Wednesday, May 6, 2009

That's Alright, He Always Wanted To Be Captain USA...


RIP Dom DeLuise, you will be missed. So it looks like ole Burt and Dom won't reunite for another Cannonball Run flick. Well, okay, that was never going to happen anyway, but I must say I have a rather unhealthy affection for these two Hal Needham movies, especially the first, which features a great cast including Dino and Sammy Davis, Roger Moore parodying himself, and Jackie Chan Subaru Driver.

These two movies definitely qualify as '80s flicks: ridiculous premise, characters very broadly drawn, and loads of mindless fun that yes, does get stupidly silly sometimes. Still, though, this is the Burt and Dom show, and it brings back a lot of fond memories from childhood, most of which I spent watching HBO.

And nobody beats Captain Chaos/Captain USA.

8 comments:

seana graham said...

Dom DeLuise was a kind of fixture of my growing up years. As with many actors with longevity, it can be surprising how many now famous things they made an appearance in.

I was also surprised by the fact that he was married to Anne Bancroft. It seems an unlikely match, but then, what do I know?

Here's to you, Dom.

Rita Vetere said...

Brian--

I used to love his "Dominick the Great" routine on the Dean Martin show, always made me laugh.

Seanag, I think it was Mel Brooks who was married to Anne Bancroft. Dom DeLuise appeared in many of Mel Brooks' movies though, including one of my favs, Blazing Saddles.

As Dominick the Great used to say: "No applause necessary, sava to the end". Guess it's finally time for applause.

--Rita

Brian O'Rourke said...

Seana,

I never knew he was married to Anne Bancroft. I thought she married Mel Brooks? But I could be mistaken.

Dom had a small role in Fail-Safe of all things too.

Brian O'Rourke said...

Rita,

Sorry, I didn't read your response to Seana's comment before posting. What part did he play in Blazing Saddles? I can't for the life of me remember it, even though I've seen that movie dozens of times.

Rita Vetere said...

Hey Bri-

He had a small part as Buddy Bizarre after the fight scene in the movie. This videomight jog your memory.

-Rita

Brian O'Rourke said...

Oh God that's right! Of course! How could I have forgotten?

I love Blazin' Saddles, and I wish Hollywood still had the guts to make movies like that.

adrian mckinty said...

Brian

This isn't totally related however, I thought this was quite funny

Brian O'Rourke said...

Adrian,

And here I thought super-villainy was recession-proof. Guess not. The Consortium of Evil is only offering ten bucks as bounty to find their arch-nemesis.