"Mel is nuts. He puts on a suit and a tie and acts like a normal person so people think he's okay. He's definitely out in left field. He's got the ambition of a boy." -- Dom Deluise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise (August 1, 1933 — May 4, 2009) was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death, and the father of actor, writer, director Peter DeLuise, actor David DeLuise, and actor Michael DeLuise. He had starred in various Universal Animated Studios films, such as All Dogs Go to Heaven and An American Tail.
"Dolly Parton... I love being around that woman! I worked really hard to keep up with her.""Every couple of seconds out here they're honoring somebody. You've got to get dressed, go in and sit down. Invariably somebody makes a speech.""I have a cooking show that's coming on that I did in Albany. It will be on The Cooking Channel.""I think I was immediately fed, so food became a very important part of my life.""I was at dinner with Gene Wilder and imitated Ethel Barrymore for everyone.""I'd rather be at home with 12 people around the table.""I've had some wonderful times at the White House. I've been with Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton and Bush.""Mr. Brooks and I have been friends forever. He is in seventh heaven with his new success on Broadway.""My mother had lots and lots of children who didn't survive.""Once at the White House I was asked to conduct the Drum and Bugle Corp. The man just handed me the baton and I finished the song. It was great. I got to keep the baton.""Sometimes I get a little manic and you can't stop me. I'm all over the place. I have fun.""The joys of my life are my granddaughters. They are beautiful. You don't have to believe me. You can ask my wife. She'll tell you.""There were five writers on Blazing Saddles.""When I was 14 years old, I decided I could cook. It was either that or puberty."
DeLuise was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian American parents Vincenza "Jennie" (née DeStefano), a homemaker, and John DeLuise, a civil servant (garbage collector). He was the second born and had an older brother named Nicholas "Nick" DeLuise. DeLuise graduated from Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts. He later attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.
Career
DeLuise generally appeared in comedic parts, although an early appearance (in the movie Fail-Safe as a nervous enlisted airman) showed a possible broader range. His first acting credit was as a regular performer in the television show The Entertainers in 1964. He gained early notice for his supporting turn in the Doris Day film The Glass Bottom Boat (1966). In his New York Times review, Vincent Canby panned the film but singled out the actor, stating, "[T]he best of the lot, however, is a newcomer, Dom DeLuise, as a portly, bird-brained spy."
In the 1970s and 1980s he often co-starred with Burt Reynolds. Together they appeared in the films The Cannonball Run and Cannonball Run II, Smokey and the Bandit II, The End, All Dogs Go to Heaven and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. DeLuise was the host of the television show Candid Camera from 1991 to 1992.
DeLuise also lent his voice for animated films and was a particular staple of Don Bluth's features, playing major roles in The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, A Troll in Central Park and All Dogs Go to Heaven along with their respective sequels and spinoff series. He also lent his voice to Fagin in the Walt Disney film Oliver & Company and made guest appearances on several animated TV series.
TV producer Greg Garrison hired DeLuise to appear as a specialty act on The Dean Martin Show. DeLuise ran through his "Dominick the Great" routine, a riotous example of a magic act gone wrong, with host Martin as a bemused volunteer from the audience. Dom's catch phrase, with an Italian accent, was "No Applause Please, Save-a to the End." The show went so well that DeLuise was soon a regular on Martin's program, participating in both songs and sketches. Garrison also featured DeLuise in his own hour-long comedy specials for ABC. (Martin was often just off-camera when these were taped, and his distinctive laugh can be heard loud and clear.)
DeLuise was probably best known as a regular in Mel Brooks' films. He appeared in The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Silent Movie, History of the World, Part I, Spaceballs, and Men in Tights. Brooks's late wife, actress Anne Bancroft, directed Dom in Fatso (1980). He also had a cameo in Johnny Dangerously as the Pope and in Jim Henson's The Muppet Movie as a wayward Hollywood talent agent who comes across Kermit the Frog singing "The Rainbow Connection" in the film's opening scene. He also appeared with fellow Brooks regulars Gene Wilder (who directed the film as well), Marty Feldman and Madeline Kahn in "The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother".
DeLuise exhibited his comedic talents while playing the speaking part of the jailer Frosch in the comedic operetta Die Fledermaus at the Metropolitan Opera, playing the role in four separate revivals of the work at the Met between December 1989 and January 1996. In the production, while the singing was in German, the spoken parts were in English. A lifelong opera fan, he also portrayed the role of L'Opinion Publique in drag for the Los Angeles Opera's production of Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld.
An avid cook and author of several books on cooking, in recent years he appeared as a regular contributor to a syndicated home improvement radio show, On The House with The Carey Brothers, giving listeners tips on culinary topics. He was also a friend and self-proclaimed "look-alike" of famous Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme. He also wrote seven children's books.
Death
DeLuise died at age 75 on May 4, 2009, at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. He was hospitalized at the time, suffering from kidney failure and respiratory problems due to complications from diabetes and high blood pressure. He died from kidney failure and respiratory complications from cancer. He was cremated and his ashes were buried with his parents in New York City. His family was by his side at the time of his death. His good friend Burt Reynolds made a statement in the Los Angeles Times, saying: "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." Mel Brooks also made a statement to the same paper, telling them that Dom "created so much joy and laughter on the set that you couldn’t get your work done. So every time I made a movie with Dom, I would plan another two days on the schedule just for laughter. It's a sad day. It's hard to think of this life and this world without him."
Charlie the Caterpillar, illustrated by Christopher Santoro, Simon& Schuster, 1990
Goldilocks (also known as Goldie Locks & The Three Bears: The Real Story!), illustrated by Santoro, Simon & Schuster, 1992
Hansel & Gretel, illustrated by Santoro, Simon & Schuster,1997
The Nightingale (also known as Dom DeLuise's The Nightingale), illustrated by Santoro, Simon & Schuster, 1998
King Bob's New Clothes, illustrated by Santoro, Simon & Schuster, 1999
The Pouch Potato, illustrated by Derek Carter, Bacchus Books, 2001
There's No Place Like Home, illustrated by Tim Brown
Cookbooks
Eat This ... It Will Make You Feel Better: Mamma's Italian Home Cooking and Other Favorites of Family and Friends (also known as Eat This), Simon & Schuster, 1988
Eat This Too! It'll Also Make You Feel Better (also known as Eat This Too!), Atria, 1997
