23 Facts About Dom DeLuise

Dominick DeLuise was an American actor and comedian.

Dom DeLuise is widely recognized for his performances in the films of Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder, as well as a series of collaborations and a double act with Burt Reynolds.

Dom DeLuise was the youngest of three children, having an older brother, Nicholas "Nick" DeLuise, and an older sister, Antoinette DeLuise-Daurio.

Dom DeLuise graduated from Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts and later attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, where he majored in biology.

Dom DeLuise was Roman Catholic and had a particular devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Dom DeLuise's paid stage debut, at age 18, of Bernie the dog was in the drama Bernies Christmas Wish.

In 1961, Dom DeLuise played in the off-Broadway musical revue Another Evening with Harry Stoons, which lasted nine previews and one performance.

Dom DeLuise was in the off-Broadway play All in Love, which opened on November 10,1961, at the Martinique Theatre and ran for 141 performances.

Dom DeLuise generally appeared in comedic parts, although an early appearance in the movie Fail-Safe as a nervous USAF technical sergeant showed a broader range.

Dom DeLuise's first acting credit was as a regular performer in the television show The Entertainers in 1964.

Dom DeLuise gained early notice for his supporting turn in the Doris Day film The Glass Bottom Boat.

Dom DeLuise was the host of the television show Candid Camera from 1991 to 1992.

Dom DeLuise lent his distinctive voice to various 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.

All Dogs Go to Heaven featured Reynolds' voice as Charlie B Barkin while DeLuise voiced Itchy Itchiford, Charlie's best friend, wing-man and later partner in business.

TV producer Greg Garrison hired Dom DeLuise to appear as a specialty act on The Dean Martin Show.

Dom DeLuise later starred in his own sitcom, Lotsa Luck.

Dom DeLuise was probably best known as a regular in Mel Brooks' films.

Dom DeLuise appeared in The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Silent Movie, History of the World, Part I, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

Dom 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 1964, while working in a summer theater in Provincetown, Massachusetts, Dom DeLuise met actress Carol Arthur.

Dom DeLuise died in his sleep of kidney failure on May 4,2009, at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, at age 75.

Dom DeLuise had been battling cancer for more than a year prior to his death and was suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes.

Dom DeLuise always made you feel better when he was around, and there will never be another like him.