In Memoriam - Dom DeLuise

Hey, folks. Got another addition to our "In Memoriam" column.

Dom DeLuise was a prominent voice in many different pieces of animation for children - particularly ones that had been made by Don Bluth. In fact, if you can think of a Don Bluth movie, there is a 50-50 chance DeLuise was in it. He played the main character on A Troll in Central Park. And get this: Don Bluth doesn't like to make sequels to his movies, but in spite of that, many were made of his movies, such as the sequels of All Dogs Go to Heaven and The Secret of NIMH. And whenever a sequel was made, DeLuise was one of the only actors to return and reprise their role. Outside of Bluth's works, DeLuise voiced Fagin in Disney's Oliver & Company.

DeLuise seemed to give a similar personality to each of the characters he voiced, making them all goofy and hysterical with a lot of slapstick behavior, and talking with his usual goofy, sometimes scratchy mid-ranged voice. They also all tend to be timid while at the same time being dependable when push comes to shove. Despite the similarities, DeLuise's characters are no less enjoyable, being the source of much of the humor in their respective works.

One of DeLuise's most famous roles from Don Bluth's movies is most likely the dachshund Itchy Itchiford in the All Dogs Go to Heaven franchise. A timid but loyal dog, he is the best friend of franchise protagonist Charlie Barkin. DeLuise plays Itchy's neurotic, timid and hyperactive behavior to the point of making him all but a nervous wreck. Itchy made jokes fairly often, but his humor comes mostly from how easily scared he gets and how high DeLuise can get his voice in those instances. DeLuise actually managed some pretty emotional scenes as this character, too - particularly in the first movie.

Tiger from Don Bluth's An American Tail movies is easily one of DeLuise's most recognizable characters. He is the mouse Fievel's best friend and one of the only cats in the whole franchise who is friendly. While I think that Tiger and Itchy behave somewhat similar, Tiger seems less timid than Itchy and has a lot more goofy moments that end up being the source of much of the movies' hilarity. Some of his most hysterical moments were in the second movie, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, when he ends up making a trip out west following his friend and ends up in all sorts of life-threatening hijinks, including but not limited to being chased and nearly mauled by dogs. 

DeLuise passed away on May 4, 2009 after succumbing to kidney failure, and until then had also been struggling with cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes. He was 75 years old.

Over his career, DeLuise worked on projects with Billy Joel, Cloris Leachman, Wil Wheaton, Arthur Malet, Burt Reynolds, Charlie Sheen, Christopher Plummer, Ernest Borgnine, John Cleese and the legendary Jimmy Stewart.

You can find more information about Dom DeLuise on his Wikipedia page.

All Dogs Go to Heaven is available for viewing on Netflix.

If you'd like to leave a like or comment on the above videos, check out their original pages below.

All Dogs Go To Heaven - Itchy Freaks Out

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991) - The Dog Chase Scene (3/10) | Movieclips