Remembering Dom DeLuise: Comic Genius, Culinary Star, Beloved Icon
If you grew up watching movies in the ’70s and ’80s, there’s a good chance Dom DeLuise made you laugh until your sides hurt. Born August 1, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, DeLuise was raised in a close Italian-American family, where his dad worked in sanitation and his mom kept the house running with lots of humor.
After graduating from the High School of Performing Arts, he took a brief detour into biology at Tufts University before the stage came calling. His first taste of television came in the 1960s, including a short-lived show called The Entertainers, where he shared the spotlight with Carol Burnett and Bob Newhart. It wasn’t a smash hit, but it gave him a start.
The 1970s were good to DeLuise. He quickly became a favorite in Mel Brooks‘s wild world of comedy, showing up in unforgettable roles in Blazing Saddles and Silent Movie, and later in 1981’s History of the World, Part I and 1993’s Robin Hood: Men in Tights. He had that perfect mix of timing and physical comedy, often playing characters who were a little outrageous but always lovable.
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Off camera, DeLuise had one of Hollywood’s closest friendships with Burt Reynolds, and onscreen, their chemistry was magic. Together, they starred in The End, The Cannonball Run, and Smokey and the Bandit II, creating the kind of buddy comedy dynamic that felt completely effortless. Reynolds often called DeLuise the funniest man he ever knew.
While DeLuise made a name for himself on screen, a whole generation of kids in the ’90s grew up hearing him before they ever saw him. His voice roles in An American Tail, The Secret of NIMH, and All Dogs Go to Heaven introduced his voice and humor to children everywhere. He also had several guest-starring roles, including the bumbling “witchgician” Mortimer in Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
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Offscreen, he married actress Carol Arthur in 1965, and they raised three sons, Peter, Michael, and David, all of whom went into the entertainment world. At home, DeLuise was a passionate cook and even wrote a few cookbooks, including Eat This… It’ll Make You Feel Better!, which became a hit thanks to the stories and humor folded between the recipes. In his later years, DeLuise battled diabetes and cancer, but he never lost his sense of humor.
He passed away in his sleep on May 4, 2009, at the age of 75 from kidney failure. The tributes poured in, and nearly everyone who worked with him remembered not just his talent, but his generosity. Reynolds shared a sweet tribute with the Los Angeles Times, writing in part, “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.”
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Classic Comedy Duos
March 2021
Chuckle at television & films funniest comic duos.
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