Super Dave Osborne
Encyclopedia
Super Dave Osborne is a character created and played by comedian Bob Einstein
. He is a naive but optimistic stuntman
who is frequently injured when his stunts go wrong.
The John Byner Comedy Hour
. Einstein then regularly played the character on the short-lived 1976 variety show
Van Dyke and Company starring Dick Van Dyke
.
Super Dave received his first significant exposure as a regular on the Canadian 1980s series Bizarre
. He was also a frequent guest on Late Night with David Letterman
and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
.
In 1987, a variety show titled Super Dave
began airing, followed in 1992 by the animated series
Super Dave: Daredevil for Hire
that aired on FOX
. The character was featured in the television special
s Super Dave's Vegas Spectacular in 1995 and Super Dave's All Stars in 1997. Super Dave was also the lead character in a movie
released in 2000, The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave. Late 2008, Super Dave also released Super Dave's Super Stunt Spectacular on DVD, a collection of videos of his stunts.
Super Dave also appeared in Nike
commercials in 1990, comparing his latest dunking contraptions to the Nike Air Flight basketball shoe. One commercial had him appearing with Reggie Miller
, and another with Gerald Wilkins
(mistaking their names as Roger and Harold, respectively).
Super Dave also appeared from time to time on the 1998-2004 revival of Hollywood Squares
.
: Couture vs. Vera, and again on November 17. The show will play every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. Super Dave appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
, where he gave gifts to his hosts, told jokes, and promoted the renewed television series. Super Dave also appeared on the November 12, 2009 edition of TNA Impact!
to promote the series.
suspended from a crane (the yo-yo broke free of its string and rolled off a cliff into a ravine) and being flung inside a giant football (the catapult
malfunctioned and "spiked" the football instead of throwing it). After such a mishap, Super Dave would usually appear torn apart, stretched, or otherwise injured. One of his signature logos is a drawing of his head (in a helmet or his ballcap) on top of a pair of shoes with no body. This was occasionally how he appeared after a stunt resulted in something heavy falling on top of him. Super Dave has never shed any blood on camera, even when a stunt goes unbelievably bad.
Super Dave is often accompanied on his various exploits by loyal friend, sidekick and assistant stunt coordinator Fuji Hakayito, played by comedian Art Irizawa. It is usually left to Fuji to set whatever stunt Dave is performing in motion. He is the inspiration and head of the fictional "Super Dave Compound"—a combination resort, theme park, learning center, and anything else needed for the plot-line of a particular episode. Many of his misadventures were based on demonstrating various aspects of the compound.
Trademark components of the Super Dave character include his frequent thumbs-ups, and his many uniforms - most of which include red, white and blue, yellow stars, and stripes, somewhat reminiscent of those worn by Evel Knievel
. He was also known for only using "Genuine Saskatchewan
Sealskin bindings" in the manufacture of his safety harnesses or seatbelts (not that they ever did him any good). Seals are not indigenous to the landlocked province Saskatchewan, and are therefore part of the comedic juxtaposition predicated on the eventual failure of the stunt by being both "genuine sealskin" and from Saskatchewan.
's song "Rather Be Ya", in the line, "Smoke blunts, but leave them stunts up to Super Dave," in the Ice Cube
song "Wicked", with the line "We'll have to break his ass up like Super Dave," in the A Tribe Called Quest
song "The Chase, Part II" with the lyric, "We flippin' on niggas like we Super Dave".
Damon Wayans
' character Jimmy Dix in the 1991 film The Last Boy Scout
says after being thrown off an overpass onto a parked car below, "It's okay, folks. Thank you. Danger is my middle name. Don't try this at home, folks. I'm a trained professional. There's me, and there's Super Dave."
On the ABC television show Happy Endings
, Super Dave Osborne is referenced in season 1 episode 8 entitled, "The Girl with the David Tattoo".
Bob Einstein
Stewart Robert "Bob" Einstein is an American actor and comedy writer best known for his portrayal of the fictional stuntman Super Dave Osborne.-Life and career:...
. He is a naive but optimistic stuntman
Stunt performer
A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...
who is frequently injured when his stunts go wrong.
Appearance history
Super Dave made his first appearance on the 1972 TV seriesTelevision program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
The John Byner Comedy Hour
John Byner
John Byner is an American actor, comedian, and impressionist who has had a lengthy television and movie career. His voice work includes the cartoon series The Ant and the Aardvark, in which the title characters are voiced by Byner's impressions of Dean Martin and Jackie Mason,...
. Einstein then regularly played the character on the short-lived 1976 variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
Van Dyke and Company starring Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
.
Super Dave received his first significant exposure as a regular on the Canadian 1980s series Bizarre
Bizarre (TV series)
Bizarre is a weekly Canadian sketch comedy series, airing from 1980 to 1985. The show was hosted by John Byner, and produced by CTV at the CFTO Glen-Warren Studios in suburban Toronto for first-run airing in Canada on CTV and in the United States on the Showtime premium cable network.-Synopsis:The...
. He was also a frequent guest on Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
.
In 1987, a variety show titled Super Dave
Super Dave (TV series)
Super Dave is a Canadian/American variety show starring and hosted by the fictional character Super Dave Osborne . It ran from 1987 to 1991 on Showtime in the US and the Global Television Network in Canada...
began airing, followed in 1992 by the animated series
Cartoon series
A cartoon series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same characters and a basic theme...
