4. Rodney Dangerfield grew up in the neighborhood
Kew Gardens was the home of legendary 20th-century American comedian Rodney Dangerfield. Born as Jacob Rodney Cohen in Suffolk County, Dangerfield and his mother moved to Kew Gardens when his father abandoned the family during the early years of his life. From childhood through to his graduation from Richmond Hill High School in 1939, Dangerfield lived in Kew Gardens and sold newspapers and ice cream to support his single mother.
Dangerfield began his career as a comedian in Ellenville, New York when he was 15. When he was 19, he legally changed his name to Jack Roy only to change it a year later to Rodney Dangerfield. Although he worked as a comedian for almost two decades without much success, his career took off after he went on the “Ed Sullivan Show” as an emergency replacement for a different act. From there, Dangerfield went on to become one of the most popular comics in the 20th century United States. While he only lived in Kew Gardens through his childhood and adolescence, Dangerfield brought his witty and dark New York humor to his comedy across the United States.
