TVPast Forums - Dom DeLuise, actor, comedian and chef, dies at 75

from http://omg.yahoo.com/news/dom-deluis...-dies/22136?nc

So sad, funny guy, great voice actor. :(

Quote:

quote:LOS ANGELES - With an ever-present smile that gave way to ready laughter, Dom DeLuise possessed a jovial warmth that charmed not only film and TV audiences, but the actors and directors with whom he worked for decades. Though lighthearted onscreen, the prolific actor was deeply passionate about food, forging a second career as a popular chef and cookbook author.

The affable and portly star, described as a natural comedian who kept the laughs rolling even when the cameras weren't, died Monday at age 75.

"You can't teach someone to be funny," his agent, Robert Malcolm, said Tuesday. "He was born funny, and he knew how to charm you and he knew how to make you feel comfortable. He loved people."

DeLuise was surrounded by his wife and three sons when died "peacefully" Monday evening at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., Malcolm said.

The family did not release the cause of death, saying only in a statement on the actor-comedian's official Web site Tuesday: "It's easy to mourn to his death but easier to remember a time when he made you laugh."

DeLuise appeared in scores of movies and TV shows, in Broadway plays and voicing characters for numerous cartoons. Writer-director-actor Mel Brooks particularly admired DeLuise's talent for offbeat comedy and cast him in several films, including "The Twelve Chairs," "Blazing Saddles," "Silent Movie," "History of the World Part I" and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights." DeLuise was also the voice of Pizza the Hutt in Brooks' "Star Wars" parody, "Spaceballs."

"Dom DeLuise was a big man in every way," Brooks said in a statement Tuesday. "He was big in size and created big laughter and joy.He will be missed in a very big way."

Much longer story at the link.