DON RICKLES
HELLO DUMMY!
Original 1968 album liner notes
Produced by Paul Tannen for Mindy Beth Productions
in association with Jimmy Hilliard.
Recorded live at the Hotel Sahara, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Engineer: Lowell Frank.
Art Director: Ed Thrasher.
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W7 INTERVIEW: DON RICKLES
A brutally candid conversation with the frankly audacious star of clubs, television, motion pictures, and his mother’s living room
W7: What would you say Don Rickles is really like?
RICKLES: I don’t think that’s any of your business.
W7: Don, is there any one person who’s been a great inspiration in your career?
RICKLES: Yes, my mother. She keeps hollering at me to work.
W7: Is there anybody in show business you idolize?
RICKLES: At one time, when I was a kid, it was Milton Berle. Now I get invited to his house.
W7: What do you think of a guy like Johnny Carson?
RICKLES: Johnny Carson’s a very astute man, but unfortunately with his body he’ll never make the Olympics.
W7: You must like Joey Bishop a lot.
RICKLES: Joey Bishop is great, but he has one problem. He wants to hang out with me desperately.
W7: Dean Martin?
RICKLES: Dean Martin’s all right, except he keeps thinking he’s on the Titanic.
W7: Anything to say about Roy Rogers, with whom you appeared on a TV show?
RICKLES: Roy Rogers is very exciting if you want to listen to spurs jingle.
W7: Is there any reason why you don’t sing on stage?
RICKLES: Well, once I was humming in the shower, and the soap got out of the dish and walked away.
W7: Is there any reason why you always wear a tuxedo when you’re working in Las Vegas?
RICKLES: My uncle is a caterer, and I like to be near the business in case things go bad.
W7: Have you ever considered taking up any other kind of work?
RICKLES: Yes, but I got tired of counting hangers for my cousin.
W7: You must feel very close to the Italians.
RICKLES: Yes, my manager is Italian, but he has too much olive oil on his body.
W7: What about the Irish?
RICKLES: They’re okay, but who can go to a parade every day.
W7: Is there any group of people you refuse to attack?
RICKLES: Well, very honestly, the Germans, because they could make a comeback and cause trouble.
W7: Are you pretty thrilled about being on the same record label as guys like Frank Sinatra and Bill Cosby?
RICKLES: Only if they send checks to support my family.
W7: Do you have any words about the company that has the guts to put you on a record album?
RICKLES: Well, I think the people at Warner Bros. need treatment and care, because they must be really lonely, or running out of performers.
W7: How come it’s taken you so long to get on records?
RICKLES: How come it’s taken so long to sign me?
W7: What will your wife think about this album?
RICKLES: She won’t understand it because there’s no music.
W7: Do you have any advice for young comics who’re trying to make it big today?
RICKLES: Yes I do. They should work in the nude.
W7: I hope that you realize that we’ve gone to a lot of trouble to interview you for this album.
RICKLES: Wonderful. I’ll give you a cookie, and you can stay up late tomorrow.
STEREO
WARNER BROS.-SEVEN ARTS RECORDS, INC., A SUBSIDIARY AND LICENSEE OF WARNER BROS.-SEVEN ARTS INC., 4000 WARNER BOULEVARD, BURBANK, CALIFORNIA; 321 W. 44TH STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK. MADE IN U.S.A.
WS 1745
