Affable, Legendary Actor, Chef, Comedian Dom Deluise Dies at 75

LOS ANGELES— He was born Dominick DeLuise in New York City on Aug. 1, 1933, to Italian immigrants. His father, who spoke only Italian, was a garbage collector, and those humble beginnings stayed with him.
With an ever-present smile that gave way to ready laughter, Dom DeLuise possessed a jovial warmth that charmed not only film and TV audiences, but the actors and directors with whom he worked for decades. Though lighthearted onscreen, the prolific actor was deeply passionate about food, forging a second career as a popular chef and cookbook author.
The affable and portly star, described as a natural comedian who kept the laughs rolling even when the cameras weren't, died Monday at age 75.
"You can't teach someone to be funny," his agent, Robert Malcolm, said Tuesday. "He was born funny, and he knew how to charm you and he knew how to make you feel comfortable. He loved people." 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."
"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."
In part because of his passion for food, the actor battled obesity, reaching as much as 325 pounds and for years resisting family members and doctors who tried to put him on various diets. He finally agreed in 1993 when his doctor refused to perform hip replacement surgery until he lost 100 pounds (he lost enough weight for the surgery, though gained some of it back).