Dick Assman is a Saskatchewan gas station owner whose name propelled him to celebrity

Celebrity

A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...

 status across North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 in 1995. Assman, who co-owned a Petro-Canada

Petro-Canada

Petro-Canada was a crown corporation of Canada in the field of oil and natural gas. It was headquartered in the Petro-Canada Centre in Calgary, Alberta. In August, 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor Energy, a deal in which Suncor investors received approximately 60 per cent ownership of the...

 outlet at Victoria Square Mall in Regina, was discovered by David Letterman

David Letterman

David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...

, who was amused by his name. Assman was obviously introduced on July 24, 1995, on The Late Show with David Letterman, where he was a nightly feature for about a month. Live field units in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 interviewed him for the show. Over the weeks, Joe Namath

Joe Namath

Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...

 declared himself an "Ass-maniac", while Assman received a musical tribute from Tony Orlando

Tony Orlando

Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis , better known as Tony Orlando, is an American show business professional, best known as the lead singer of the group Tony Orlando and Dawn in the early 1970s. Discovered by producer Don Kirshner, Orlando had songs on the charts in 1961 when he was 16, "Halfway to...

 on Letterman:

Northgate Petro-Canada

Petro-Canada

Petro-Canada was a crown corporation of Canada in the field of oil and natural gas. It was headquartered in the Petro-Canada Centre in Calgary, Alberta. In August, 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor Energy, a deal in which Suncor investors received approximately 60 per cent ownership of the...

Oh, they're relocating

Their new office at Victoria Square

They're celebrating

Oh vaya con dios

Vaya Con Dios

' may refer to:* "Vaya con Dios" , a song written by Larry Russell, Inez James, and Buddy Pepper* Vaya Con Dios , a Belgian band** Vaya Con Dios , their debut album...

, Dick Assman

Vaya con dios, my love

Vancouver polling company Angus Reid Public Opinion

Angus Reid Public Opinion

Angus Reid Public Opinion is an international public affairs practice. It was established in 2006 under the name Angus Reid Strategies by Dr Angus Reid, a Canadian sociologist who founded his first research company in 1979. Reid sold the Angus Reid Group to Paris-based Ipsos SA in 2000...

 reported that 49 percent of surveyed Canadians in September 1995 had heard of his name. Assman received a number of contracts for commercial appearances, was asked to run for public office, and received many marriage proposals. Assmania came to a close in August when Assman visited the Ed Sullivan Theater

Ed Sullivan Theater

The Ed Sullivan Theater, located at 1697-1699 Broadway between West 53rd and West 54th, in Manhattan, is a venerable radio and television studio in New York City...

 and was presented with a bouquet of roses by Letterman.

In October 1995, James Blanchard

James Blanchard

James Johnston "Jim" Blanchard is a politician from the US state of Michigan. A Democrat, Blanchard has served in the United States House of Representatives, as the 45th Governor of Michigan, and as United States Ambassador to Canada....

, the U.S. Ambassador

Ambassadors from the United States

This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to individual nations of the world, to international organizations, to past nations, and ambassadors-at-large.Ambassadors are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate...

 to Canada, paid a visit to Assman at his petrol station, citing his status as a celebrity. The Regina petrol station closed in August 2003, but Assman moved to another Petro-Canada station.

Assman or Assmann

Assmann

Assmann or Assman is a German surname and may refer to:* Arno Assmann , German actor and film director* Dick Assman Assmann or Assman is a German surname and may refer to:* Arno Assmann (1908–1979), German actor and film director* Dick Assman Assmann or Assman is a German surname and may refer to:*...

 is a German language

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

surname derived from the name Erasmus. Dick Assman himself, who took all this ribbing good-naturedly, pronounces his name "uzman".