Fame is a fleeting mistress. Especially when you get plucked from obscurity and thrust into the spotlight. So it was for Richard "Dick" Assman. Actually pronounced Oss-man. He ran a couple of gas stations in Regina, and would have remained mostly unknown if it hadn't been for late night T.V.
It was back in 1995 when Late Show host David Letterman somehow got a newspaper ad from Regina, Saskatchewan saying Assman and a partner, Scott Gosselin, were moving their location. Letterman quipped that he knew "it's not nice to make fun of peoples names, but Gosselin?". He did not pronounce Richard's name the German way (Oss-man). It was then "Ass-mania" was born. Richard did appear in New York with Letterman. Ray Assman said the joke led to international celebrity status for his older brother. The name was emblazoned on T-shirts, pens and bumper stickers, although Richard kept no mementos of his visit or fame.
I was not a Letterman fan, and preferred Jay Leno. So I never saw his appearance. Yet even still, I knew just from his fleeting fame who he was. I also don't recall filling up the car at his service station, although it's more than likely I did.
Assman, who was still pumping gas when Letterman retired last year, died in his sleep Monday at age 82.
TTFN
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