No One Was Safe When Don Rickles Appeared On ‘The Tonight Show’

Classic Tonight Show episodes are unlike anything on TV today. There wasn’t any political correctness. Johnny and his guests weren’t afraid of hurting people’s feelings.

Sensitivity wasn’t possible when Don Rickles was on the show. Mr. Warmth spared nobody’s feelings in his performances. He made fun of everything and everybody, including Johnny! That was his brand of humor and we loved it.

On Johnny’s 11th anniversary on The Tonight Show, Mr. Warmth showed up to toast, or rather roast the beloved late-night host. Buddy Hackett and Burt Reynolds appeared alongside him during this 1973 episode. Don took on Johnny’s wife and even Burt Reynold’s love life.

If you miss Classic TV, you will love the video clip below! It’s full of hilarious jokes and Johnny is even smoking! You can’t do that on television anymore. Carol Wayne even made an appearance.

Hilarious! Poor Burt Reynolds took the brunt of most of the jokes. But, he took it like a champ! No complaints or whining were heard. Nobody asked for a safe space from Don Rickles’ jokes!

This is why we stayed up late to watch The Tonight Show during Johnny’s tenure as host. This was before VCRs and DVRs, so naps were sometimes necessary to make it to 11:30, but it was worth it!

If you liked this clip, click here to watch Frank Sinatra and Don Rickles appear on The Tonight Show. Frank was discussing music with Johnny when Mr. Warmth strolled right in and interrupted. Don skewered Sinatra pretty well about his wedding night. It’s pretty funny stuff!

This brand of humor isn’t on television these days. Everything has to be sanitized out of fear that someone’s feelings might be hurt. Johnny and his guests weren’t concerned about such things. They wanted to laugh and didn’t care about political correctness.

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