Performer known for playing Marty Funkhouser on Larry David comedy praised as ‘amazing, unforgettable’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Bob Einstein, the veteran comedy writer and performer known for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Curb Your Enthusiasm and his spoof daredevil character Super Dave Osborne, has died, according to his brother, the film-maker Albert Brooks. Einstein was 76.

Einstein will be “missed forever”, Brooks said in a Twitter post on Wednesday.

“RIP My dear brother Bob Einstein. A great brother, father and husband. A brilliantly funny man,” he added.

Details of Einstein’s death were not immediately available. Representatives for him and Brooks did not immediately respond to calls or emails.

Einstein was scheduled to be part of the 10th season of Curb Your Enthusiasm but his health barred him from filming, HBO said.

On the comedy, Einstein played annoying pal Marty Funkhouser to Larry David’s equally off-putting character. In a statement, David said he’d never seen an actor enjoy a role more than Einstein did playing Marty.

“It was an amazing, unforgettable experience knowing and working with him. There was no one like him, as he told us again and again,” David said on Wednesday. “We’re all in a state of shock.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Larry David and Bob Einstein on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Photograph: HBO/Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock

Einstein created and played Super Dave, a stuntman far more ambitious than he was agile. The character appeared on comedy-variety specials and series, most recently Super Dave’s Spike Tacular in 2009.

He won an Emmy for writing on the 1960s series The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, on which he also played opposite brothers Tom and Dick Smothers, and a second Emmy in 1976 for Dick Van Dyke’s Van Dyke and Company variety series.