Dominick "Dom" Deluise (August 1, 1933-May 4, 2009) passed away in his sleep on May 4, 2009 at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 75. He was hospitalized at the time, suffering from kidney failure and respiratory problems following a long battle with cancer.
He was born August 1, 1933 in Brooklyn, NY. His parents John & Vincenza "Jenny" (DeStefano) DeLuise were Italians. They were a modest family. His father was a trash collector and his mother was a homemaker. Dom DeLuise graduated from Manhattan's High School Of Performing Arts. He also went to college at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.
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. In the 1970s and 1980s, he often co-starred with Burt Reynolds; together they appeared in the films The Cannonball Run, 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. Dom's catch phrase in broken Italian dialect, "No Applause Necessary, Sava 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.
He was born August 1, 1933 in Brooklyn, NY. His parents John & Vincenza "Jenny" (DeStefano) DeLuise were Italians. They were a modest family. His father was a trash collector and his mother was a homemaker. Dom DeLuise graduated from Manhattan's High School Of Performing Arts. He also went to college at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.
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. In the 1970s and 1980s, he often co-starred with Burt Reynolds; together they appeared in the films The Cannonball Run, 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. Dom's catch phrase in broken Italian dialect, "No Applause Necessary, Sava 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.
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