"There’s an Understanding Between People Who Lost a Parent"

Memories of Mom from James Ellroy, Sarah Silverman, Don Rickles, Amy Sedaris, and Suzi Quatro

Happy Mother’s Day! Have you called your mom yet? Well what the hell are you waiting for? Get off the damn internet and call her. Tell her you love her. Unless she’s dead. Then, for obvious reasons, you can’t call her. But that’s exactly why this day exists; to remind us to make that call we’re always putting off until it’s too late.

I don’t often ask about moms when interviewing celebrities. But when the topic comes up, it always hits hard. Here are just a few of my favorite exchanges about moms and why they matter so damn much. My mom is alive and well, at least today, and for that I feel grateful. I love you, Mom.

Don Rickles

(Comic, actor, Mr. Warmth)

A young Don Rickles (left) and his mom Etta Rickles.

ES: One of the biggest breaks of your career was also the biggest risk. Frank Sinatra came to your show, and you made a joke about him beating up people.

DR: No, no, Frank and I were friends. I could say almost anything to him.

ES: I mean the first time he saw you. When he walked into that club down in Florida.

DR: Oh yeah, right.

ES: Apparently your mom convinced Sinatra’s mom to make Frank come to your show. Is that true?

DR: It is! My mom was always sort of a Jewish Patton. A very strong lady. I was working in Miami at some dumpy joint, and Frank was starring at the Fontainebleau at the time. My mom makes it a point to find Dolly Sinatra, Frank’s mother, and they sit down and have a long talk. My mom tells her, “It would be great if Frank went to see Don’s act.” Dolly was like, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Frank shows up.” And he does!

ES: Moms are all-powerful.

DR: They were both really magnificent women.

ES: How many more years do you have in you?

DR: As long as my health keeps up, and the audience shows up, I’ll keep doing it. When it doesn’t come anymore, I’ll know it’s time to quit.

ES: That’s hard to imagine. You don’t seem like the quitting sort.

DR: No, you’re right. It’s not in my character. My mom was the same way. Even toward the end.

ES: She wasn’t ready to go?

DR: Not at all. She had emphysema and cancer, and it wasn’t easy for her. I tried to cheer her up. I remember visiting her at the hospital, and she looked so frail and weak. I said, “Mom, you’re 84 years old! A lot of people don’t make it that far. You should be happy. You’re 84!” She looked at me, and with this sad look on her face, she said, “I can’t be 85?”