Bob Einstein, Who Played Marty Funkhouser On ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ Has Died
Longtime comedian Bob Einstein passed away Wednesday, January 2, Deadline reported. Einstein, the brother of actor and director Albert Brooks, was perhaps best known for a pair of roles — the comedic daredevil Super Dave Osborne, and Larry David foil Marty Funkhouser on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Einstein was 76 years old.
Born in Los Angeles in 1942, Einstein was first known as a writer, penning work for such series as The Sonny and Cher Show and the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Einstein was once sued by a Polish group who objected to a Dick Cavett Show sketch in which he portrayed the head of a fictitious Polish-Defamation League — although the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
Bob Einstein began portraying the Super Dave Osborne character, a comedic stuntman and daredevil, in the early 1970s. He continued to play Super Dave on a variety of different shows, including Late Night With David Letterman, multiple eponymous shows, and even a movie — 2000’s The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave.
The actor began playing his other signature role, Marty Funkhouser, on the third season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Einstein continued on as a mainstay for the remainder of the series, including its revival that aired in 2017. Funkhouser was a character who remained friends with the fictitious iteration of Larry David, despite Larry’s many trespasses and faux pas — including his disruption of the memorial services of both his mother and his father.
Funkhouser also famously told an outrageously dirty joke to Jerry Seinfeld during Curb Your Enthusiasm‘s Seinfeld revival season. The scene was hilarious not just for the joke, but for the juxtaposition of a random stranger getting to meet the world’s most famous comedian — and using the opportunity to tell such a filthy joke as their mutual friend, Larry David, stews in the background.
He also played a major part in the famous “Palestinian Chicken” episode.
RIP Bob Einstein, best known for his role as Marty Funkhouser on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and Super Dave Osborne. Thanks for the laughs! pic.twitter.com/EH2cDhD7Yg
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) January 2, 2019
Bob Einstein’s other acting work included a recurring role on Arrested Development, as corporate “surrogate” Larry Middleman, as well as parts in such series as The Life & Times of Tim, Crank Yankers, and The Man Show.
His cause of death was not announced, although the Deadline obituary requested that donations be made in Einstein’s name to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
“R.I.P. My dear brother Bob Einstein,” Albert Brooks wrote via Twitter on Wednesday. “A great brother, father and husband. A brilliantly funny man. You will be missed forever.”
