-LRB- 1970 -RRB- , `` Spaceballs '' -LRB- 1987 -RRB- and `` Robin Hood : Men in Tights '' -LRB- 1993 -RRB- . But he could also assay more serious roles , most notably in the 1980 dark comedy `` Fatso , '' in which he played an overweight man trying to wean himself from comfort food . The film was directed by Brooks ' wife , Anne Bancroft . Watch an impromptu performance by Dom DeLuise '' DeLuise , who struggled with his own weight , was also an author of cookbooks . In 1991 , he told CNN 's Larry King that after meeting Luciano Pavarotti while working on an opera , he realized he needed to try to shed some of his weight . `` I finally became powerless over food , '' he told King . `` You know , anybody who 's an alcoholic or cocaine or something , that 's what food was to me . '' Besides authoring cookbooks , DeLuise penned seven children 's books . DeLuise was also part of the supporting cast in the Burt Reynolds crash - 'em - up vehicles `` Smokey and the Bandit II '' -LRB-
LOS ANGELES , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Dom DeLuise , who spiced up such movies as `` Blazing Saddles , '' `` Silent Movie '' and `` The Cannonball Run '' with his manic delivery and roly-poly persona , has died , his son 's publicist said . Dom DeLuise was best known for his roles in Mel Brooks films as well as films with his friend Burt Reynolds . Publicist Jay Schwartz did not disclose the cause of death , but DeLuise , 75 , had been battling cancer for more than a year . DeLuise was surrounded by family when he died in a Santa Monica , California , hospital Monday night , son Michael DeLuise told CNN affiliate KTLA . DeLuise was most famous for his supporting roles in a number of Mel Brooks films , including 1974 's `` Saddles '' -- in which he played a flamboyant musical director who led dancers in a number called `` The French Mistake '' -- and 1976 's `` Silent Movie , '' in which he played the assistant to Brooks ' director Mel Funn . He was also in the Brooks-directed `` The Twelve Chairs ''