July 25, 2017 By Jason Cohen
The late standup comedian and actor Rodney Dangerfield will be honored next week in his native Kew Gardens with a plaque.
A bronze sign will be unveiled at a kickoff party for the first-ever Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 4 at the Austin Ale House’s Trackside Cafe. The plaque will be displayed in a garden between the café and the Kew Gardens LIRR station.
Dangerfield was raised near the Ale House. He also attended P.S. 99 and Richmond Hill High School.
According to DNAinfo, students at Aquinas Honor Society of the Immaculate Conception School in Jamaica Estates wanted to honor Dangerfield. They contacted his widow, Joan, and worked with her to create the plaque.
The plaque will have Dangerfield’s famous catchphrase, “I don’t get no respect.” It will also feature his early life in Kew Gardens, his major accomplishments and some movies starring the late actor, including “Caddyshack,” “Back to School” and “Easy Money.”
Dangerfield was born in Deer Park and moved to Kew Gardens when he was 10. He passed away in Los Angeles in October of 2004 at the age of 82 from complications from heart valve replacement surgery.
This will not be the first time he is being honored in the neighborhood.
Last year, an artist painted a mural of Dangerfield on a wall in the park behind Kew Gardens Cinemas on the corner of Lefferts Boulevard and Austin Street.
Featured Events
