The Beatles Were Shocked and Embarrassed by Don Rickles’ Jokes About Them

When The Beatles traveled to America in 1964, they stopped in at one of Don Rickles’ shows in Miami. The band had not yet heard of Rickles, but he immediately recognized them. As he spent a significant portion of his shows poking fun at his audience, he took the opportunity to joke about one of the biggest bands in the world. The Beatles were not prepared for this, and it shocked them.

The Beatles were taken aback by Don Rickles’ jokes 

In 1964, The Beatles stayed at the Deauville Hotel in Miami. Though they had a tight schedule, they made time to stop in at one of Rickles’ shows despite not knowing him.

“Probably everyone has heard of Don Rickles now, but we hadn’t in those days, and he was playing in the Deauville Hotel where we stayed,” Ringo Starr said in The Beatles Anthology. “He was a vicious type of comedian.”

While The Beatles didn’t know who Rickles was, he knew them. He quickly turned the focus of his jokes onto the band.

“Of course, he turned on us,” Paul McCartney said. “We were all on one table with our policeman buddy, our chaperone (we had this one bodyguard who came everywhere with us; he was a good mate and we often went back to his house), and he started on him: ‘Hey, cop, get a job! What’s this? Looking after The Beatles? Great job you got, man; looking after The Beatles!’ He went on, ‘It’s great. They just lie up there on the ninth floor, between satin sheets and every time they hear the girls screaming they “Oooohh”‘ Very funny, we thought. We were not amused, as I recall. Very cutting. I like him now but at first he was a bit of a shock.”

George Harrison said that while they were all shocked, John Lennon seemed particularly embarrassed.

“We were all a bit taken aback. Also, we were trying to keep a low profile and suddenly he kept putting the spotlight on us, and embarrassing us,” he said. “I think John felt a bit embarrassed, too, at the time. However, if we’d had him on our own terms we could have made mincemeat out of him.”

George Harrison shared his one disappointment about the show

While Harrison admitted that it was nerve-wracking to have Rickles joke about The Beatles, he enjoyed the viciousness of the comedy. He actually wished Rickles had been more cutting throughout the set. In the end, he apologized to the room, which Harrison found disappointing. 

“He turned out not to be that cool, though,” Harrison said. “He blew it all at the very end because he started apologizing for everything he’d been saying, instead of just going off and leaving the buzz in the room.”

Don Rickles said he was happy to see The Beatles walk in

Rickles later said that seeing The Beatles in his audience came as a thrill. They were so popular that their presence meant that a large crowd came with them.

“The British have landed,” he wrote in his memoir, Rickles’ Book. “I’m happy to see them, mainly because the minute John Lennon and George Harrison appear, the lounge at the Deauville fills up. The Beatles are the new sensation, and everyone wants to see them. They take a table off to the side, and the girls start screaming.” 

The problem with this was that when The Beatles got up to leave, they took the crowd with them. 

“Just like that, they get up and leave,” he said. “And just like that, the room goes from full to empty, and I’m up there entertaining me.”