Rodney Dangerfield has passed away

but I loved the guy.

There was something warm and genuine about him that couldn't be faked

one of the last great practitioners of a lost art

and his jerky, frenetic movements, especially his hand repeatedly grabbing and straightening his tie, were mesmerizing

even beyond his brutal, masterfully economical standup jokes, you could literally watch him with no sound

if one wanted to be pretentious, you'd say that his cruel, self-deprecating humour foreshadowed the expropriation of insulting stereotypes by groups like Queer Nation and people like hip hop performers

but I imagine that he would have thought that was really funny


--Richard Estes
Davis, CA