Bob Einstein is gone. The actor/comedian died today in Indian Wells, California, after a recent cancer diagnosis. He was 76.
That means Super Dave is gone. Marty Funkhouser of Curb Your Enthusiasm is gone. Larry Middleman on Arrested Development -- gone. It's a sad day for fans, but even sadder for actor/director Albert Brooks. Bob Einstein was the older brother of Albert Brooks, 71, who was actually born Albert Lawrence Einstein.
Albert Brooks honored his brother with a brief but beautiful tweet tribute:
Bob Einstein got his start in the comedy business writing for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. He won his first of two Emmys as part of that writing team in 1969. His second Emmy came in 1977 as part of the Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series team for Van Dyke and Company.
Bob Einstein created the stuntman character Super Dave Osborne. Super Dave's first appearance was on the 1972 comedy series The John Byner Comedy Hour. He became a recurring guest on Late Night With David Letterman and on the TV sketch comedy series Bizarre. Super Dave got his own show from 1987 to 1991, airing on Showtime in the U.S. The character got his own animated series Super Dave: Daredevil For Hire, and his own 2000 movie The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave.
Bob Einstein was also a regular on Crank Yankers as Tony DeLoge/Bob Carlman, and played Linus Caldwell's (Matt Damon) father in Ocean's Thirteen. Einstein was also the first guest to appear twice on Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
As Deadline noted, Bob Einstein was almost sued in the U.S. Supreme Court over his 1972 appearance on The Dick Cavett Show. He pretended to be the president of a fake Polish Defamation League and told some off-color jokes, but the high court ultimately refused to hear the case and denied the request for an on-air rebuttal.
Some of us will always know Bob Einstein best for playing Larry David's close friend Marty Funkhouser on Curb Your Enthusiasm, from Season 4 up to the most recent Season 9. He appeared in 22 episodes of the HBO comedy to date.
Cheryl Hines, who plays Cheryl David on Curb, reacted to her co-star's passing:
HBO renewed Curb Your Enthusiasm for Season 10, which started filming in October. It's not clear if Bob Einstein's Marty will be featured in the new season or not. HBO has yet to announce the premiere date for Season 10, but it may arrive in 2019. Here's what we do know is ahead in midseason 2019.
