Mr. Warmth wins an Emmy—did a rabbi give him his start?

Hollywood Jew Don Rickles scored an Emmy tonight for “Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program” for the documentary “Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project.”

Was it a rabbi that gave him his start?

From a November 2007 article in The Journal:

Asked when he first realized that he was funny, Rickles replied without a beat, “When the rabbi hit me,” quickly adding, “No, I don’t know when I was funny. Maybe it was at synagogues and affairs and so forth, and I was always a wise-cracker when I was very young.”