Buddy Rich

He had a temper. Via James Wolcott and a blog called The Basement Rug, I find that a citizen named Emmett J. Ientilucci has compiled some transcripts and recordings of Buddy Rich coming unglued. Wikipedia reveals that Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld planted a number of Buddy quotes in episodes of Seinfeld.

Some favorite bits:

... This is not the goddamn House of David fuckin’ baseball team. This is the Buddy Rich Band: young people … with faces! No more fuckin’ beards ...

... I don’t need this shit. I have a home in Palm Springs and I can go sit on my ass the rest of my life and not worry about a fuckin’ thing … and don’t have to meet your fuckin’ payroll, and pay you for playin’ like a fuckin’ high school dropout! How dare you do that! ASSHOLES!! ...

... Everybody’s on two weeks notice tonight. I’m telling you, everybody gets two weeks notice tonight. I can’t handle this anymore. You’re all … [pauses thoughtfully] you’re not my kind of people at all.