Dom DeLuise, 1933-2009, Not From St. Louis
Categories: Apropos of Nothing, Unreal
Today the world mourns the death of comedian Dom DeLuise, who passed away after a long illness.
Unreal mourns DeLuise too -- as we have mourned all of those who co-starred with him in Blazing Saddles and preceded him in death. Unreal is by no means a cineaste -- heck, we'd sooner bowl than watch a movie (any movie) -- but Blazing Saddles, a work of movie-making genius, occupies a special place in our heart.
Here's the thing you might be asking yourself, though: Dom DeLuise is not from St. Louis. Dom DeLuise has nada to do with St. Louis. Blazing Saddles has nothing to do with St. Louis, either. So why is Unreal hogging prominent RFT website real estate while having a good cry over the man's portly corpse?
Here's why:
Unreal knew the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was "partnering" with an outfit called Legacy.com to provide online obits. But we'd previously assumed the clientele was limited to the local citizenry. You know, a web-based version of the paid obituaries you see in most (if not all) print dailies.
We never knew until today that whilst perusing the Associated Press obituaries of celebrities and other luminaries from around the globe we could, with a mere click of the ol' Logitech, post our own tribute in a virtual "guestbook" alongside similar heartfelt expressions of sympathy from folks all over!
How frickin' cool is that?
When we get finished waxing rhapsodic over Dom DeLuise, we're gonna buzz on over to Bea Arthur's guestbook, and Jack Kemp's.
By then we'll be all cried out.
Which reminds us -- the surviving star-studded cast of Blazing Saddles is thinning by the day...
Cleavon Little (Bart)
Gene Wilder (Jim)
Slim Pickens (Taggart)
Harvey Korman (Hedley Lamarr)
Madeline Kahn (Lili Von Shtupp)
Mel Brooks (Governor William J. Lepetomane / Indian Chief)
Burton Gilliam (Lyle)
Alex Karras (Mongo)
David Huddleston (Olson Johnson)
Liam Dunn (Rev. Johnson)
John Hillerman (Howard Johnson)
George Furth (Van Johnson)
Jack Starrett (Gabby Johnson)
Carol Arthur (Harriett Johnson) [she's DeLuise's widow]
Richard Collier (Dr. Sam Johnson)
Unreal mourns DeLuise too -- as we have mourned all of those who co-starred with him in Blazing Saddles and preceded him in death. Unreal is by no means a cineaste -- heck, we'd sooner bowl than watch a movie (any movie) -- but Blazing Saddles, a work of movie-making genius, occupies a special place in our heart.
Here's the thing you might be asking yourself, though: Dom DeLuise is not from St. Louis. Dom DeLuise has nada to do with St. Louis. Blazing Saddles has nothing to do with St. Louis, either. So why is Unreal hogging prominent RFT website real estate while having a good cry over the man's portly corpse?
Here's why:
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| The inDOMitable Dom DeLuise (right), in Blazing Saddles (with the also-late-great Slim Pickens) |
How frickin' cool is that?
When we get finished waxing rhapsodic over Dom DeLuise, we're gonna buzz on over to Bea Arthur's guestbook, and Jack Kemp's.
By then we'll be all cried out.
Which reminds us -- the surviving star-studded cast of Blazing Saddles is thinning by the day...
Gene Wilder (Jim)
Mel Brooks (Governor William J. Lepetomane / Indian Chief)
Burton Gilliam (Lyle)
Alex Karras (Mongo)
David Huddleston (Olson Johnson)
John Hillerman (Howard Johnson)
Carol Arthur (Harriett Johnson) [she's DeLuise's widow]
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