Bob Einstein, perhaps best known for playing Funk in Curb Your Enthusiasm and the stuntman character Super Dave, has passed away at the age of 76.
The actor and comedian had been battling cancer. The news of Einstein’s death shocked his former colleagues, including Curb Your Enthusiasm creator, Larry David. “Never have I seen an actor enjoy a role the way Bob did playing ‘Marty Funkhouser’ on Curb,” David told The Rolling Stone, “It was an amazing, unforgettable experience knowing and working with him. There was no one like him, as he told us again and again. We’re all in a state of shock.”
David also revealed that Einstein was due to film the tenth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but his health issues prevented him from doing so.
His daughter, Eren Einstein Dale, also reflected on her father’s passing, saying that Einstein “loved his family and making people laugh more than anything in the world.”
Other notable figures in the industry also paid their respects to the comic legend. This included his brother, Albert Brooks, who described him as “a great brother, father and husband”.
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
Mark Hamill, of Star Wars fame, thanked the Curb Your Enthusiasm star for “a lifetime of laughs”, embracing the hashtag #RIPSuperDaveOsborne, in reference to his famous character:
For over 50 years Bob Einstein made the world laugh, both as a writer & an actor. His passing is a major loss to the world of comedy & I am forever grateful to this comic-genius for the lifetime of laughs he gave us.#RIPBobEinstein #RIPSuperDaveOsborne pic.twitter.com/B1BxaR7vMv
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) January 3, 2019
Fellow comedian Richard Lewis also commented on his passing:
I’m in shock.
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— Richard Lewis (@TheRichardLewis) January 2, 2019
Bob Einstein was born in 1942 to a Jewish family. His father was famous comic Harry Einstein (known professionally as Harry Parke) and his mother, Thelma Leeds, an actress and singer. Way before appearing in Curb Your Enthusiasm and creating the character Super Dave Osborne, Einstein got his start writing for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, for which he won an Emmy award.
As well as appearing on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Einstein has guest starred in Arrested Development and Anger Management. He is the first comedian to guest star twice on Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
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