Kew Gardens to honor Rodney Dangerfield

From DNA Info:

A plaque honoring the late stand-up comedian and actor Rodney Dangerfield will be unveiled next week near a Kew Gardens building where he grew up.

The bronze sign will be first displayed during a kickoff party for the inaugural Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema on Aug. 4, beginning at 8 p.m., in a garden located between Austin’s Ale House’s Trackside Cafe and the Kew Gardens Long Island Rail Road station.

For a good laugh check out Karen Koslowitz discussing why a street dedication in Rodney's honor was rejected but the Ramones was accepted.

Dangerfield widow upset over mural appearance

From NY1:

Before he became famous, comedian Rodney Dangerfield grew up in Kew Gardens, Queens. He graduated from Richmond Hill High School.

His link to this community is celebrated with a mural, painted last year, around the corner from Lefferts Blvd.

Italian artist Francesca Robicci painted the mural for free, working from a photo provided by Dangerfield's widow, Joan.

But Joan Dangerfield, who donated $1,000 toward the project, is unhappy how it turned out.

She says her late husband still gets no respect.

Her lawyer wrote Robicci and the community group that commissioned the mural to complain. The lawyer called the painting "an entirely unaccptable image" and a "less-than-flattering portrayal of Rodney, who deserves nothing but the highest respect."

The lawyer demanded that it be painted over.

Robicci says she'll wililng to make any necessary changes, which would mean flying in from Italy.

Joan Dangerfield's lawyer now tells NY1 she is happy to hear of the artist's offer. The two sides, the lawyer tells us, will talk privately to see if a compromise is possible.