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Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Dom DeLuise, Dies at 75



Often working with Burt Reynolds or Mel Brooks, the bearded, roly-poly actor was known for a sharp, distinctive, almost howling laugh that fills the outtakes reel of Cannonball Run — a testament to the joyous time he had with Reynolds.

"I was thinking about this the other day," Reynolds said in a statement released to TVGuide.com. "As you get older, and start to lose people you love, you think about it more, and I was dreading this moment. Dom always made you feel better when he was around and there will never be another like him. I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone. I will miss him very much."

DeLuise's death was confirmed Tuesday by a representative for his son, David DeLuise. No details were immediately available.

He hosted Candid Camera from 1991-92, and starred in two incarnations of The Dom DeLuise Show in 1968 and 1987. He shared his love of food, especially Italian cooking, through his show Cooking with Dom DeLuise and by authoring several cookbooks.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1933, he broke out as a performer on Dean Martin's show, playing a disastrous magician named Dominick the Great. His on-screen partnership with Reynolds included The Cannonball Run and The Cannonball Run II, Smokey and the Bandit II, The End, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and All Dogs Go to Heaven.

DeLuise invoked everything from fussy mannerisms to broad ethnic caricatures to get laughs, but seemed especially happy to make fun of himself, as he did as Pizza the Hutt in Brooks' 1987 film Spaceballs. Other DeLuise collaborations included The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Silent Movie, History of the World, Part I, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

Married to actress Carol Arthur, he was the patriarch of a show business family that also included his sons Peter, Michael, and David DeLuise. Peter DeLuise is best known for co-starring with Johnny Depp on 21 Jump Street, which also featured Michael DeLuise. The two brothers also appeared together on SeaQuest DSV.

by Annieb
 
I personally loved Dom I guess, because I grew up with him. He was in so many movies and shows that I saw, and of course he made me laugh, and laugh alot. Here is the movies I remember him in the most that made and still make me happy and laugh alot; All Dogs Go To Heaven &All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 as Itchy,  The Cannonball Run & Cannonball Run II as Victor Prinzim, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas as Melvin P. Thorpe, Johnny Dangerously as The Pope, An American Tail as Tiger, Baby Geniuses as Lenny, Robin Hood: Men in Tights as Don Giovanni, Loose Cannons as Harry "The Hippo" Gutterman, Spaceballs as Pizza The Hutt, Hot Stuff as Ernie FortunatoWholly Moses! as  Shadrach,Smokey and the Bandit II as Doc, The Muppet Movie as Bernie,Evil Roy Slade as Logan Delp,  Blazing Saddles as Buddy Bizarre, and that's just in movies. There are many more movies that I just didn't have the time to mention.

 http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001123/. 
 Here is a picture of his hand prints in the Hollywood walk of fame.