This youngest son of comic actor Dom DeLuise and his wife Carol Arthur began his career as a child, appearing in his dad's film "Hot Stuff" (1979) and again with Dom in the 1983 CBS TV-movie "Happy". David DeLuise not only proved that comedy was genetic, he also had a tendency to mimic his father's penchant for weight gain. As a youngster, he was the heaviest of the three DeLuise boys (older brothers Michael and Peter are both actors) and was frequently the target of teasing from peers. His problems were further complicated by a diagnosis of dyslexia which he overcame with tutorial assistance.