Friars Club to honor Don Rickles for comedy career

[April 18, 2013]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Friars Club is honoring Don Rickles with a lifetime achievement award.

The entertainers' group said Wednesday it will celebrate the 86-year-old comedian at its annual awards ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.

Bob Costas, Tony Danza, Kathy Griffin, Bob Newhart, Regis Philbin and Joan Rivers are among those set to participate in the honors on June 24.

Rickles started his career in the 1950s and has worked with generations of legends, including Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. He still appears on the late-night shows of Jay Leno, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel and Craig Ferguson.

Joseph Zappala, chairman of the Friars Foundation, said the Rickles celebration will live forever in club history.

[Associated Press]

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