"Don't Try This at Home": The Legacy of Super Dave Osborne

Gary North - August 31, 2019

Bob Einstein was a comedian. He died early this year. He did not attain the fame of his younger brother, Albert Brooks (of Finding Nemo fame), who was smart enough to change his name to Brooks before launching his comedy career.

He created a memorable persona: Super Dave Osborne. Super Dave was a stunt man. His stunts did not go well. You can watch lots of them on YouTube. Go here. A sample:

His not-quite-final phase: "Don't try this stunt at home."

So far, no one has replaced him. He had a unique niche.

The Jackass movies are extensions of Super Dave's legacy, but without careful planning for failure. No one has emerged as the grand master of stunts gone wrong. Highlights are here.

I am happy to see that Dave's legacy is being continued by a generation of young men who do not remember him. Maybe they have seen the Jackass films, and they long for video immortality.

One way to get a YouTube video to go viral is to do something that I prefer to describe as a Super Dave stunt. It would be insensitive to discourage these creative young men by describing their performances as Jackass stunts.

Here, we see a young man who has what it takes: a low-budget video setup, courage, and a willingness to try something risky, useless, and unrehearsed. He has assembled a team. This is a family project. His younger brother supported him, as you will see.

Super Dave would have applauded.