Bob Einstein, or Super Dave Osbourne as I knew him as for most of my life, passed away today at the age of 76 from a short bout with cancer according to Deadline. His younger brother Albert Brooks wrote, “R.I.P. My dear brother Bob Einstein. A great brother, father and husband. A brilliantly funny man. You will be missed forever.”
From 1972 until 2013, he played Super Dave Osborne, a stuntman, who, well, the stunts never went right. Each time he would attempt one talk, scripted, variety and his own weekly shows, they would always go horrifically wrong. He was crushed, smushed and pushed. Whatever way they could come up with to break every bone in his body they would do just that. No matter how many they did it, it always made me laugh until I cried. One of my favorite interviews was talking to him in 2009 when he brought his character back to TV on Spike TV. That is when I finally learned his real name. He is a man I will always admire because his timing was always perfect.
While people like me, know him as Super Dave, others know him as Marty Funkhouser on Curb Your Enthusiasm and Larry Middleman on Arrested Development. He is also the first comedian to appear on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry Seinfeld
Before all of those roles, he was Officer Judy on Smothers Brothers. A show he also wrote on and won one of his two Emmies for.
Today, let’s remember him with laughter and watch him do several stunts that made it seem like he would live forever because we thought he was invincible. Cancer was the one stunt even he could not beat.
