I just made a Dom DeLuise reference on my Facebook page, saying the only thing better than seeing Steve Austin fight Bigfoot would be to see Steve Austin fight Captain Chaos.
Now, the Captain has fallen. He was 75:
DeLuise was surrounded by his wife and three sons when he 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 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 voiced 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.”
The actor also frequently appeared opposite his friend Burt Reynolds in films such as “The End,” “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” “Smokey and the Bandit II,” “The Cannonball Run” and “Cannonball Run II.” Reynolds fondly recalled DeLuise in a statement issued by his publicist.
“I was thinking about this the other day,” Reynolds said. “As you get older and start to lose people you love, you think about it more and I was dreading this moment. Dom always made you feel better when he was around and there will never be another like him. I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone. I will miss him very much.”
For those too young to get the Captain Chaos reference, it’s from Cannonball Run.
Love that guy! Rest in peace, Dom.
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