NOBODY IN THAT ROOM WAS SAFE AND THEY LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT
Don Rickles was never supposed to be a safe comedian
He was a verbal assassin dressed in a tuxedo
And on the night of the AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute to Clint Eastwood He proved exactly why Hollywood feared him and adored him in equal measure
The year was 1996
Clint Eastwood was receiving one of the most prestigious honors in American cinema
The room was packed with icons
Steven Spielberg Meryl Streep Morgan Freeman Gene Hackman Martin Scorsese
Every seat was filled with greatness
And then Don Rickles walked up to the podium
That was when the tribute stopped being a tribute
And became something far more dangerous
Something unforgettable
THE MOMENT HE OPENED HIS MOUTH THE ENTIRE ROOM KNEW THEY WERE IN TROUBLE
Rickles did not ease into his set
He did not warm up the crowd with pleasantries
He looked directly at Clint Eastwood
The man of the hour
The legend being celebrated
And he started firing
Clint I have to tell you something I have been in this business for over forty years And I have never seen a man so beloved So respected So admired And so completely unable to act
The room exploded
Clint Eastwood himself threw...
