Rodney Dangerfield
Comedian
Died when: 82 years 318 days (994 months)Star Sign: Sagittarius
Rodney Dangerfield (born Jacob Rodney Cohen;November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer.He was known for his self-deprecating one-liner humor, his catchphrase "I don't get no respect!" and his monologues on that theme.
He began his career working as a stand-up comic at the Fantasy Lounge in New York City.His act grew in popularity as he became a mainstay on late-night talk shows throughout the 1960s and 1970s, eventually developing into a headlining act on the Las Vegas casino circuit.
His catchphrase "I don't get no respect!" came from an attempt to improve one of his stand-up jokes. "I played hide and seek; they wouldn't even look for me." He thought the joke would be stronger if it used the format: "I was so ..." beginning ("I was so poor," "He was so ugly," "She was so stupid," etc.).
He tried "I get no respect," and got a much better response from the audience; it became a permanent feature of his act and comedic persona.
He appeared in a few bit parts in films, such as The Projectionist, throughout the 1970s, but his breakout film role came in 1980 as a boorish nouveau riche golfer in the ensemble comedy Caddyshack, which was followed by two additional successful films in which he starred: 1983's Easy Money and 1986's Back to School.
Additional film work kept him busy through the rest of his life, mostly in comedies, but with a rare dramatic role in 1994's Natural Born Killers as an abusive father.
Health troubles curtailed his output through the early 2000s before his death in 2004, following a month in a coma due to complications from heart valve surgery.
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