SerpApi.Org
Every comedian has one joke that they remain most well known for, be it in the form of Monty Python's famed "Dead Parrot" sketch or Abbott & Costello's "Who's on First?" schtick.
With the late great Rodney Dangerfield, said recurring joke took the form of his self-deprecating "I don't get no respect," a famous series of jokes the Caddyshack star shared throughout the final 30 years of his career.
Launching the comedian to new heights in the entertainment industry, Dangerfield continues to remain closely tied to his signature catch phrase, imploring it in a variety of jokes, including:
- "I tell ya when I fly, I don't get no respect. I took one of those cheap flights, no frills. I finished eatin' and had to do the dishes."
- "When I was a kid I got no respect. I told my mother, I'm gonna run away from home. She said, On your mark."
- "With my doctor, I don't get no respect. I told him I want a vasectomy. He said with a face like mine, I don't need one."
Interestingly, Dangerfield once claimed that the inspiration for this oft-used catchphrase originated from 1972's Oscar-winning crime film, The Godfather, perhaps the most unexpected of places for comedic subject material.
According to Cracked.com, Dangerfield once wrote in his 2001 memoir It Ain’t Easy Being Me that he came up with his signature joke shortly after The Godfather's initial novel release, followed by its later adaptation by Francis Ford Coppola.
As per Dangerfield, though, the punchline he originally had in mind was "nothing goes right."
"It worked pretty well, but a few years later, the book The Godfather came out and it was a bestseller and then the movie came out, which was even bigger," the comedian wrote.
“Because of The Godfather, suddenly all anybody would talk about was ‘respect,’” he continued. “You’ve gotta show me some respect… If she’s with me, you show her respect… It’s all about respect.”
“I realized that fit pretty well with the image I was now working with onstage, so I decided to come up with a joke that had the word ‘respect’ in it," the comedian finished by saying.
In the end, the joke worked, proving such a massive hit among audiences that Dangerfield incorporated into his act with more and more frequency. The rest, as they say, is history.
