David Ossman (born December 6, 1936 in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

) is an American writer and comedian, best known as a member of

the Firesign Theatre The Firesign Theatre (also known as the Firesigns) was an American surreal humour, surreal comedy troupe who first appeared on November 17, 1966, in a live performance on the Los Angeles radio program ''Radio Free Oz'' on station KPFK FM broad ...

and screenwriter of such films as '' Zachariah''.

Early life

Ossman attended

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became ...

, where he starred in productions including ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as a ...

'' and ''

Fumed Oak ''Fumed Oak'' is a short play in two scenes by Noël Coward, one of ten that make up '' Tonight at 8.30'', a cycle written to be performed across three evenings. Coward billed the work as an "unpleasant comedy in two scenes". The play concerns ...

''. He transferred to

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Career

Ossman's roles during his Firesign years include George Leroy ("Peorgie") Tirebiter on '' Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers'' and Catherwood in the "

Nick Danger Nick Danger is a fictional character created by the comedy group The Firesign Theatre, portrayed by Phil Austin. Danger is a parody of the hard-boiled detective, and is often announced as "Nick Danger, Third Eye", a parody of the term '' private ...

" series. In 1973, he recorded the solo album ''

How Time Flys ''How Time Flys'' is a comedy album written by David Ossman and featuring the voice talents of all four members of The Firesign Theatre plus several other contributors. It was originally released by Columbia Records in 1973. Character development ...

''. During the 1980s, he left the Firesign Theatre, primarily to produce programs for

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

. During the 1990s Ossman and his wife Judith Walcutt formed Otherworld Media, through which they produced

audio theatre Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

for children, as well as a series of major star-studded

broadcasts for

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, including ''We Hold These Truths'' (1991), ''Empire of the Air'', ''War of the Worlds 50th Anniversary Production'', ''

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

's Goldfish'', and the 100th Anniversary

adaptation of ''

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz after s ...

''. His latest Otherworld Media Productions include ''

A Thousand Clowns ''A Thousand Clowns'' is a 1965 American comedy-drama film directed by Fred Coe and starring Jason Robards, Barbara Harris, Martin Balsam, and Barry Gordon. An adaptation of a 1962 play by Herb Gardner, it tells the story of an eccentric comedy ...

'', ''Through the Looking Glass'', and ''A Taffetas Christmas''. These performances are held at Whidbey Children's Theater on

Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington State. (The other large island is Camano Island, ...

, a local theatre where children can come to do plays and workshops. Otherworld Media has also taken on the task of adapting and producing half a dozen screenplays in live radio play format in 2007 and 2008 at the International Mystery Writers Festival in

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...

. Ossman personally wrote the adaptation and directed the 2007 Angie Award winner Albatross (original screenplay written by Lance Rucker and Timothy Perrin). Ossman has written a

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

novel, ''The Ronald Reagan Murder Case: A George Tirebiter Mystery'' (published by BearManor Media, 2007). In 2008, Bear Manor Media published his memoir, ''Dr. Firesign's Follies: Radio, Comedy, Mystery, History.'' Stage versions of ''Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers''; ''The Further Adventures of Nick Danger, Third Eye''; and ''

Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him ''Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him'' is the first comedy album recorded by the Firesign Theatre. It was originally released in January 1968 by Columbia Records. Synopsis The first side of the original LP presented a trilogy of thre ...

'' and ''Temporarily Humboldt County'' are published by

Broadway Play Publishing Inc. Broadway Play Publishing Inc (BPPI) was established in New York City in 1982 to publish and license the stage performance rights of contemporary American plays. The Broadway Play Publishing Inc catalog consists of over 1,000 plays and nearly 400 ...

Ossman also wrote a book of poetry in 2009 titled ''Fools & Death'' (published by Ion Drive Publishing, 2009). His ''Old Cart Wrangler's Saga'' was a finalist for a 2019 Audie Award (APA- Audiobook Publishers Association) in the Original Works category. It was published by Blackstone Publishing in Ashland, OR.

Personal life

On March 19, 2008,

Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is an American national park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. The park was established on March 2, 1899, as the fourth national park in the United States, preservi ...

rangers found the body of Ossman's oldest son, Devin, less than two miles from the trailhead where he had parked his car two days earlier for a day hike. His wife had reported him missing the day before. Ossman also has a daughter, Alizon. He currently resides on

with his wife. Ossman was a member of the

Church of the SubGenius The Church of the SubGenius is a parody religion that satirizes better-known belief systems. It teaches a complex philosophy that focuses on J. R. "Bob" Dobbs, purportedly a salesman from the 1950s, who is revered as a prophet by the Church. SubG ...

Filmography

Actor

* ''Martian Space Party'' (1972, Short) * ''

Everything You Know Is Wrong ''Everything You Know Is Wrong'' is the eighth comedy album by the Firesign Theatre. Released in October 1974 on Columbia Records, it satirizes UFO conspiracy theories and New Age paranormal beliefs such as Erich von Däniken's ''Chariots of ...

'' (1975, LP) – Sheriff Luger Axehandle / NURGI Clockwork Film narrator / Professor Archer / Art Wholeflaffer / Air Force General * ''Below the Belt'' (1980) (voice) * ''

The Tick ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1996, TV Series) – Professor Peelie (voice) * ''

A Bug's Life ''A Bug's Life'' is a 1998 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It was the second feature-length film produced by Pixar. Directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Andrew Stant ...

'' (1998) – Cornelius (voice) * ''Nowheresville'' (2000) – Earl Apple * ''

Osmosis Jones ''Osmosis Jones'' is a 2001 American live-action/animated buddy cop crime action comedy film written by Marc Hyman. Combining live-action sequences directed by the Farrelly brothers and animation directed by Piet Kroon and Tom Sito, the film ...

'' (2001) – Scabies (voice, uncredited) * ''Firesign Theatre: Weirdly Cool'' (2001, TV Movie) * ''Five Grand'' (2016) – Abner Wilhelm

Writer

* '' Zachariah'' (1971) * ''Martian Space Party'' (1972) * ''Everything You Know Is Wrong'' (1975) * ''Firesign Theatre: Weirdly Cool'' (2001) (TV) * ''The Ronald Reagan Murder Case: A George Tirebiter Mystery'' (2007) * ''Fools & Death'' (2009) * ''Fighting Clowns of Hollywood: With Laffs by the Firesign Theatre'' (2018)

Producer

* ''Martian Space Party'' (1972) * ''Everything You Know Is Wrong'' (1975)

Director

* ''Everything You Know Is Wrong'' (1975) * ''Through the Looking Glass'' (2006) * ''Seven Keys to Baldpate'' (2007)

Editor

* ''Martian Space Party'' (1972)

Discography

* ''

'' (1973)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ossman, David 1936 births Living people American SubGenii Writers from Santa Monica, California The Firesign Theatre Pomona College alumni