Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Death Pool and Dom DeLuise

When I heard that Dom DeLuise died the other day, a bunch of things popped into my mind.

As a kid, I loved him in the Mel Brooks movies (Space Balls, History of the World, and Blazing Saddles). I also enjoyed him in the Burt Reynolds films; especially the closing credits, where they'd show outtakes from the movie.

I remember as an 11-year-old, my parents watching his movie "Fatso" on HBO. I barely remember that film, other then a scene in which he has his refrigerator chained up so he doesn't get to the food inside it. And I remember watching my mom laugh harder than I'd ever seen her laugh.

I wonder now what an overweight actor like that does when he's first given the script for that film. Does he call his agent and say "Why did they want me for this role?"

I called my mom and we talked about Dom. She mentioned he was a chef, something I didn't know.

I tried to think of what his earliest movie might've been. Sometimes you are surprised when you find out someone like Jack Nicholson, had bit parts in movies in the early 60s, a decade before he became famous.

Dom did a movie called: Who is Harry Kellerman and why is he saying these terrible things about me?

Gotta love the 60s. They had movie titles that were sentences.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Yes, they do. And they also come up with normal movie titles that are only a few words long! I mean, how did they even put movie titles like that on those old marquees?

I remember a few weeks ago looking in the paper at what movies were playing. They had to shorten the movie title "Confessions of a Shopaholic" to "Con of a Shopaholic." And since a period wasn't used in "con" it took me a minute to figure out what that even was.

Anyway...something else popped into my mind with the death of DeLuise -- Those "death pools" that people always do. I've always thought they were in poor taste. And I always thought they were poorly done. Even though I did once participate in one, and I won big. Although, I cheated. I had heard that Don Ho was having heart problems, so I put him on my list. Three months later he died.

Part of the problems with a death pool, aside from the obvious that it's sick to be betting on which celebrities will die...some people just don't properly put them together. Because, you have jokers that just pick every actor over the age of 80. Other people do these where it's a point system, so the younger the person is, the more points you get. This way, you can't just pick the cast of Cocoon or The Golden Girls, and clean up.

The problem with those pools though, is everyone picks the Lindsay Lohens of Hollywood -- young actors that are known to party hard.

The year that I won it, I tried to get creative. I would pick younger actors, but I also went with heavy actors. I had John Goodman, who I had seen on Letterman the week before and he seemed to have trouble breathing. And it wasn't like he was running a marathon. He was just sitting there talking, and was getting worn out from the experience.

I'm guessing that someone won a Death Pool recently, with the death of Bea Arthur and now Dom DeLuise. But I'm guessing these people cost more people over the years. After all, Arthur lived into her 90s. And Dom was 75 when he passed away. Who would've guessed the'd live that long?

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1
Next Article

Why did Harrah's VP commit suicide last summer?

Did the fight the Rincon casino had with San Diego County over Covid play a part?

When I heard that Dom DeLuise died the other day, a bunch of things popped into my mind.

As a kid, I loved him in the Mel Brooks movies (Space Balls, History of the World, and Blazing Saddles). I also enjoyed him in the Burt Reynolds films; especially the closing credits, where they'd show outtakes from the movie.

I remember as an 11-year-old, my parents watching his movie "Fatso" on HBO. I barely remember that film, other then a scene in which he has his refrigerator chained up so he doesn't get to the food inside it. And I remember watching my mom laugh harder than I'd ever seen her laugh.

I wonder now what an overweight actor like that does when he's first given the script for that film. Does he call his agent and say "Why did they want me for this role?"

I called my mom and we talked about Dom. She mentioned he was a chef, something I didn't know.

I tried to think of what his earliest movie might've been. Sometimes you are surprised when you find out someone like Jack Nicholson, had bit parts in movies in the early 60s, a decade before he became famous.

Dom did a movie called: Who is Harry Kellerman and why is he saying these terrible things about me?

Gotta love the 60s. They had movie titles that were sentences.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Yes, they do. And they also come up with normal movie titles that are only a few words long! I mean, how did they even put movie titles like that on those old marquees?

I remember a few weeks ago looking in the paper at what movies were playing. They had to shorten the movie title "Confessions of a Shopaholic" to "Con of a Shopaholic." And since a period wasn't used in "con" it took me a minute to figure out what that even was.

Anyway...something else popped into my mind with the death of DeLuise -- Those "death pools" that people always do. I've always thought they were in poor taste. And I always thought they were poorly done. Even though I did once participate in one, and I won big. Although, I cheated. I had heard that Don Ho was having heart problems, so I put him on my list. Three months later he died.

Part of the problems with a death pool, aside from the obvious that it's sick to be betting on which celebrities will die...some people just don't properly put them together. Because, you have jokers that just pick every actor over the age of 80. Other people do these where it's a point system, so the younger the person is, the more points you get. This way, you can't just pick the cast of Cocoon or The Golden Girls, and clean up.

The problem with those pools though, is everyone picks the Lindsay Lohens of Hollywood -- young actors that are known to party hard.

The year that I won it, I tried to get creative. I would pick younger actors, but I also went with heavy actors. I had John Goodman, who I had seen on Letterman the week before and he seemed to have trouble breathing. And it wasn't like he was running a marathon. He was just sitting there talking, and was getting worn out from the experience.

I'm guessing that someone won a Death Pool recently, with the death of Bea Arthur and now Dom DeLuise. But I'm guessing these people cost more people over the years. After all, Arthur lived into her 90s. And Dom was 75 when he passed away. Who would've guessed the'd live that long?

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Oscar Nominations for Comedic Films

Next Article

Oscar Re-Cap

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader