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51m ago

Richard Dimitri, Actor on Mel Brooks’ ‘When Things Were Rotten,’ Dies at 83

Family statements emphasize a health-driven retirement, a later career as a Los Angeles gallerist, with donations directed to congenital heart research.

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(L-R) Dick Butkus, Maureen Stapleton, Richard Dimitri, Glynis O'Connor, and Griffin Dunne attend a party, celebrating production of "Johnny Dangerously," at the 20th Century-Fox lot on August 26, 1983. (Photo by Alexandra Milovanovich/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • He died December 18 in Los Angeles at 83 after decades-long heart and lung illnesses, with his wife Christianne Engs at his side.
  • He was known for playing twins Bertram and Renaldo on Mel Brooks’ 1975 sitcom When Things Were Rotten, with film turns in Johnny Dangerously and Let It Ride.
  • He co-created Fox’s Daddy Dearest and wrote for network comedies including House Calls and Going Bananas.
  • Chronic health issues ended his entertainment career in 1998, after which he ran the Engs-Dimitri Works of Art gallery in Los Angeles and completed a sale to the Getty museum.
  • A private interment is set for January 15, with donations in his memory requested for The John Dimitri Research Foundation for Congenital Heart Disease honoring his late son.