So some more email correspondence with the mystery person who uncovered my long lost Super Dave Osborne clip has uncovered an actual identity, and as it turns out there’s more than one person who deserves a call out and some thanks. At the end of the day, there are some genuinely nice people out there, and they’re even in the entertainment business!
So a gentleman by the name of Christopher Bay from Woodland Hills, California happens to be the web master and archivist for Shelley Berman. He happens to be friends with Melissa Byers, who just happens to run the official Bob Einstein web site (for those of you who don’t know, Super Dave Osborne is a persona created by Bob Einstein).
So I’m not sure the exact order of operations to all of this but the following events (or something similar) occurred:
- Christopher comes into possession of a whack load of Super Dave Osborne footage from his friend Melissa (this either occurred sometime in the past or after the following item);
- Across his RSS feed (for which I now have a new found respect), Christopher sees my post pleading to the masses for a copy of my lost Super Dave clip
- If Christopher at this point is not in possession of all the Super Dave footage he goes back to the first item in this list and he gets it. Regardless, once he thinks he may have (or have access to) the clip I’m seeking he sends me an email;
- I give an incorrect description of what I was wearing (based on an old photo of me with Super Dave) and in less than 3 hours he sends me back the screen capture of me standing on stage with Super Dave;
- Less than 24 hours after his first contact with me I have in my possession my first (and only) television appearance from almost 22 years ago (man, I feel old all of a sudden).
Now, I know there are hundreds of episodes of Super Dave, and Christopher said he was in possession of at least 90. So whatever he did to find my 1 minute clip in that amount of data, in that amount of time, with the description I gave him, is nothing short of amazing.
It also happens to likely be the nicest thing a complete stranger has ever done for me, and pretty much made my year so far.
So, I’d like to thank the Academy, and Christopher Bay of Woodland Hills, California, who if not for his kindness and dedication to old slapstick-style variety shows this would not have been possible. I’d also like to thank his friend Melissa Byers for doing such a great job administering the website of the man behind Super Dave Osborne. Thanks to Shelley Berman and Bob Einstein, and their management team, for hiring such great people to take care of their archives and web sites. Thanks to my friend Jon Goldstein who took me to the show on the first day he was ever allowed to borrow the car, and whose Mom called the police and hospitals all night worried to death while we stayed late to do the taping (strangely enough, it would not be the last time Mrs. Goldstein sent out a search party for us). Thanks to the (presumably lazy) police officer that didn’t find us (at the theatre that everyone knew we were at, and had a giant billboard out front with Super Dave Osborne advertised). OK they’re starting to play me out here… Thanks to my Mom, my wife, my kids and of course thanks to God [crosses himself, kisses his bling, and points to the sky. Exit, stage left]
I’m really happy I made it through all that without dropping a fucking F-Bomb like Melissa Leo (I hear she’s great in Red State).
[and in hindsight, I’m amazed I didn’t think to find the Bob Einstein website and just ask on the message board. As my wife will often say, “good thing I’m cute”]