Photo contributed by Mike Wally Walter
Mike Wally Walter will bring his Don Rickles tribute show to the Pendleton Elks Lodge on April 10th.
In 2007, John Landis produced the HBO documentary "Mr Warmth: The Don Rickles Project." This loving and reverent portrait of America's preeminent insult comic featured interviews with a parade of comics (from Chris Rock to Ed McMahon) praising Rickles' insulting yet good-natured style of comedy as well as his genial personality.
When veteran Olympia, Washington-based comic Mike Wally Walter watched the documentary he couldn't help but feel inspired by the man himself. A light bulb went on in his head. He had always been told by friends that he looked like Don Rickles (as well as Johnathan Winters) due to his waning hair and had always admired Rickles' rapid-fire delivery, which was not unlike his own. With that he decided to start performing a Don Rickles tribute act.
It's not that he copies Don Rickles' jokes verbatim, but rather emulates his style of joke delivery (i.e. singling out audience members to insult but in the most loving way possible). Couple that with a Vegas act dress code (tuxedo and bow tie) and Walter makes for a passable replica of Rickles.
Although Walter's website bears an explicit disclaimer that his tribute act is not sanctioned by Don Rickles or his management, he claims that Don and his management like what he is doing. He spent a year at Harrah's in Laughlin, Nevada, performing his Rickles tribute as part of the Showgirls. Now he is bringing that act to the Pendleton Elks Lodge.
Walter made his start in comedy 35 years ago by entering a local comedy competition in Seattle. He came in second place and the emcee encouraged him to continue developing his craft. Steadily Walter made his way through the open mic scene before landing a few paid gigs. Up to that point he had been working at Georgia-Pacific but an on-the-job injury forced him into early retirement. Since he had no other job skills, Walter took up performing stand up full time. When asked about how becoming a full-time professional comic changed his life, Walter says, "Talk about travel! I have five ex-wives, at the time (I became a comic) I only had two!"
Although Walter claims Las Vegas as his favorite place to perform ("They get me there. I'm a Vegas-style act."), his most memorable performances took place in the Middle East in the midst of the Iraq War.
"I went overseas to Iraq, and Bahrain in 2006 to entertain the troops," say Walter of his time there. "It was kinda like a USO show. I went there for 20 days. Five days in Kuwait, 15 days in Iraq. There were three comedians and we stayed at Saddam (Hussein)'s palace. They would pick us up from Saddam's in a helicopter and fly us to three different bases in one day."
When asked if he was caught up in any hairy situations in Iraq, Walter recounts, "One day our C130 was caught in a dust storm and we had to land. We ended up getting shelled by Iraqis."
Walter's Pendleton appearance also marks a reunion of sorts with him and Pendleton Elks Club manager Billy Turner. Says Walter, "We used to have shows in Pendleton. They had a club here. Billy was the emcee."
Turner recalls an evening when a man wandered in to the Red Lion selling raffle tickets for a TV. The proceeds were to benefit the man's son who had cerebral palsy and was in need of a surgery that would cost over $ 30,000. Turner decided that a charity comedy show would be a more effective means of fundraising. The said charity comedy show featured Walter as the headliner and quickly oversold with the fire marshal kicking people out of the building. All in all, the event raised over $ 13,000.
Walter's reappearance in Pendleton also has a similarly charitable bent. According to Turner, "The net proceeds from the evening will benefit Meadowood Springs Speech and Hearing Camp, a longtime cause for the Pendleton Elks." Just like Mr. Warmth himself, there's a soft side to Mr. Walter beneath that brusque exterior.
Mike Wally Walter performs at the Pendleton Elks Lodge on Friday, April 10. Dinner at 6 p.m., entertainment at 8 p.m.
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