Don Rickles sure knew how to roast a friend.
Rickles passed away in 2017 in Beverly Hills, California due to kidney failure. He was 90. His widow Barbara died yesterday at the age of 84. They are survived by their daughter Mindy and her two children, Ethan and Harrison.
But in 1996, when actor and director Clint Eastwood received a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute (AFI), Rickles was there to roast him in style.
Don Rickles Roasts Clint Eastwood
When Rickles stood up to give a toast, he really let Eastwood have it. He began by pretending he was there to say a few kind words about media mogul Merv Griffin instead of Eastwood. Then he pointedly noted that he had appeared in the movie “Kelly’s Heroes” with Eastwood 28 years earlier, “and I haven’t heard from you since.”
Rickles further told Eastwood point-blank that he was a lousy actor. And he incorporated Eastwood’s mother into one of his quips.
“Clint’s idea of a good time is sitting on a pickup truck watching his dog bark,” Rickles added.
He also took a playful swipe at Eastwood’s engagement, which drew a big laugh. And yet after all the barbs, Rickles concluded his diatribe with the entreaty, “Let’s have lunch.”
Watch Rickles Roast Clint Eastwood here:
Eastwood Turns 91 This May
Eastwood has been staying healthy as he ages, a source who reportedly knows Eastwood told Closer Weekly. He has his own personal chef who prepares high protein, low-fat meals for him. And he exercises daily, doing push-ups and weight training even at his advanced age.
Eastwood also meditates, he told GQ in 2009. “I do it twice a day, and it works great because it gives you a chance to gather your thoughts,” he said. “I’m religious about it when I’m working.”
Meanwhile, he is still with the girlfriend he met in 2014, Christina Sandera. He is reportedly “truly happy” with her and finds her fun and easygoing.
But that’s not to say Eastwood is on bad terms with his two ex-wives and eight children. On the contrary: He reportedly takes “great comfort” in the fact that he’s in close touch with all of his kids at this stage of his life.
Moreover, Eastwood is still laboring away, even as he’s pushing 91. He’s currently working on “The 15:17 to Paris,” a movie about a thwarted terror attack, in which he recently cast the real thwarters of the attack to play themselves in the movie.
