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Comedy legend and Las Vegas regular Don Rickles dies at 90 — PHOTOS

Comedy legend and Las Vegas regular Don Rickles, the “Sultan of Insults,” passed away today at his home in Los Angeles from kidney failure at the age of 90.

Don was a regular performer here — RJ colleague Mike Weatherford posted on Facebook that Don had performed here every year since 1959(!) — most recently at The Orleans Showroom and The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

I remember well standing backstage with him at The Orleans on a night that Zowie Bowie came to visit, too. I had the good fortune to work alongside Don in a Hollywood comedy TV special where he told me that the Beverly Hills Fire Department was so “rich and famous” that it used only Perrier water to fight fires.

We will miss the “Sultan of Savagery” and the “Prince of Insults.” Don was a great comedian and a wonderful Old School gentleman at the same time. He used comedy to break down barriers of racial and cultural insensitivities.

Rest in peace, good man, and know the joy and laughter you brought to millions who loved your style.

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