Super Dave: Daredevil for Hire
Super Dave: Daredevil for Hire
Super Dave: Daredevil for Hire is a DiC animated television series.In the United States, the show premiered on September 9, 1992 on FOX. The series was cancelled after its first season, but a special based on the series titled "The Super Dave Superbowl of Knowledge" aired on January 29, 1994.The...
that aired on FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
. The character was featured in the television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
s Super Dave's Vegas Spectacular in 1995 and Super Dave's All Stars in 1997. Super Dave was also the lead character in a movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
released in 2000, The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave. Late 2008, Super Dave also released Super Dave's Super Stunt Spectacular on DVD, a collection of videos of his stunts.
Super Dave also appeared in Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
commercials in 1990, comparing his latest dunking contraptions to the Nike Air Flight basketball shoe. One commercial had him appearing with Reggie Miller
Reggie Miller
Reginald Wayne "Reggie" Miller is a retired American professional basketball player who played his entire 18-year National Basketball Association career with the Indiana Pacers...
, and another with Gerald Wilkins
Gerald Wilkins
Gerald Bernard Wilkins is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'6" shooting guard/small forward, who played collegiately at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and later in the NBA.Gerald is the younger brother of former Atlanta Hawks superstar Dominique Wilkins and...
(mistaking their names as Roger and Harold, respectively).
Super Dave also appeared from time to time on the 1998-2004 revival of Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
.
Super Dave's Spike Tacular
Super Dave returned on Spike TV for four episodes premiering November 14, 2009 after UFC 105UFC 105
UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 14, 2009 in Manchester, England at the Manchester Evening News Arena...
: Couture vs. Vera, and again on November 17. The show will play every Tuesday at 9 pm EST. Super Dave appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009 to January 22, 2010 as part of NBC's long-running Tonight Show franchise...
, where he gave gifts to his hosts, told jokes, and promoted the renewed television series. Super Dave also appeared on the November 12, 2009 edition of TNA Impact!
TNA iMPACT!
Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...
to promote the series.
About the character
Super Dave is supposedly an "accomplished" stuntman, though he rarely succeeds when performing the stunts depicted onscreen. His signature is to perform outrageous daredevil stunts which invariably go awry and result in grievous bodily injury. These include such mishaps as riding inside the hub of a giant yo-yoYo-yo
The yo-yo in its simplest form is an object consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a length of twine looped around the axle, similar to a slender spool...
suspended from a crane (the yo-yo broke free of its string and rolled off a cliff into a ravine) and being flung inside a giant football (the catapult
Catapult
A catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during...
malfunctioned and "spiked" the football instead of throwing it). After such a mishap, Super Dave would usually appear torn apart, stretched, or otherwise injured. One of his signature logos is a drawing of his head (in a helmet or his ballcap) on top of a pair of shoes with no body. This was occasionally how he appeared after a stunt resulted in something heavy falling on top of him. Super Dave has never shed any blood on camera, even when a stunt goes unbelievably bad.
Super Dave is often accompanied on his various exploits by loyal friend, sidekick and assistant stunt coordinator Fuji Hakayito, played by comedian Art Irizawa. It is usually left to Fuji to set whatever stunt Dave is performing in motion. He is the inspiration and head of the fictional "Super Dave Compound"—a combination resort, theme park, learning center, and anything else needed for the plot-line of a particular episode. Many of his misadventures were based on demonstrating various aspects of the compound.
Trademark components of the Super Dave character include his frequent thumbs-ups, and his many uniforms - most of which include red, white and blue, yellow stars, and stripes, somewhat reminiscent of those worn by Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel , born Robert Craig Knievel, was an American daredevil and entertainer. In his career he attempted over 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps between 1965 and 1980, and in 1974, a failed jump across Snake River Canyon in the Skycycle X-2, a steam-powered rocket...
. He was also known for only using "Genuine Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
Sealskin bindings" in the manufacture of his safety harnesses or seatbelts (not that they ever did him any good). Seals are not indigenous to the landlocked province Saskatchewan, and are therefore part of the comedic juxtaposition predicated on the eventual failure of the stunt by being both "genuine sealskin" and from Saskatchewan.
Cultural references
He was referenced in Tupac ShakurTupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
's song "Rather Be Ya", in the line, "Smoke blunts, but leave them stunts up to Super Dave," in the Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
song "Wicked", with the line "We'll have to break his ass up like Super Dave," in the A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
song "The Chase, Part II" with the lyric, "We flippin' on niggas like we Super Dave".
Damon Wayans
Damon Wayans
Damon Kyle Wayans is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor, one of the Wayans brothers.-Early life:Wayans was born in New York City, New York, the son of Elvira, a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager...
' character Jimmy Dix in the 1991 film The Last Boy Scout
The Last Boy Scout
The Last Boy Scout is a 1991 action film starring Bruce Willis as a former Secret Service agent, now working as a private detective, and Damon Wayans as a retired professional football player. The two join forces to solve the murder of Wayans' character’s girlfriend . The movie was produced by...
says after being thrown off an overpass onto a parked car below, "It's okay, folks. Thank you. Danger is my middle name. Don't try this at home, folks. I'm a trained professional. There's me, and there's Super Dave."
On the ABC television show Happy Endings
Happy Endings (TV series)
Happy Endings is an American television series for the ABC network. The single-camera ensemble comedy premiered on April 13, 2011, as a midseason replacement, with a one-hour premiere of two back-to-back episodes starting at 9:30 pm ET/PT...
, Super Dave Osborne is referenced in season 1 episode 8 entitled, "The Girl with the David Tattoo".