Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Having the last laugh... R.I.P. Dom DeLuise

We lost another icon of stage and screen with the passing of the great Dom DeLuise.  Mr. DeLuise left this mortal coil on Monday, leaving behind a legacy of comedy that is beats the best of them.

His passing plus that of Bea Arthur and Danny Gans makes three celebrities (and we all know the rule).    

Among his many awards is, probably my favorite, his 1982 Razzie for his portrayal of Aunt Kate in Haunted Honeymoon.  This movie was a staple of my childhood, along with An American Tail, Oliver and Company, Spaceballs and... perhaps my all-time favorite... The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas!  But his adventures on the small screen will always remind me of what an incredible comedian he was.  His timing was like no other.  Proof positive is here in this 1977 clip from The Muppet Show as the head of Shephards Institute of Animal Protection.  This is funny television people!

He big break came in the late 1960s when he appeared as "Dominick the Great", a terribly inept magician, on the Dean Martin Show - a role he would much later reprise on Sabrina the Teenage Witch.  Luckily his talents (and magic) live in on his children, in particular his son David who stars as a hapless father of teenage wizards in Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place.  

Thank you for a thousand laughs (at least) Mr. DeLuise!