"All kidding aside, Frank, it's nice of you to be here – taking a few hours off from your sex life." When insult artist Don Rickles aimed that shot at Sinatra, the often volatile Frank responded with a laugh instead of a snarl. In fact, Frank very nearly knocked over his drink in uncontrolled mirth, for Rickles has a way of breaking celebrities up while cutting them down – to life size. In the three years since he first opened at Hollywood's Slate Brothers Club, Don has become a headline attraction by bruising and battering the egos of his audiences. He announces from the stage that he believes in the Will Rogers dictum: "Never pick on a little man," then proceeds to compliment the "bigness" of those present by insulting everyone in sight, with special attention given to celebrities. Rickles' diatribe is often outrageous ("Your fly is open, sir. What are you, some kind of sex nut or something?!" Or to a well-established but aging star: "I won't pick on you, miss. You're a has-been."), but incredibly, the high and the mighty of showbiz are more often amused than miffed, have clasped Rickles to their collective bosom, wind up calling their agents instead of their lawyers after such abuse to find a spot for Don in a movie or TV show they are doing. The acting assignments present no serious problem for Rickles, who put in time at the American Academy of Dramatic Art. The dramatic training helps in his nightclub act, too, as Rickles rants and raves at his audiences, beseeches them to follow him blindly in all manner of anti-social activities, for "I am your emperor!" And as the audiences swear allegiance to this sultan of insult, they also have quite a time for themselves, as the pictures on the next two pages indicate.
