RODNEY DANGERFIELD

Rodney "No Respect" Dangerfield began his career at the age of 15 when he started writing jokes. As 17 he started performing at amateur nights. At 19 he had two jobs, one as a comic, and the other as a singing waiter. Rodney would sing and people threw money at him.

He traveled the comedy circuit for ten years but reluctantly gave up showbiz for a more stable income.

It wasn’t until the age of 40 that Dangerfield made the decision to re-launched his career as a performer and comedy writer for the second time. He spent his days in a business office and his nights working in New York clubs. Not satisfied, Rodney opened his own club, the now famous Dangerfield’s on First Avenue in Manhattan. The club was a huge success and so was Rodney. Rodney introduced many of today’s comedy stars to television for the first time on his HBO shows which emanated from Dangerfield’s, such as Tim Allen, Roseanne Barr, Jim Carey, Jeff Foxworthy, Sam Kinison, Bo Saget, Jerry Seinfeld, Rita Rudner, Robert Townsend, Louie Anderson and others.

Rodney’s feature film credits include starring in the classic hit comedy "Caddyshack" as well as "Easy Money" which he co-wrote, the mega-hit "Back To School" (one of the first comedies to gross over$100 million) and Paramount’s "Lady Bugs." In contrast to his comedy roles, Rodney accepted a dramatic role offered to him by Oliver Stone for "Natural Born Killers." Critics praised his realistic portrayal as the "Father From Hell."

Dangerfield also took an interest in working behind the scenes. He produced the animated feature musical "Rover Dangerfield" for Warner Bros. Rodney not only provided the voice for Rover, but also her also wrote the screenplay, co-produced the songs and served as Executive Producer.

Recently, Dangerfield starred in and co-wrote "Meet Wally Sparks," a comedy featuring Cindy Williams, Burt Reynolds, David Ogden Steirs, Michael Bolton, Tony Danza, and others. His most recent film, "My Nine Wives," is due to be released next year. In this outrageous comedy Rodney plays a polygamist.

Besides being a Las Vegas headliner for over 20 years, Dangerfield has also made countless appearances on talk and television variety shows. His first big break was The Ed Sullivan Show, which he did 16 times. Rodney also appeared in "This Is Your Life," "What’s My Line," "The Dean Martin Show," "Saturday Night Live," and a record 70 times on the "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." Recently he has appeared on "Mad TV," "Suddenly Susan," "Late Night with Conan O’Brien," "The Single Guy," and the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Rodney’s contributions to the world of comedy have not been overlooked. In 1981, he won a Grammy Award for his comedy album named No Respect and was the recipient of the Lifetime Creative Achievement Award from the 1994 American Comedy Awards. Rodney’s famous trademark white shirt and red tie are on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC…. Aaaahhhh…respect at last.