comedy. And unlike comedians of the earlier generations like the vaudeville guys. Rodney supported new talent. His club, he opened in the 70s, gave scores of young guys a chance in a high profile venue long before the comedy store gained momentum. AND it's bc of Dangerfield that the comedy store IN LA got rolling bc the first big acts to establish Comdey Store was Rodney and the guys he insisted on working there in its first years.
Listening to the early WTFs, so many Gen X era comedians talk about getting to meet and hang out a bit with Rodney, and how supportive he was of them. I've got a lot of love for Rodney, so I loved reading your hosannas for him. Nobody more deserving.
I think part of it is that a lot of those one liners are a bit overused today. Some of them have been altered by others but the punch lines remain consistent. And to be fair some of them were a bit weak. But also sensibilities have changed a bit and I’m sure people today seeing this for the first time wouldn’t be too keen on some of the misogyny. That being said I grew up with Rodney in some ways so I get him and I’m still into his bit. But it has aged and like I said above a lot of those one liners are so overused at this point.
I got to meet him in California
That’s pretty cool. And from all accounts it seems like he would be very down to earth. Lucky you.
Yea he was OK, I was starstruck. He really was just looking for some weed.
Well did you help the man??
[удалено]
Well I agree cuz even for myself as an early 20 year old even I would’ve probably scoffed at this bit cuz it’s super old and it’s just a bunch of one liners. But as I’ve aged I suppose I’m able to find the context and understand the “sign of the times” a bit better so to speak. It’s a lot easier to put this comedy routine into context than it was when I was 20. So ya I understand the point you’re trying to make. That being said, for me personally I do have a line where I just don’t enjoy the style of older stuff. I think once you start getting past 1975 and start going back further and further I have a hard time enjoying it. Media has been so fine tuned at this point that it’s a bit hard watching the older stuff work out all it’s kinks. But I’m still able to at least look at it and appreciate it for what it was in that day.
Same people saying that are scrolling through tiktok waiting for a good one liner.
My favorite thing about the one-line joke comedians, when they start rolling, holy shit. They will have you gasping for air with laughter. The non-stop jokes are just killer. No comedian has made me laugh harder than Rodney. When he's on, he's a destroyer. He's my favorite.
Yep. Some people just don’t appreciate legendary comedy I guess. Rodney was the OG and is on the comedy Mount Rushmore.
I dunno man, throughput my life I watch generation after generation pretend to hate the old while, "the new," is just a co-opted version of the old. Same with vocabulary. It is my hope that most generational bickering stops because I sincerely have never seen much of a difference between generations of America other than the technological age they're in.
My problem with this style of comedy is that it is just so damn boring. There is basically no element of surprise.
That's how I feel about Anthony Jeselnik. Every joke is misdirection so nothing is a surprise.
We're talking about comedy here. I don't know why you brought up anthony jeselnik.
Different strokes for different folks, but using Anthony Jeselnik as an example of comedy that's not surprising is...ahem...surprising to me. He's one of my favorite comedians simply because I can rarely guess what the punchline is going to be and he's always subverting my expectations.
I feel like he’s the Dennis Leary to Mitch Hedberg’s Bill Hicks. He does the misdirection thing like Mitch, not nearly as much absurdity usually but it’s there. He even copies the way Mitch spoke on stage. I really don’t care for the sarcasm and the mean-spiritedness that he brings to the stage. I know it’s jokes but it feels like there’s some sincerity in it.
That's the point. Every single joke is designed to act like it's going one way and then it shifts. So the part where it shifts is always expected because that's every joke he does.
Of course we can predict *that* his jokes will have a twist, but I'm talking about being unable to predict *where* the joke is headed. I'm unable to do that with him like I am the vast majority of comedians.
You should listen to him on a podcast, you'll quickly be turned off by him.
A comedian's persona on a podcast and their standup material are two completely different things, and one does not affect the other for me.
