Super Dave, the Movie

Super Dave Osborne, the daredevil stunt man who always fails so dramatically--and comically--has vaulted from NBC’s “Van Dyke and Company” (1974) to Showtime’s “Bizarre” (1979-1984) to his current variety show, “Super Dave,” on the cable network. Just last week, he turned up in new Nike network spots aired during the World Series.

And to prove that you can’t keep an inept daredevil down, the deadpan Super Dave--actually, Emmy Award-winning writer-performer Bob Einstein--will now attempt a leap to the big screen.

“We have a deal with Columbia to do a Super Dave movie,” reveals Einstein, brother of actor-director Albert Brooks.

Likely premise: a movie-within-a-movie that has serious-minded Super Dave turning down a fictitious studio’s offer for him to make a wild, action-aventure--but then stumbling into a real-life one anyway.

In his Showtime series, with new episodes due in January, Einstein spends half the program meticulously setting up a daredevil stunt that inevitably backfires, crushing or mangling the “Super One.” The feature film will exploit the same running gag.

“Negotiations are finished,” says Alan Blye, Einstein’s writing partner and executive producer. “It’s now a matter of sitting down and doing it, finding the time between the television show and other responsibilities.”