Jimmy Kimmel breaks down remembering Don Rickles

Los Angeles, Apr 8 (PTI) Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has paid a tearful tribute to stand-up icon Don Rickles, who has passed away at the age of 90.

Kimmel, 49, opened up about his past with Rickles and how it took him four years to convince the legend to come on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", reported Entertainment Tonight.

"I'll tell you right up front that I'm going to cry," Kimmel said wiping tears from his eyes.

"I'm already crying, which is embarrassing. But I'm not good with this sort of thing and I'm sorry."

He continued, "Especially to those of you who came here to see the show in person, because that's probably not what you came for. But we lost someone that we and I love very much today. I know it sounds crazy to say he was too young, but he was.

"Because he was youthful and funny and sharp and generous.

I was fortunate enough to not only have Don on this show as my guest, but also to become close to him and his wife, Barbara, which was a lot of fun for me."

Recalling the time when he made several requests to Rickles to come on his show, Kimmel said, "We asked him to do the show over and over again, and he didn't know what this (show) was. He knew 'The Tonight Show' and (David) Letterman and that's it.

"But finally, after we bothered him like 20 times, he gave up and he did the show for my birthday in 2006."

Kimmel said the "exciting" experience of interviewing Rickles made him feel like he "was in some kind of talk show host fantasy camp."

"Sitting behind a desk while Don Rickles made fun of me, (it) was like being a real talk show host for a minute," he shared.