Dom DeLuise, comedian and chef, dies

LOS ANGELES – Dom DeLuise, the portly actor-comedian whose affable nature made him a popular character actor for decades with movie and TV audiences as well as directors and fellow actors, has died. He was 75.

DeLuise died on Monday night after a long illness.The actor, who loved to cook and eat almost as much as he enjoyed acting, also carved out a formidable second career later in life as a chef of fine cuisine. He authored two cookbooks and would appear often on morning TV shows to whip up his favourite recipes.As an actor, he was incredibly prolific, appearing in scores of movies and TV shows, in Broadway plays and voicing characters for numerous cartoon shows.Writer-director-actor Mel Brooks particularly admired DeLuise’s talent for offbeat comedy and cast him in several of his films, including ‘The Twelve Chairs’, ‘Blazing Saddles’, ‘Silent Movie’, ‘History of the World Part I’ and ‘Robin Hood: Men in Tights’.The actor also appeared frequently in films opposite his friend Burt Reynolds. His love of food resulted in two successful cookbooks, 1988’s ‘Eat This – It Will Make You Feel Better!’ and 1997’s ‘Eat This Too! It’ll Also Make You Feel Good’. – Nampa-AP