I call myself an actor. I always wanted to be one.

My wife, Barbara, is great. She arranges when I do work that I have a day off between performances.

If something strikes me as funny, I'll put it in my performance.

I've been to Philadelphia a lot of times over the years, playing the old Celebrity Room and most of the other clubs around there that don't exist anymore.

Sinatra was somebody special.

I've never had a written script.

I was 28 when my father died, and I was an only child.

The man I adored, and miss him terribly, was Johnny Carson.

When you first start out with something new, you're always a little uptight.

I didn't get married until I was 38.

Even when I was in high school and the Navy, I was the guy who could rip somebody, and they'd laugh at it.

I don't care if the average guy on the street really knows what I'm like, as long as he knows I'm not really a mean, vicious guy. My friends and family know what I'm really like. That's what's important.

After I graduated, I tried Broadway, which was difficult for me. It was tough to get a part on Broadway, so I just started talking to audiences at different social gatherings, and little by little I became Don Rickles - whatever that is.

My life was in Montreal years ago. Best food in the world.

When you do comedy, you can't please the world, although I'd like to think that most of my audiences were on my side.

Ninety percent of the people who come to see me are my fans.

Half the battle is that people have to like you before you say one joke, one bit of humor.

The young comedians always ask me, 'What's the secret for staying around?' I tell them, 'There is no secret - just stay around. Longevity is the most important thing.'

I don't do impressions.

The highlight of my career was being at the inaugural gala of Ronald Reagan, and I owe that to Mr. Sinatra.

Everything I've performed has been from my own head.

After over 50 years of headlining, I've been received very beautifully. But I always say, when you're onstage, you can't please everybody. I'm sure there are people who may not take to what I do, but that's OK.

I don't practice or write stuff down - everything I do onstage was just made up before I went on.

Once in a while, when I'm alone, I think about my age. I think, 'How many more years do I have on this earth?' But I can't really conceive of dying.

I was always the guy who made jokes and ribbed people at parties. After I went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts I got sidetracked into clubs and started doing comedy.

Sometimes, I knew generally what I was going to do, but I've never written anything down. Call it a sixth sense: the lines just come.

I used to work over a bar. That was - there was no stage. I stood over a tiny bar. Louis Prima, rest his soul, he worked there. I was the guy that filled in when he was off the stage.

I exaggerate all our selves, our beings. I make fun of everything: of our life and what we are. But I don't tell jokes, really. I just exaggerate life, and it comes out funny.

Most people think the character I do onstage is the way I am offstage, but I'm just a regular guy who spends time with his family and who turns on the television and watches a lot of sports.

What keeps me going is that young people still want to see me.

At 90, I'm still working a couple of dates a month. My mind is very sharp on the stage, so why not? This may sound corny, but I do it because people - young and old - still come to see me, and they're very enthusiastic about my work. They treat me like the Godfather.

Johnny Carson was king of the kings, in my opinion.

One thing a comedian does, when you step on the stage, you're selling yourself, and certainly I don't think the whole world can love you. But if you can get the majority on your side, you're really in business.

My wife is great. She always goes to the bank to see if the check has cleared.

I can get an audience screaming in Las Vegas and say, 'Barbara, that was a great show,' and she'll say, 'Would you please hurry up? We have dinner reservations at 9:30.'

To this day, if you gave me $1,000, I really can't stand up - You can tell a joke. You're a good storyteller and a good joke teller.

So, I'm on the satellite every Sunday, no matter where we are, with the Rams. Turn on the satellite; got to watch the Rams.

I used to play golf. I wanted to be a better player, but after a while, I realized I'd always stink. And that's when I really started to enjoy the game.

Diana Krall I met in, I think it was Canada. She's a lovely lady. Her husband, Elvis Costello, is a great star.

I've got an accountant who's been with me forty years. If he makes a mistake, he dies.

It's tough having the last name 'Rickles.' Luckily, my kids handled it great.

You know how a fighter always comes into the dressing room way before a fight? That's me - I'm like a fighter.

I don't say I was the first, because, who knows, maybe there was a guy out in Minnesota doing it before me.

If you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best. The only problem is when I get that belt, who's going to be left to fight? That's what I want to know.

You don't have to get ready if you stay ready, alright? I'm always in the gym, always training, all the time.

The only thing I can do is fight. Win or lose, I'm here every damn time.

I live a wild and crazy life.

I thought I would be laying hardwood floors in Colorado - a construction worker. Middle class or working class, that's where I was! I just fought because I loved it. It was so fun! Being able to go in there and outthink your opponents.

I'm not trying to be anything other than the way I was born and raised.

The opponent never matters to me. That's something I've always said.