Rodney Dangerfield

Sweating, twitching and perpetually tugging at his tie, Rodney Dangerfield developed a comic persona that was at once bellicose and neurotic -- a decent but malcontented everyman who disdains the snobbery around him.

Born Nov. 22, 1921, in Babylon, N.Y., the bug-eyed comic began performing his stand-up routine when he was 19. But at age 28, Dangerfield quit comedy to support his family and didn't return to the stage until 1963. His big break came on "The Ed Sullivan Show" when he made the famously deadpan host crack up.

This time Dangerfield's showbiz career stuck, and his act became a fixture on the nightclub circuit. Nearing 60, he made his first big film splash as the insult-hurling, nouveau-riche Al Czervik in Caddyshack (1980). More films followed, including Easy Money (1983), Back to School (1986) and Natural Born Killers (1994). Dangerfield died in Los Angeles Oct. 5, 2004.

Caddyshack

1980 R

This comedy classic follows the travails of young caddy Danny Noonan as he gets tangled in high jinks involving the eclectic and ridiculous members of Bushwood Country Club. Meanwhile, assistant groundskeeper Carl Spackler battles a pesky gopher.