Two-time Emmy winner Bob Einstein has died at 76. Einstein made a name for himself as a comedian satirizing daredevils, under the guise of Super Dave Osborne. He was hysterically funny then, and he kept being hysterically funny in latter-day turns on Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development.
Einstein, who had recently been diagnosed with cancer, died in Indian Wells, California. He was an L.A. native.
Along with his own fame, he was fellow comedy legend Albert Brooks's brother. You can watch them both in a scene from 1981's Modern Romance here.
R.I.P. My dear brother Bob Einstein. A great brother, father and husband. A brilliantly funny man. You will be missed forever.
— Albert Brooks (@AlbertBrooks) January 2, 2019
Here are some video highlights from a beloved performer:
AS SUPER DAVE
Super Dave was so popular that he made regular appearances on Late Night with David Letterman, went on to have his own self-titled variety show, and even got one of those '90s animated shows based on celebrities. Super Dave would do insane (often fake) stunts that would regularly leave him in traction, poking fun at the ever-heightening levels that daredevils had to go to, and basically being a pretty terrible daredevil.
While many saw him as a parody of Evel Knievel, he said that the inspiration was actually the bravado he saw from Hollywood stuntmen, along with athletes.
Watch some of his stunt bits here:
He told the Los Angeles Times that he actually almost got hurt for real in this stunt, when his little car stalled out:
Check out the intro to his animated show here:
AS MARTY FUNKHOUSER ON CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM
Playing one of Larry David's oldest friends, Einstein brought an overbearing charm to his role as Marty Funkhouser. Here's a bit from Curb that's actually clean, with Funkhouser making Larry stick to his word. (For a much less clean bit, featuring NSFW language and Jerry Seinfeld, you can watch the Curb clip at this link.)
I’m in shock.
— Richard Lewis (@TheRichardLewis) January 2, 2019
I knew him forever. ♥️to his loved ones. His long career is hard to match. His role on #curbyourenthusiasm was excruciatingly brilliant! Our cast and crew will be devastated.
He was so loved. He told me how much he loved LD and Curb. RIP buddy. @HBO pic.twitter.com/G8f5PoffuF
Very sad. Got to work with him on #Curb. Had heard he was sick. Will never forget him telling @jerryseinfeld the dirty joke about the newlyweds. https://t.co/9Ch81VRHV5 via @deadline
— David Mandel (@DavidHMandel) January 2, 2019
AS ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT'S SURROGATE
While George Bluth Senior was under house arrest, Bob Einstein played the aptly named "Larry Middleman," who took the patriarch's place in locations he was no longer allowed to go. Watch Einstein as a human repeating station here:
AS HIMSELF
Einstein was a comedy genius out of character, too, known for being a master joke teller. He's also one of the only comedians to appear on Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee twice. Watch some of their interactions below, or you can watch more of his appearances on Netflix.
See him on a panel with his Curb co-stars telling a joke here:
Donations can be made in Einstein's memory to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, according to Deadline.
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