One thousand people on Saturday attended the memorial at the Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles of comedian Dom DeLuise, who died May 4.
DeLuise, a longtime comedian and actor, as well as author and highly regarded chef, who had been ill for some time, died of kidney failure at a Santa Monica hospital. He was 75.
His family staged the memorial on Saturday for family and friends, and the theater was filled with stars who had worked with DeLuise throughout the years. Giants in the comedy writing business such as Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner and Larry Gelbart eulogized the man who became famous beginning in the 1960s with his stint as the inept magician, Dominick the Great, on several television shows, including the “The Dean Martin Summer Show.”
Dominick DeLuise was born Aug. 1, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York to parents John, a sanitation engineer, and Vicenza (DeStefano) DeLuise, both Italian immigrants. He attended New York’s High School of Performing Arts and appeared in summer productions at the Cleveland Play House, ranging from “Guys and Dolls” to “Hamlet.” He met his wife, actress Carol Arthur, while appearing in theater in Massachusetts. They married in 1965 and remained so until his death.
DeLuise also wrote several children’s books, was a renowned celebrity chef who published two cookbooks (“Eat This, It’ll Make You Feel Better!” and ” Eat This Too!: It’ll Also Make You Feel Better”), sang with Luciano Pavarotti at the Metropolitan Opera House, was a permanent guest for years on the “Dean Martin Show,” and starred in many films including Brooks’ “Blazing Saddles,” “Spaceballs,” “History of the World Part I” and “Robin Hood Men in Tights.” He also worked with Burt Reynolds in “The Cannonball Run,” and its sequel. He had his own, self-titled shows; a comedy/variety in 1968 that regularly featured his wife, and a sketch-like sitcom in the ’80s; however, both were short-lived.
The round-faced, portly actor made several appearances with his three sons, Michael, Peter and David, in television shows such as “3rd Rock From the Sun” and “SeaQuest DSV,” and the whole family acted together in the comedy “Hot Stuff,” which DeLuise directed.
He was highly regarded by his peers in the entertainment world.
Writer Lan O’Kun, who worked with and was a friend of DeLuise, said, “Dom was completely unique. He was made of funny. You could not spend any extended time with the man without laughing continually.”