I was saddened to hear that Dom DeLuise passed away yesterday at the age of 75. He was always a very funny actor who rarely strayed from the goofy character he played in movies like “The Cannonball Run” and “Blazing Saddles.” It worked, so why mess with it?

The same was true in his private life, as he was married to the same woman for 54 years (a rarity in Hollywood). He’s survived by his wife, Carol Arthur, and three sons, Peter, Michael and David.

After the jump, my tribute to Dom DeLuise – my top five favorite movie roles…

1. The Glass Bottom Boat (1966). One of the funniest scenes in movie history is when DeLuise’s character Julius Pritter gets his foot caught in an urn, along with Doris Day’s foot. Watching them try to disentangle themselves and get un-stuck is pure comedy at its best.

2. Blazing Saddles (1974). DeLuise played Buddy Bizarre, a musical director whose set is interrupted when the townsfolk come up against Lamarr’s thugs. A bonus is that we get to see him dance in the movie. He was a master at physical comedy.

3. The Cannonball Run (1981). He played Burt Reynolds’ bumbling buddy Victor Prinzim, whose alter-ego was goofy caped crusader Captain Chaos. If you’ve ever seen the outtakes of this movie, it’s clear that he and Reynolds shared a deep and abiding friendship through thick and thin.

4. An American Tail (1986). DeLuise voiced the part of Tiger, companion to Fievel Mousekewitz. Their duet “Duo” is one-of-a-kind in animated films.

5. Spaceballs (1987). DeLuise’s character name says it all: Pizza the Hutt. If you have a teenage kid in the house, you should definitely tune them in to this movie, a take-off on “Star Wars” and other space movies.

Share your own favorite Dom DeLuise movie moments in the comments below.

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