Don Rickles gets an A-list round of goodbyes: ‘Make God laugh ...’

Don Rickles’ death had big-time names turning out to remember the insult comic: Barbra Streisand, Tom Hanks, Billy Crystal, Jimmy Kimmel and more.

The words “funniest” and “sweetest” and “greatest” were getting a serious workout. Rickles died Thursday of kidney failure at age 90.

"Having done 24 Dean Martin roasts, I know without a doubt that Don Rickles was the greatest comedian of all time,” comic Rich Little said in a statement. “There were few, if any, that were quicker than Don. He didn’t think of the next line he would use, he was already thinking of the line after that. There were many times on the roast that I literally fell out of my chair laughing.”

Rickles was “such sharp hilarious wit in an era when an insult comic didn't need to be vulgar to be funny,” Barbara Eden said, posting on Twitter a photo of them together on “I Dream of Jeannie.”

Josh Gad said Rickles’ presence “literally stopped me cold due to being starstruck” when they met a few months ago.

"A Legend is gone and there will never be anyone like him again," Rip Taylor said in a statement.

Carol Channing dubbed him “an original, with a unique flair for comedy that was all his own.”

Meanwhile, Marlon Wayans noted that Rickles’ targets often laughed the hardest at the jokes that came their way.

“I appreciated that he was an equal opportunity offender,” Wayans said. “He was raw, biting, no holds-barred. Cross the line? Often. But wow was he funny.”

He then he urged Rickles to “Make God laugh.”

“I know you're cracking them up in the Great Beyond!” Samuel L. Jackson said, posting a picture of himself with a man he called a dear friend.

Toni Tennille said she “always looked forward to working with him” during her big-band days, and Rose Marie also remembered Rickles as one of her dearest friends.

"What a talent!” the actress said. “He was remarkable and one of our favorites to work with on The Dick Van Dyke Show. … I will miss him something terrible."

"I have wonderful memories of Don joining us on ‘Gilligan's Island,’ ” said Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann Summers on the show. “[Producer] Sherwood Schwartz made it a four-day shoot — he didn’t want him for five, because he didn’t think we could last that long.

“My favorite memory however is even more nostalgic,” Wells continued. “My father gave him his first job at the Thunderbird Lounge in Las Vegas.”

As for Rickles’ final Twitter post? It came a little less than a month ago, and — like most of his social media messages — was filled not with jokes, but with love.

cdz@latimes.com

@theCDZ