Donald Jay "Don" Rickles was an American actor, voice actor, stand-up comedian, and author, who was known mainly for his infamous insult comedy. He was probably best known for starring in his two identical self-titled programs: the 1968 variety show and 1972 comedy series both called The Don Rickles Show. He was also well-known for playing Billy Sherbert in Martin Scorsese's 1995 epic crime film Casino, as well as voicing Cornwall in Warner Bros.' Quest for Camelot and Jim the Bullfrog in Zookeeper.
For Disney, he notably voiced Mr. Potato Head in the Disney/Pixar Toy Story franchise, the Boss in Redux Riding Hood, and William in the former Walt Disney World attraction The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management). He also guest-starred in Episode 205 of Muppets Tonight, alongside Coolio.
Prior to his death, Rickles had intended to reprise his role as Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story 4, but a representative had stated he did not record any dialogue due to the script still being rewritten at the time. Shortly thereafter, petitions had launched to include Rickles in the film. According to director Josh Cooley, his family contacted Pixar to ask if they could still include him, and they managed to assemble enough material to have him reprise his role through 25 years worth of archived recordings (used within the whole franchise and other works),[1][2] similarly to how archived records of Paul Newman and Tom Magliozzi were used for Doc Hudson and Rusty Rust-eze (respectively) in Cars 3. The film was dedicated to Rickles.
Roles[]
(Redux Riding Hood)
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Out of all the Toy Story cast members, Rickles had the longest running time recording lines for every related media as Mr. Potato Head (25 years).
- Mr. Potato Head's line in Toy Story: "What are you lookin' at, ya hockey puck?" is one of Rickles' catchphrases.
- Rickles also starred as Billy Sherbert in Martin Scorsese's crime film Casino, which was released on November 22, 1995 (the same day Toy Story was released).
- He was considered to voice Shere Khan, Orville, and Genie in The Jungle Book, The Rescuers, and Aladdin (respectively).[citation needed]
- He was also considered for the voice role of Barnaby in Babes in Toyland.[citation needed]
