Joan Rivers surveyed a crowd of old-school talent at the Friars Club tribute to Don Rickles Monday night and quipped, “There are so many people here. There’s Regis [Philbin] and Tony Bennett, and Bob [Newhart] and me. It looks like Kevorkian’s bucket list!” Keeping the zingers flying, Robert De Niro — who starred with Rickles in Martin Scorsese’s “Casino” — joked of the (very much alive) 87-year-old at the Waldorf-Astoria, “This is a really impressive lineup for [Don’s] memorial service. I wasn’t sure exactly when you died, but I was pretty sure it had to be a while ago . . . I thought, like your career, you just quietly faded away.” The “Raging Bull” icon added: “Marty and I did eight pictures together. We had critical success, awards, stardom . . . then, bam! I did one film with [Don], and it’s all down the toilet.” Newhart joked about Michael Douglas’ recent revelation connecting oral cancer and oral sex, saying Rickles thought “cunnilingus . . . was an Irish airline.” Others taking digs at Rickles included Lewis Black, Kathy Griffin, Bob Saget, John Stamos and Louis C.K., who joked, “I’m a little nervous . . . but a lot of you will forget the whole thing by the time you get to the car, because you’re old.” Among the younger set, Katy Perry sneaked in to see her beau, John Mayer, perform along with Diana Krall and Natalie Cole.
Jokes on Rickles at Friars’ frying
