Super Dave actor Einstein dead at 76
Bob Einstein, the American actor known to fans of the-1980s Canadian comedy series Bizarre as Super Dave Osborne, has died at the age of 76.
His brother, actor and director Albert Brooks, announced his death on Twitter Wednesday: “R.I.P. My dear brother Bob Einstein. A great brother, father and husband. A brilliantly funny man. You will be missed forever.”
He died Jan. 2 in Indian Wells, Calif. The New York Daily News said he had been battling cancer.
Einstein was a writer and producer as well as an actor. He began his onscreen comedy career in the 1960s with appearances on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour as Officer Judy. More recently he was known for his role as Marty Funkhouser on the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm.
But for Canadian fans, Einstein will forever be known as inept stuntman Super Dave. Einstein was born in Los Angeles, Calif., but he spent a dozen years in Toronto appearing first on Bizarre and then his own talk series, The Super Dave Osborne Show.
Writing about Bizarre in 2015, freelance writer Adam Proteau said Einstein was the series’ true breakout star. “Osborne — an arrogant stuntman who suffered calamitous, hilarious injuries while attempting to carry out his stunts — was a huge hit among anyone who loved seeing humans treated like Wile E. Coyote,” wrote Proteau.
Einstein revived the character in 2009 for a four-part special for Spike TV, Super Dave’s Spike Tacular. Bob Einstein, known to many as Super Dave Osborne, began his career with The Smother Brothers.