Actor Dom DeLuise passed away at the age of 75

Actor Dom DeLuise, who was known as the funny man in “Blazing Saddles” and “The Cannonball Run” has passed away at the age of 75 at a Santa Monica hospital surrounded by his family, his son’s publicist Jay Schwartz said.

DeLuise, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 1, 1933, had been battling cancer for a year.

He married Carol Arthur, who appeared in several movies with him, including “Blazing Saddles” and “Silent Movie,” 40 years ago, and had three sons, Peter, Michael and David, who are also actors.

In the 1960’s, he had bit parts in “Fail Safe,” and “The Entertainers,” and in the 1970’s, he became a regular on Glen Campbell’s “Goodtime Hour.”

In the 1980’s he appeared in many Burt Reynolds films such as, “Smokey and the Bandit II,” “Cannonball Ball,” “Cannonball Run II” and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”

Reynolds released a statement saying, “I was thinking the other day about this.  As you get older, you think about this more and more, I was dreading this moment.  Dom always made everyone feel better when he was around.  I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone.  I will miss him very much.”