Barbara Rickles: Don Rickles’ Wife, Family & Legacy

Barbara Rickles was the wife of comedian Don Rickles and a producer who stayed close to his career for more than five decades. Born Barbara Sklar in Philadelphia, she moved to Los Angeles as a young woman, met Don while working for his agent, married him in 1965, and raised two children with him. Their marriage lasted 52 years, until Don died in 2017.

Her life was tied to one of comedy’s most famous names, but it was not only a story about being a celebrity spouse. She helped hold family life together while Don worked on the road, supported his career into old age, helped produce projects about his work, and later helped protect his legacy.

From Philadelphia to Los Angeles

Barbara grew up in Philadelphia. The Associated Press reported through CBS News that she moved to Los Angeles in her early 20s. Her daughter Mindy later said she wanted more excitement and also hoped the move might help with eczema that had troubled her as a child.

Los Angeles gave her a new start. She found work as an assistant to talent agent Jack Gilardi. That job put her in the same circle as Don Rickles, who was already building a name as a comic and actor.

Don later said Barbara stood out because she did not laugh at his jokes when they first met. For a man who lived by getting laughs, that reaction got his attention.

He was still single in his late 30s and had spent years moving between clubs, television work, and film roles. Barbara was different from many of the women he had dated. Don later spoke about that difference with real warmth.

A Marriage That Lasted More Than Five Decades

Don and Barbara married on March 14, 1965. He was 38. The Los Angeles Times later noted that she had worked for his movie agent before they married.

The wedding stayed important to Don for the rest of his life. In his memoir, he remembered friends Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme singing at the reception. He also wrote about becoming emotional during the song before quickly turning the moment back into a joke.

The marriage lasted through the busiest years of his career. Don spent decades working in Las Vegas, clubs, theaters, films, and television. His schedule could be hard on family life, but Barbara often traveled with him.

Their daughter Mindy later said the family stayed together even when Don was on the road. Barbara was often near his dressing room. She welcomed visitors and joined him for dinner after shows.

That routine placed her close to the work without making her part of the act. Don had the public role. Barbara helped make the life around that role work.

The Woman Behind Many of Don Rickles’ Jokes

Don built his career on insult comedy. He mocked friends, strangers, movie stars, and members of his own family. Barbara often became part of the material.

He joked about her jewelry, her voice, her looks, and married life. Onstage, the lines could sound harsh. At home, the picture was very different.

People close to the couple said she knew the jokes were part of the performance. Their spokesman Paul Shefrin later said the two were deeply devoted to each other.

Mindy also said her mother learned to let the jokes wash over her. Barbara could laugh at herself, which helped when she was married to a man who could turn almost any moment into a punch line.

Don also spoke about her in a much softer way when he dropped the stage voice. In a 2007 CNN interview, he called her magnificent and said she had kept him going through 42 years of marriage.

Near the end of his life, he still mixed love with comedy. That was the language of their marriage. The jokes were public, but the loyalty behind them was private and steady.

Raising Mindy and Larry

Barbara and Don had two children, Mindy and Larry.

Mindy became an actor and comedian. She later spoke about her parents with affection and gave some of the clearest public details about their home life.

Larry Rickles worked as a writer and producer. He spent time in television production and later became part of one of the most important projects about his father.

That project was Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project, released in 2007. Larry helped produce the documentary, and Barbara was also involved as a producer.

The film became more than a career tribute. It was also a family project. Larry shared a Primetime Emmy for producing it, while Don won an Emmy for his performance.

For Don, working with his son gave the project special meaning. It also placed Barbara inside a film that helped preserve the story of the man she had supported for decades.

The family then faced a painful loss. Larry died in Los Angeles in 2011 at age 41. The Los Angeles Times reported that he died from complications of pneumonia.

His death came six years before Don died. Barbara had already spent decades helping keep the family close through travel and fame. She now had to live through the loss of a son as well.

Her Own Work as a Producer

Barbara did not build a large public career, but she was more than a guest at events.

Her producer work is tied closely to Don’s career. She helped produce Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project, which became an Emmy-winning documentary.

Years later, she served as an executive producer on Don Rickles Live in Concert, released in 2020. The project gave audiences another look at Don’s stage work after his death.

Her role also included the practical side of his career. In a 2013 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Don said Barbara helped arrange his schedule so he had a day off between performances.

That mattered more as he grew older. Don kept performing well into his 80s, even as travel and health became harder.

Barbara helped him keep working without losing sight of the limits that came with age. It was quiet work, but it was part of how his career lasted so long.

The Rickles and Newhart Friendship

One of the most important friendships in the Rickles family was with comedian Bob Newhart and his wife, Ginny.

Don and Bob were very different onstage. Don was loud and sharp. Bob was calm and dry. Offstage, they became close friends.

Don once explained on NPR’s Fresh Air that the wives were a major reason the friendship worked. Barbara and Ginny were very close, and he said they were like sisters.

The two couples traveled together and spent years sharing vacations, dinners, and family time.

Mindy later said Barbara did not need a huge social circle. She preferred a few close friends. Ginny Newhart was one of the closest.

That friendship gives a better sense of Barbara’s life away from red carpets. She was part of Hollywood, but she did not need Hollywood to be the center of everything.

Don’s Final Years and the Work After His Death

Don kept performing almost until the end of his life. His health slowed him down, but he still worked, appeared on television, and stayed connected to fans.

Barbara remained beside him through those years. She helped with travel and scheduling and stayed part of the daily life around his work.

Don died on April 6, 2017, at age 90. He and Barbara had been married for 52 years.

After his death, she stayed involved with his public legacy. The Associated Press reported that she continued running his Twitter account. She also remained connected to projects built around his comedy.

That choice fit the pattern of their marriage. She had supported the career while he was alive, then helped keep the work available after he was gone.

Barbara Rickles’ Death in 2021

Barbara died on March 14, 2021, at age 84. The date was the 56th anniversary of her wedding to Don.

Her spokesman told the Associated Press that the cause was non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The date made the news especially emotional for friends and fans. March 14 had marked the start of a marriage that lasted more than half a century.

Tributes focused on her warmth, humor, and loyalty. Bob Saget, a close family friend, remembered her as funny and wonderful.

For people who knew Don only through his hard-edged comedy, Barbara offered a view of the softer life behind it.

A Legacy Built Around Family and Humor

Barbara Rickles spent most of her public life beside a man famous for making everyone around him the target of a joke. Yet her own story was shaped by much more than those jokes.

She left Philadelphia for Los Angeles, met Don through work, built a family with him, traveled through the busiest years of his career, raised Mindy and Larry, helped produce projects about his work, and stayed involved in his legacy after his death.

She also lived through the death of her son and later the death of her husband.

What lasted through all of it was the partnership. Don Rickles made a living by turning people into punch lines. Barbara knew the difference between the act and the man behind it, and she remained his partner for more than 50 years.

For another story about a woman whose life was closely tied to a famous public figure, read LakewoodScoop.co.uk’s profile of June Baranco.