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Rodney Dangerfield Bio
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Rodney Dangerfield
Rodney Dangerfield was born as Jacob Cohen on November 22, 1921 in Long Island, New York. Rodney has said that his father, Phil Roy was never home and unfaithful to his wife. Rodney was raised by his mother, although his mentor growing up was Christopher Drum.
Rodney began writing jokes for other stand up comedians as a teenager. By the age of 19, Dangerfield adopted the name Jack Roy and began finding some work here and there as a stand up act.
In 1949, he married Joyce Indig and had two children with her, named Brian and Melanie. The couple divorced in 1962, but remarried a year later in 1963. Indig passed away in 1969.
In 1969, Rodney bought a Manhattan night club which he dubbed, Dangerfield’s. The club provided a starting point for many up and coming comics including Jim Carrey, Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr, Tim Allen, and Rita Rudner. He bought the nightclub to prevent his kids from being uprooted after their mother passed away.
Dangerfield’s path to success was long and arduous, with financial struggles looming throughout the first nine years of his career. At one point he gave up show business altogether and began selling aluminum siding so he could support his wife and kids.
In the 1960s, with renewed hope Rodney continued to sell aluminum siding by day but by night he began making the comedy club rounds, working to develop his onstage persona. It was at this time that he adopted the name Rodney Dangerfield, a name previously used by Ricky Nelson.
Rodney became best known for his “no-respect” jokes which were based on the antithesis of one of the underlying themes in The Godfather – respect. His first ever no-respect joke was, “I don’t get no respect. I played hide-and-seek, and they wouldn’t even look for me.” These jokes won him laughs and over the course of his career he wrote thousands of them.
Once his image was established, Dangerfield began making the rounds on comedy shows like The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, and The Dean Martin Show. In the 1980s Rodney’s career peaked as he began to make the transition from stand up comedian to movie star. He starred in films such as Easy Money, Back to School, Natural Born Killers, and Ladybugs. In 2004, Dangerfield came out with his autobiography entitled, It’s Not Easy Bein’ Me: A Lifetime of No Respect but Plenty of Sex and Drugs.
In August of 2004, Dangerfield underwent heart valve replacement surgery at UCLA medical center. A month later he fell into a coma and died on October 5, 2004. UCLA then named a suite of operating rooms after him in their neurosurgery department. Two years following his death Comedy Central paid him tribute in a special that featured comedians like Adam Sandler, Roseanne Barr, Chris Rock, Ray Romano, Bob Saget, and Jeff Foxworthy.
In 1993, Rodney married Joan Child, whom he remained married to until his death. Following his death Joan held a large celebrity filled event to commemorate his life. Among other things, Joan had Farrah Fawcett lead all the guests in a Native American monarch butterfly release. |
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Rodney Dangerfield - was a guest on Saturday Night Live |
Rodney Dangerfield - Jim Carrey started out at Rodney Dangerfield's night club.
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Rodney Dangerfield - Jerry Seinfeld started out at Rodney Dangerfield's night club.
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Rodney Dangerfield - Roseanne Barr started out at Rodney Dangerfield's night club.
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Rodney Dangerfield - Tim Allen started out at Rodney Dangerfield's night club.
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Yuddy top celebrities
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