Dangerfield's life to become a movie

The life of American stand-up Rodney Dangerfield is to be made into a Hollywood movie.

Two of the producers behind the Oscar-winning biopic of Ray Charles have bought the rights to the memoirs Dangerfield published shortly before his death last October.

Dangerfield’s widow Joan told trade paper Variety: "Rodney took the indignities of everyday life and spun them into golden one-liners But while he was making everyone forget their troubles by laughing at his, Rodney's own life was a heavy-hearted one."

Dangerfield, famed for his catchphrase “I can't get no respect”, started performing comedy while a teenager, but struggled to make it. After a decade he quit to become an aluminium siding salesmen and raise a family, only to return with much greater success after another 12 years.

Published: 21 Jun 2005