Wednesday, May 06, 2009

TOUGH WEEK FOR BURT REYNOLDS

First Pontiac, and now Dom DeLuise. As that first link makes clear, Pontiac had some strong pop culture connections: the GTO, Knight Rider's Kit, and of course, Burt's black Trans-Am from Smokey & the Bandit. And, as some of you may recall, that's a car I talked about right here a little over two years ago.

Those ubiquitous mid-70's through mid-80's memories. We even owned an '84 Grand Prix.

And, of course, who seemed to be Burt's sidekick in many of his iconic movies (but not Smokey & the Bandit)? Dom DeLuise. DeLuise sits in my memories through two separate comedy franchises of my youth: the Burt Crew, with its fast cars and hot chicks and blooper outtakes as the credits roled. And also Mel Brooks. DeLuise seemed to be in every Mel Brooks movie. The obnoxious gay director at the end of Blazing Saddles. The hideous emperor, dispatching with food & lives in History of the World, Part I. Pizza the Hut in Space Balls. He was even in Silent Movie, right?

The franchise that made the black Trans Am, and the fat guy who made me laugh in Burt Reynold's movies. Both gone in the same week. The older you get, the more the icons of your youth pass along.

At least the memories remain.

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7 Comments:

Blogger Noah said...

DeLuise was also the best talkshow guest ever. He always brought the heat.

9:13 AM  
Blogger lisahgolden said...

I was thinking the same thing this a.m. - I always connect DeLuise with Burt Reynolds.

Although I didn't make the Pontiac connection.....well done!

10:50 AM  
Blogger pjinaries said...

I am still laughing at his work in "The End".

Talented and nice. What a winning combination. Not enough of that today.

12:14 PM  
Anonymous Applesaucer said...

Applesaucer Sr. and I must have some running gag at some point in our lives based on a DeLuise bit/character.

We'll miss the Dommer.

Applesaucer

12:22 PM  
Blogger Agi said...

I was talking with my mom the other day and she mentioned that Dom DeLuise died.

"Oh, the chef?", I replied.

"No, he was an actor", she said.

All this while I was confusing him with cajun chef Paul Prudhomme.

1:39 PM  
Blogger DED said...

Burt and Dom even did a Robot Chicken episode where they spoof Cannonball Run. They both displayed a great sense of humor and lack of ego. It was cool.

The older you get, the more the icons of your youth pass along.

At least the memories remain.


In the end, that's all we have.

4:23 PM  
Blogger Mr Furious said...

That Cannonball Robot Chicken was probably the greatest episode ever.

Dom DeLuise = Captain Chaos

Aways did. Always will.

And yes, he always seemed like a genuinely nice guy.

9:14 PM  

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