Dom DeLuise

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Dom DeLuise

Born Dominick DeLuise
August 1, 1933 (1933-08-01) (age 74)
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Other name(s) Dom De Luise, Dom DeLuises, Dom Deluise
Occupation Actor, Comedian, Chef, Director, Producer, Writer
Spouse(s) Carol Arthur (1965-present)
Official website

Dominick "Dom" DeLuise (born August 1, 1933) is a Golden Globe- nominated American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, and chef. He is the husband of actress Carol Arthur, and the father of actor, writer, director Peter DeLuise, and actors David DeLuise and Michael DeLuise.[1]

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

DeLuise was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian American parents John (a civil servant) and Vincenza "Jennie" (maiden name, DeStefano).[1]

DeLuise graduated from Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts. [2]

[edit] Career

DeLuise generally appears 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 has 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.

TV producer Greg Garrison hired DeLuise to appear as a specialty act on the popular 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. 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 is probably best known as a regular in Mel Brooks's films. He appeared in The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Silent Movie, History of the World, Part I, Spaceballs & Robin Hood: Men in Tights. In Silent Movie (1976), Brooks plays a film director and his strange friends, DeLuise (as "Dom Bell") and Marty Feldman, struggle to produce the first major silent film in forty years. 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.

DeLuise exhibited his comedic talents while playing the speaking part of the jailer Frosch in the comedic operetta Die Fledermaus at the Metropolitan Opera. In the production, while the singing was in German, the spoken parts were in English.

An avid cook and author of several books on cooking, in recent years he has 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.[3] He has also written several children's books.

[edit] Filmography

  • It's All About You (2001)
  • Always Greener (2001)
  • My X-Girlfriend's Wedding Reception (2001)
  • Remembering Mario (2003) (voice only)
  • Girl Play (2004)
  • Breaking the Fifth (2004)
  • Bongee Bear and the Kingdom of Rhythm (2006) (voice) (currently in pre-production)

[edit] Television

[edit] Biblography

[edit] Writings for Children

  • 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

[edit] Cookbooks

  • A Delicious Sampling of Dom's Recipes from Eat This ... It'll Make You Feel Better: *"Mama's Italian Home Cooking and Other Favorites of Family and Friends, Simon & Schuster, 1988
  • Eat This ... It Will Make You Feel Better: Mama'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
  • The Pizza Challenge

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Dom Deluise Biography
  2. ^ New York Times Biography
  3. ^ In The Kitchen with Dom DeLuise - Dom DeLuise's feature on the On The House with the Carey Brothers radio show

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME DeLuise, Dom
ALTERNATIVE NAMES DeLuise, Dominick
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actor, comedian, chef, director, producer, author
DATE OF BIRTH August 1, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn, New York, USA
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH