‘Mr. Warmth’ says it’s all an act

Wait for it. Here it comes. Here … it … comes.

Don Rickles is on the telephone. The man who lovingly has been called the “Merchant of Venom” and sarcastically known as “Mr. Warmth” is bound to start the interview with a few wicked insults.

The only question is whether it will be something short like “Hello, dummy” or a more complicated dig.

It is neither.

Rickles, who comes to the Northern Quest Casino on Saturday, is a soft-spoken man who talks in very humble terms about his success on stage as well as in television, film and the recording business.

“That’s just my act,” he says of the verbal abuse. “I will occasionally call someone a hockey puck if I am at a party with friends. But they all know me.

“Most people are surprised that I am not the guy they saw on TV or on stage. I have worked with four presidents, and each one’s eyes rolled back in his head when I was introduced. They just think I am the guy who gets up and makes toasts and then does all the put-downs.”

The softer side of Rickles is exposed in his recent memoir, “Rickles’ Book” (Simon & Schuster, 256 pages, $24).

In it, he talks about the huge influence his mother had on his life and hanging with the original Rat Pack: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop.

Rickles worked with writer David Ritz for a year on the project, a collection of funny and touching moments covering his 81 years.

“We would talk. He would type it up. He would write it in a book style. I would tell him I don’t talk like that,” Rickles says.

“Finally, he understood my voice. A lot of people say you can hear my voice when you read the book.”

It is a voice that has been heard in feature films from the dramatic “Run Silent Run Deep” to the animated “Toy Story” movies, where his work as Mr. Potato Head has given him a fan base that isn’t even old enough to go to school yet.

Rickles politely declines to say whether he enjoys film work or live performances more. He calls it “apples and oranges.”

He does talk a lot about what it is like to get in front of an audience. He holds Las Vegas and Atlantic City in great reverence.

“Casinos are always great,” he says. “The people who go there are there to have fun. I always look forward to working at a casino.”

It is in front of those casino crowds that the man of a thousand insults comes out.

Rickles always has been an equally opportunity offender. It’s what he has done for the last half century.

He didn’t have to worry about the political correctness police when he started. But he says that even if he were a young comic just beginning his career today, his act would be no different.

“That is all I know,” Rickles says.

“I started out doing impressions and jokes. I am not a joke teller. My impressions were lousy. So I would take the same path.”