Tuesday, May 05, 2009

RIP Dom DeLuise (1933 – 2009)

Very sad news...

Actor and funny man Dom DeLuise passed away in his sleep at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. He was hospitalized at the time, suffering from kidney failure and respiratory problems following a long battle with cancer.

DeLuise who was 75 loved to play second banana....

For Mel Brooks he appeared in memorable roles in The Twelve Chairs Silent Movie, Robin Hood: Men in Tights , SpaceBalls as Pizza The Hutt, History of the World: Part I and, of course, Blazing Saddles as a gay director in a hilarious finale.

And then there's his films with Burt Reynolds...The End, The Cannonball Run, its sequel Cannonball Run II,Smokey and the Bandit II, the pair lent their voices to the toon flick All Dogs Go to Heaven and yes The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

Reynolds released a statement this morning. "I was thinking the other day about this. As you get older you think about this more and more, I was dreading this moment. Dom always made everyone feel better when he was around. I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone. I will miss him very much."

The underrated comedy Hot Stuff

As a kid I recall seeing him in The Muppet Movie and on The Muppet Show.

There were countless TV appearances including with his actor sons, Peter DeLuise, Michael DeLuise and David DeLuise as their father in "3rd Rock from the Sun" in 1996 in which David had a recurring role and the sci-fi series "SeaQuest DSV" episode.--"21 Jump Street" and the anthology "Amazing Stories".

He had just finished a cameo in the upcoming horror movie Horrorween...

Read more on DeLuise in New York Daily News

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