Remembering Don Rickles- and a Few Reminders

I'm very sad to hear that the great Don Rickles has passed away. A truly unique performer, he turned being an "insult comic" into an art- and evolved into such a one-of-a-kind  entertainer, who had a category of show business all to himself.

I was fortunate to meet him and visit with him after a couple of his shows- and, yes, he really was a very nice man. We talked about his amazing career, and he was always so happy that my friends and I  were fans of his, and knew his work. This is a man who was also an actor, and worked with the likes of Clark Gable- as well as starring in his own TV show "CPO Sharkey". He was known as a comic who actually never told jokes- he just played off the audience, both riffing off the top of his head and utilizing comments he had stored in his brain from years of doing his act. One thing that really struck me was, as my friends, some of whom are also in broadcasting, and I were saying our goodbyes to him, Don would say- "you young guys, please, keep my name out there." As if he needed US to keep his name alive. His name and comedy legacy will live on- I feel so fortunate to have been able to meet him- and sad to see him go.

UPDATE:  I will be appearing with Bill and Wendy on WGN radio ( 720 AM) tomorrow Friday  at 10:35 am  to talk about Don!

Ironically, I will be appearing in the city where I met Don Rickles- Milwaukee- this Saturday , at the Midwest Gaming Classic at the Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel from 6-8 pm. I will be signing only for one hour, then m.c.ing a cosplay contest and helping sell a Rob Zombie pinball machine for charity! You'll find details under the "appearances" tab here on our site.

If you want to vote in the annual Rondo Awards- voting for fan favorites in horror and sci fi- please do so soon! The deadline is Sunday night, April 16th. I'm again up for favorite horror host-  among other notable names- so- vote for your true favorites! The ballot and instructions (and you MUST follow the instructions for your vote to count) is at:  www.rondoaward.com

Starting next week in the Dick Tracy comic strip in your newspaper- a story will be starting that includes- yours truly! I'll be showing up soon- and will even get to appear in a couple of the Sunday color strips  late April /early May!

The C2E2 comics and entertainment convention is coming to Chicago's  McCormick Place later this month as well- and I'll be there once again! Find the info under our "appearances" tab.

...and, come back here in a couple days for a preview of this Saturday night's Sven show!