Comedic actor, Dom Deluise, touched lives

Dom DeLuise's star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame        (AP Photo/Mark Tweed)

We just lost a great actor, comedian, chef, all round nice guy - Dominick "Dom" DeLuise. He brought so much laughter into all our lives!

Filmmaker Lou Hernandez, who worked with Mr. DeLuise (Dom), spoke highly of their work together and friend-relationship.  Hernandez has photos of himself with DeLuise on his office wall.

For those who never met him or even got to enjoy his humor, when he was more active in the entertainment industry, mostly in the 1960s-1980s, you missed enjoying a wonderful talent.

Now-a-days with cable and DVDs you have a second chance to enjoy his acting, mostly that of comedic. I highly recommend that you take that journey.  Mr. DeLuise was as funny in "real life" as he was on the big and little screens.  Not just funny, but honest, sincere, and very generous.

DeLuise's kind of "funny," was a natural, unforced kind, and never at another's expense.  True, his humor at times, was slap-stickish in nature, coming from this comedian, with such perfect timing, it worked! - It always worked.

What is remembered the most about DeLuise was his humor off the set.  It can be seen in the out-takes from some of his films.  Be ready to split your seams with laughter - so it's not what he said, but how he said it - why just his laughing at himself or with Burt Reynolds or Dean Martin, was enough to write a book about.  And it's hoped that someone does.

DeLuise was the best in films, working along side Reynolds.  The two of them kept everyone in stitches. The two shows he was part of were, The Dean Martin Show and The Cannonball Run.

Records indicate that DeLuise was an American actor and comedian (great at improvisation), but also a film director, television producer, and chef. My goodness, yes, one can even remember seeing his face on many a food product label in grocery stores.  One might even want to run to the nearest grocery to see if he's still on the shelves.

DeLuise was also the husband of actress Carol Arthur, and the father of actor, writer, director Peter DeLuise, and actors David DeLuise and Michael DeLuise.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian American parents in a humble upbringing. 

     DeLuise (AP Photo/Columbia Pictures) 

DeLuise's acting training began at Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts. He later attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.  He 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. 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, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and All Dogs Go to Heaven. DeLuise was the host of the television show Candid Camera from 1991 to 1992.

DeLuise was also 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. ~ Actress, Padma Lakshmi, is also a chef and cookbook author in real life, celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, and then there is Meryl Streep who portrays chef Julia Childs!

What may not be known is that he also wrote several children's books.  Mr. Dom DeLuise, thank you for being a part of our lives - your fans already miss you.