Dominick “Dom” DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death, and the father of actor, writer, director Peter DeLuise, actor David DeLuise, and actor Michael DeLuise.
DeLuise was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian American parents Vincenza “Jennie”, a homemaker, and John DeLuise, a civil servant. He was the second born and had an older brother named Nicholas “Nick” DeLuise. DeLuise graduated from Manhattan’s High School of Performing Arts. He later attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.
DeLuise generally appeared in comedic parts, although an early appearance showed a possible broader range. His first acting credit was as a regular performer in the television show The Entertainers in 1964. He gained early notice for his supporting turn in the Doris Day film The Glass Bottom Boat. In his New York Times review, Vincent Canby panned the film but singled out the actor, stating, “he best of the lot, however, is a newcomer, Dom DeLuise, as a portly, bird-brained spy.”
In the 1970s and 1980s he often co-starred with Burt Reynolds. Together they appeared in the films The Cannonball Run and Cannonball Run II, Smokey and the Bandit II, The End, All Dogs Go to Heaven and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. DeLuise was the of the television show Candid Camera from 1991 to 1992.