That seems like such a superlative. "Changed my life"
It's like saying "World Peace Achieved!"
But Don Rickles changed my life.
I never met the guy, and I never will in person, now that he died this week, after about 9 decades on Earth.
But he was married for a long time. Through a lot of years of performing, and being around other people in the entertainment industry.
He and Bob Newhart both had long marriages, and they and their wives had a friendship that lasted like 40 or 50 years.
I learned about Bob Newhart some when I was in college, and then I saw a documentary about Rickles a few years ago.
Like I said: I never met them in person. So I have no idea whether the persona that was presented to me was their reality. I can't know either way. 10 years ago I felt just as highly about Bill Cosby. 20 years ago I felt the same about O.J.
So I don't know what their reality was.
But I know what my reality has been. I know I grew up in an era when it seemed really difficult to balance a career in the entertainment industry with a healthy marriage, or a healthy and growing relationship between yourself and one other person in particular.
Marriages like the Rickles' were presented to me, growing up, as an alternative path. That I could entertain people, and still get to have a wife, and a partner, and that we could enjoy life together, and vacation together, and enjoy the ride.
_____
I don't know Barbara Rickles. But I hope she -- and everyone who's lost anyone --
realize how many more people we impact, than just the ones we meet.
RIP, Mr. Warmth
It's like saying "World Peace Achieved!"
But Don Rickles changed my life.
I never met the guy, and I never will in person, now that he died this week, after about 9 decades on Earth.
But he was married for a long time. Through a lot of years of performing, and being around other people in the entertainment industry.
He and Bob Newhart both had long marriages, and they and their wives had a friendship that lasted like 40 or 50 years.
I learned about Bob Newhart some when I was in college, and then I saw a documentary about Rickles a few years ago.
Like I said: I never met them in person. So I have no idea whether the persona that was presented to me was their reality. I can't know either way. 10 years ago I felt just as highly about Bill Cosby. 20 years ago I felt the same about O.J.
So I don't know what their reality was.
But I know what my reality has been. I know I grew up in an era when it seemed really difficult to balance a career in the entertainment industry with a healthy marriage, or a healthy and growing relationship between yourself and one other person in particular.
Marriages like the Rickles' were presented to me, growing up, as an alternative path. That I could entertain people, and still get to have a wife, and a partner, and that we could enjoy life together, and vacation together, and enjoy the ride.
_____
I don't know Barbara Rickles. But I hope she -- and everyone who's lost anyone --
realize how many more people we impact, than just the ones we meet.
RIP, Mr. Warmth
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