Dom DeLuise, a pudgy actor whose manic grin and air of desperation added comic bounce to many films, died Monday in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 75 and lived in Pacific Palisades.

His agent, Robert Malcolm, told The Associated Press that DeLuise had diabetes and high blood pressure, but gave no cause of death.

DeLuise first made his mark on television in the early 1960s as Dominick the Great, an inept but determined magician. Before long, DeLuise was appearing in films, usually in broad comedies as a nervous sidekick, a schmo or a preposterous fraud.

He was a favorite of Mel Brooks, who cast him as the greedy Father Fyodor in “The Twelve Chairs” (1970) and the abusive musical director Buddy Bizarre in “Blazing Saddles” (1974).

Burt Reynolds, another fan, teamed up with DeLuise in several films, including “Smokey and the Bandit II” (1980), “The Cannonball Run” (1981) and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” (1982).

As his film career declined, DeLuise found a creative outlet in food. A talented amateur chef, he did cooking demonstrations on television and wrote several cookbooks.