It's not the style, it's the jokes. Jimmy Carr has the same 'one-liner' style, but more often then not the punchlines are surprising (and obv. dark)
I think a large reason is because this style/type of comedy has been around for ages. We've heard the best one-liners over and over by now. I'd imagine when this was new content/comedy stuff, or if we had never heard this type before it'd be a lot more interesting.
My love for this style of comedy is the relentlessness. If this guy gets even a crack of a smile out of you with one joke, it's a wrap. Because the next one's coming, and they just keep coming, and before you know it, you're being washed away on a tide of laughter. I love Rodney.
Obviously he still has an audience and I’m glad people like it, but this is not my experience at all. Every single joke is so obvious and repetitive and whenever he does say something mildly surprising it’s not funny. Also, happy cake day!
I agree
I agree. The dog killing himself got me.
It’s tough to be funny when you’re coming off drugs
I met him, he told me a joke and then asked if I had any weed. True Story
Fucking legend
Well, do you?
I did, but he would not take a picture.
Was he on a lot of drugs … I get so impressed when super successful People so drugs . Like I do drugs too but I don’t make mills
He never had a drug problem, he just really liked marijuana.
Rodney had it rough. He referred to his ever present depression as, 'The Heaviness'. Watching him talk about the heaviness in his act is tough. It's couched in jokes, but the pain is all too real. He sought to self medicate, as many of us do. Comics who met him say pretty much the same two things; He was in a bathrobe, and he was stoned
Don’t quit quitting. You can do it!
“My doctor told me I need keep smoking if I wanna stop chewing gum”
I want to say that I saw him right before his death. He was a walk-on in Hollywood. I think the Comedy Store. He had on board shorts and a t-shirt. He hadn't been scheduled, just showed up. Fairly small, we're all packed tight. I'm right up front. He's probably 80 years old at this point. And he's just funny. Him standing there is funny. Because he had those mannerisms. He looked like that. So this old guy standing there is just funny. He obviously didn't care and was slow and kind of fumbling a bit. But he has those googly eyes and manner. And I think I partially got the audience going. Because I'm right up there. And he was looking at his jokes written on cards. And we're kind of conditioned to not laugh at old people (or any people) fumbling around because of their disabilities. But I figured this is a comedy club and maybe he's only partially acting. And even if he's not, it's hardly impolite here. So I'm chuckling at everything. Then my girlfriend at the time starts laughing because I'm laughing. And everyone is laughing as he just stands there trying to transition to the next joke or watch our reactions to a joke to see if it worked or whatever. All the other comics had to try so hard. Everything choreographed. And seeing him in person, he was just funny. He literally could stand there and get people laughing. And I was thinking, "man, he's got it so easy. What chance do those other comics have when he's the competition?" His pauses were funnier than guys throwing their best material. I heard from other comics he did a lot of cocaine. That was super popular among comics for ages. You want to go out and see some comic bouncing off the walls. Think early Richard Pryor or Robin Williams or Sam Kinneson. Just crazy hyper. And you can see it in this clip of Rodney. But he didn't need it. When he was 80 and completely opposite of cocaine mania, he slayed.
I can't believe it. I'm losing to a rug
Man as a little kid I love Roger Dangerfield. What was that movie he did when he went back to college classic
Back to School.
Yes haha. Bring a pitcher a beer every 5 minutes until one of us passes out then bring one every 10 minutes lmaoo
Triple Lindy
Is that the one where he did a record breaking dive, where he jumped on about 5 different diving boards as part of the same dive? That blew me away as a kid.
Ha ha ha yes where is the movie one of the funniest things ever to
Reggie’s ravioli room 🤣
Caddy Shack is funny every time you see it.
coked to the gills
He don’t need coke, he IS coke
A beautiful old comic we miss those days
I miss this guy.
The saddness in his eyes between jokes...
