Rodney Dangerfield Bio

Rodney Dangerfield was an American stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter and producer. His gory one-liners and Borscht Belt monologues were his most well-known trademarks. After beginning his career in stand-up in the Catskills, he became well-known in the 1960s and 1970s as a famous late-night talk show guest and as the main attraction in Las Vegas. In addition to his well-known catchphrase, “I don’t get no respect!,” he is most known for playing the lead in the golf comedy “Caddyshack,” which came out in 1980.

Rodney Dangerfield Wife

Rodney had two marriages. He was married to Joyce Indig . Melanie Roy-Friedman and Brian Roy were their two children. He got married  to Joan Child in 1993. Up until his passing, Rodney and Joan Dangerfield stayed together.

Rodney Dangerfield Net Worth

Rodney had an estimated net worth of $20 million at the time of his death in 2004. In today’s dollars, that amounts to about $30 million after accounting for inflation.

Rodney Dangerfield Real Name & Age

Rodney Dangerfield was born as Jacob Rodney Cohen. He was born in 1921 in New York.

Rodney Dangerfield Cause of Death

Dangerfield had a small stroke on November 22, 2001, his 80th birthday, while performing stand-up on The Tonight Show. Host Jay Leno saw something wasn’t right with Dangerfield’s movements throughout his performance and requested his producer to get the paramedics involved. The fact that Dangerfield smoked marijuana in his bed reportedly infuriated the hospital staff throughout his stay. After a year, Dangerfield made a reappearance on the Tonight Show on his 81st birthday.

In order to enhance blood flow and get ready for a subsequent heart valve replacement procedure, Dangerfield had brain surgery on April 8, 2003. The date of the heart operation was August 24, 2004. When asked how long he would be in the hospital after arriving at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center, he responded with another of his signature one-liners, “If all goes well, about a week.” If not, it will take roughly 1.5 hours.”

He died on October 5, 2004. He was laid to rest in the Los Angeles Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. The Joke of the Day that was chosen at random on Dangerfield’s website on the day of his passing was, “I tell ya, I get no respect from anyone.” I purchased a grave plot. “There goes the neighborhood,” exclaimed the man. Because of this, his wife Joan Dangerfield wrote “There goes the neighborhood” as the inscription on his gravestone. The phrase has now gained so much notoriety that it is now featured as a crossword puzzle clue in the New York Times.

Dangerfield’s widow threw an occasion where Farrah Fawcett conducted a butterfly-release ceremony and the word “respect” was painted on the sky. Each visitor received a live monarch butterfly.

Rodney Dangerfield Parents

Dorothy Teitelbaum, a Jewish woman from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and vaudevillian singer Phillip Cohen were Rodney’s parents. The fact that Phillip was rarely home and that Dorothy hardly ever showed her son affection caused a great deal of friction. Dangerfield moved to Kew Gardens, Queens, with his mother, sister, and other family members after his father left the family.

Rodney Dangerfield Education

Rodney attended Richmond Hill High School where he earned his diploma in 1939. When he was fifteen years old, he started writing for stand-up comedians while doing stand-up at an Ellenville, New York resort. He endured financial hardship for nearly ten years after formally changing his identity to Jack Roy, doing odd jobs as a singing waiter and an aluminum-siding salesperson.

Rodney Dangerfield Career

After hitting the stage again to play at Catskill Mountains resorts, Dangerfield had a career makeover in the early 1960s. He was still having trouble making a name for himself in the comedy industry, so he decided to develop an artistic identity to help him stand out. As a result, he took on the name Rodney Dangerfield, which had been given to a character on a 1940s Jack Benny radio show. This guy, who had also been treated with scant regard by society, served as a major inspiration to Dangerfield.