Richard Arthur "Dick" Assman (February 14, 1934 – August 15, 2016) was a Canadian

gas station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasolin ...

employee whose name propelled him to celebrity status across North America for four months in 1995.

Career

In 1995, Assman moved from working at one

Petro-Canada Petro-Canada is a retail and wholesale marketing brand subsidiary of Suncor Energy. Until 1991, it was a federal Crown corporation (a state-owned enterprise). In August 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor Energy, with Suncor shareholders rec ...

station to another. The latter station's owner took out an advertisement in the local newspaper that was sent anonymously to

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...

, who was amused by Assman's name. Assman was introduced on July 24, 1995, on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production ...

'', where he was a nightly feature for about a month. During this time, he was known as "Assman the Gasman". Live field units in Canada interviewed him for the show. Over the weeks,

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college fo ...

declared himself an "Ass-maniac", while Assman received a musical tribute from Tony Orlando on Letterman:

Northgate
Petro-Canada Petro-Canada is a retail and wholesale marketing brand subsidiary of Suncor Energy. Until 1991, it was a federal Crown corporation (a state-owned enterprise). In August 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor Energy, with Suncor shareholders rec ...
Oh, they're relocating Their new office at Victoria Square They're celebrating Oh vaya con dios, Dick Assman Vaya con dios, my love

As his fame grew,(9 August 1995)
Assmania goes on tour
''

Waterloo Region Record The ''Waterloo Region Record'' (formerly ''The Record'') is the daily newspaper covering Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, including the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, as well as the surrounding area. Since December 1998, the ''Re ...

''(4 August 1995)
What a cheek: The Assman is coming to Ontario
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and par ...

''(28 July 1995)
Letterman's Regina pal takes the Late Night ribbing in his stride
''

'' Vancouver polling company

Angus Reid Public Opinion Angus Reid (born December 17, 1947) is a Canadian entrepreneur, pollster, and sociologist. He is the chairman of the Angus Reid Institute and CEO and founder of Angus Reid Global. He is director of the Reid Campbell Group which operates Rival T ...

reported that 49 percent of surveyed Canadians in September 1995 had heard of his name.Luscombe, Belinda.
NEXT: I.P. DALY ON NIGHTLINE
, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'', published October 2, 1995, accessed February 8, 2007. Assman received a number of contracts for commercial appearances, was asked to run for public office, and received many marriage proposals. He received a request to judge a

bikini contest A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coverin ...

in August 1995 for the Janetville Jamboree and Truck Pull in Janetville, Ontario. "Assmania" came to a close in August when Assman visited the

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and was presented with a bouquet of roses by Letterman.(21 August 1995)
What's in a name? Ask Letterman guest
''Free Lance Star'' (Associated Press) In October 1995,

James Blanchard James Johnston Blanchard (born August 8, 1942) is an American retired attorney, diplomat, and politician who served as the 45th governor of Michigan from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Democratic Party, Blanchard previously served in the Unite ...

, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, paid a visit to Assman at his gas station, citing his status as "an international celebrity".(5 October 1995)
Ambassador visits Assman
''

'' Assman or Assmann is a German-language surname derived from the name Erasmus. Dick Assman himself, who took all this ribbing good-naturedly, pronounced his name "oss-man".

Personal life

Assman was born in Neudorf, Saskatchewan, to Adolf and Elizabeth Assman. He died on August 15, 2016. Another Saskatchewan resident surnamed Assman, Dave Assman of Melville, Saskatchewan, earned notoriety in 2019 when he attempted to get a vanity licence plate with his surname on it; when

Saskatchewan Government Insurance Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) is a Canadian insurance company and a Crown corporation wholly owned by the Government of Saskatchewan. SGI's operations consist of the Saskatchewan Auto Fund, the compulsory public auto insurance program f ...

rejected his request, he had a tailgate-sized replica of an "ASSMAN" licence plate painted on the back of his truck. News reports did not indicate how closely (if at all) Dick and Dave Assman were related, but did note both pronounced their names the same way and were of German descent.MacPherson, Alex (14 February 2019).
"Assman Strikes Back: Denied Licence Plate, Saskatchewan Man Emblazons 'Offensive' Last Name on Tailgate."
''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

''. Retrieved 7 November 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Assman, Dick 1934 births 2016 deaths David Letterman People from Regina, Saskatchewan