41 Facts About Rodney Dangerfield

Rodney Dangerfield began his career working as a stand-up comic at the Fantasy Lounge in New York City.

Rodney Dangerfield's 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.

Rodney Dangerfield 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.

Rodney Dangerfield 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.

Rodney Dangerfield was born Jacob Rodney Cohen in Deer Park, New York, on November 22,1921.

Rodney Dangerfield was the son of Jewish parents Dorothy "Dotty" Teitelbaum and the vaudevillian performer Phillip Cohen, whose stage name was Phil Roy.

Rodney Dangerfield struggled financially for nine years, at one point performing as a singing waiter until he was fired, before taking a job selling aluminum siding in the mid-1950s to support his wife and family.

Rodney Dangerfield fell into debt, and couldn't get booked.

Rodney Dangerfield came to realize that what he lacked was an "image", a well-defined on-stage persona that audiences could relate to, one that would distinguish him from other comics.

Rodney Dangerfield took the name Rodney Dangerfield, which had been used as the comical name of a faux cowboy star by Jack Benny on his radio program at least as early as December 21,1941, broadcast, later as a pseudonym by Ricky Nelson on the TV program The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and a pseudonymous singer at Camp Records, which led to rumors that Jack Roy had been signed to Camp Records.

In March 1967, The Ed Sullivan Show needed a last-minute replacement for another act, and Rodney Dangerfield became the surprise hit of the show.

Rodney Dangerfield began headlining shows in Las Vegas and continued making frequent appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Rodney Dangerfield became a regular on The Dean Martin Show and appeared on The Tonight Show more than 70 times.

In 1969, Rodney Dangerfield teamed up with longtime friend Anthony Bevacqua to build the Dangerfield's comedy club in New York City, a venue where he could perform on a regular basis without having to constantly travel.

Rodney Dangerfield's was the venue for several HBO comedy specials starring such stand-up comics as Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey, Tim Allen, Roseanne Barr, Robert Townsend, Jeff Foxworthy, Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks, Rita Rudner, Andrew Dice Clay, Louie Anderson, Dom Irrera, and Bob Saget.

In 1978, Rodney Dangerfield was invited to be the keynote speaker at Harvard University's Class Day, an annual ceremony for seniors the day before commencement.

One of his TV specials featured a musical number, "Rappin' Rodney Dangerfield", which appeared on his 1983 follow-up album, Rappin' Rodney Dangerfield.

In December 1983, the "Rappin' Rodney Dangerfield" single became one of the first Hot 100 rap records, and the associated video was an early MTV hit.

One of Rodney Dangerfield's more memorable performances was in the 1980 golf comedy Caddyshack, in which he played an obnoxious nouveau riche property developer who was a guest at a golf club, where he clashed with the uptight Judge Elihu Smails.

Rodney Dangerfield's role was initially smaller, but because he and fellow cast members Chevy Chase and Bill Murray proved adept at improvisation, their roles were greatly expanded during filming.

Rodney Dangerfield appeared in the endings of Billy Joel's music video of "Tell Her About It" and Lionel Richie's video of "Dancing on the Ceiling".

Rodney Dangerfield was rejected for membership in the Motion Picture Academy in 1995 by the head of the academy's Actors Section, Roddy McDowall.

In March 1995, Rodney Dangerfield was the first celebrity to personally own a website and create content for it.

Rodney Dangerfield interacted with fans who visited his site via an "E-mail me" link, often surprising people with a reply.

Rodney Dangerfield appeared in an episode of The Simpsons titled "Burns, Baby Burns" in which he played a character who is essentially a parody of his own persona, Mr Burns's son Larry Burns.

Rodney Dangerfield appeared as himself in an episode of Home Improvement.

Rodney Dangerfield appeared in the 2000 Adam Sandler film Little Nicky, playing Lucifer, the father of Satan and grandfather of Nicky.

Rodney Dangerfield was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution, which put one of his trademark white shirts and red ties on display.

Rodney Dangerfield played an important role in comedian Jim Carrey's rise to stardom.

When Rodney Dangerfield celebrated his 80th birthday on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in November 2001, Carrey made a surprise appearance to thank Rodney Dangerfield for his years of support.

From 1993 until his death, Rodney Dangerfield was married to Joan Child, whom he met on Santa Monica beach, where she ran a flower shop.

At the time of a People magazine article on Rodney Dangerfield in 1980, he was sharing an apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side with a housekeeper, his poodle Keno, and his closest friend of 30 years, Joe Ancis whom Rodney Dangerfield called "the funniest man in the world"; Ancis was a friend of and major influence on Lenny Bruce.

On November 22,2001, Rodney Dangerfield suffered a mild heart attack while doing stand-up on The Tonight Show.

Rodney Dangerfield returned to the Tonight Show a year later, performing on his 81st birthday.

Rodney Dangerfield was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Rodney Dangerfield's widow held an event in which the word "respect" had been emblazoned in the sky, while each guest was given a live monarch butterfly for a butterfly-release ceremony led by Farrah Fawcett.

Saint Peter mentions that he heard Rodney Dangerfield got no respect in life, which prompts Rodney Dangerfield to spew an entire string of his famous one-liners.

In 2007, a Rodney Dangerfield tattoo was among the most popular celebrity tattoos in the United States.

The official Rodney Dangerfield website was nominated for a Webby Award after it was relaunched by his widow, Joan Dangerfield, on what would have been his 92nd birthday, November 22,2013.

Since then, Rodney Dangerfield has been honored with two additional Webby Award nominations and one win.

In 2014, Rodney Dangerfield was awarded an honorary doctorate posthumously from Manhattanville College, officially deeming him Dr Rodney Dangerfield.