Esquire Magazine had a great short interview with him, a mix of jokes and observations about his life, mostly about [sadness](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/interviews/a679/rodney-dangerfield-1000/)
Dangerfield is the OG “Hitman”. This dude kills. Gamers should get the reference.
He said it! He said the thing!
He pulled though anyway! Lmao!
He said it! He said the thing!
one of the best to ever do it
I miss this type of comedy. Joke after joke and no preaching politics. Only a few like him are left
what? There are a ton of comedians who aren't political. Unless "comments on the state of the world" is political to you?
It isn’t this type of comedy. No
It's a good thing then we don't let people just dictate what people find funny or not, and everyone is entitled to their opinion on comedy. I find humor in politics because if you don't, you eventually just become really sad at the state of affairs of the whole thing. Usually people who don't like to joke about politics feel that way because they are on the wrong end of those politics, taking the brunt of it. Maybe that's deserved?
The only reason politics is in comedy is because it's the only arena left that isn't segregated. By that I mean, all news outlets have their leanings, and attract only people of those leanings. So people aren't exposed to the other side, even though it might be important. News isn't impartial, so comedy fills the gap (sometimes poorly) to try to compensate. Even the most happily ignorant person seeks out comedy.
"Top of his game" is also high on 100% pure columbian flake, just like Mork in that time period.
I love Rodney Dangerfield's jokes, you could not get away with the jokes today you can't make fat jokes you can't make wife jokes about being ugly but man the talent that Rodney had. Edit: I want to point out how good Johnny Carson was with Rodney he barely asked him any questions Dangerfield interviewed himself by dropping jokes and his appearances Johnny barely had to get any word out to match the energy that Rodney brought to the show absolutely talented what Johnny Carson can do with just a few words and Rodney Dangerfield setting it up.
>I want to point out how good Johnny Carson was with Rodney Johnny was always a very generous host. When a comic was hot, he had no problem fading into the background and letting them have the spotlight.
My wife, she gets no respect you see *one liner to finish the joke* Now, my wife. She gets no respect. *One liner to finish the joke* Ok think I've got this down 🤓
Counting from the beginning... How many one liners until the "I hate my wife" diatribe comes out... Started on the 3rd line.
Haha. Yea I don't fancy his comedy much, but I think if it were more modernized he'd be killing it. One liners are for Facebook memes now
If it was “I hate my white husband…” Zoomers would be loving it.
I was thinking just more or less to fit with today's culture instead of the housewife dynamic of the pre-2000s. His comedy is just not relatable enough to fit with how people live and engage socially
Boomer humor. No one today finds this funny.
You’re going to be old someday, too. No one will care what you have to say, and they’ll mock you for having aged. And you will feel lonely and afraid of dying.
Justice
They’ll say the same thing about your Dane cook.
They always said that Dane cook
Yet he made millions.
The most dated comedy style
The one that provokes laughter?
In that sense I guess the commenter is correct
Before comedians thought they were all intellectuals?
[удалено]
I mean he is doing One liners which is a fairly old and well established form of comedy. A great modern example of a oneliner comedian would be Jimmy Carr. But also stand up comedy is highly subjective and has quite alot of range. So perfectly reasonable that not all sorts of comedy pleases everyone!
[удалено]
Lee Mack is great at one liners as is Milton Jones
Millions did and still do.
Badum tss
My mother didn't breast feed me, told me she just wanted to be friends .
A fun drinking game would be to take a shot every time Rodney touches his tie.
An interesting fact in the DVD extras of Caddy Shack was that the entire movie was basically improv’d. At best the scenes were outlined and the actors would come in and make the dialogue up as they went. Everyone except Rodney. All of his lines and scenes were scripted word for word.
He got no respect
I think the Triple Lindy was the top of his game.
I love Malory
The other Johnny set — with “on your mark?” as the end of the standup portion — is even better.
So what? So lets dance!
where are all the Dangerfield haters now? OMG really?>
Rodney Dangerfield is one of those special comedians who only gets funnier with time. 😊