Richard Arthur "Dick" Assman was a Canadian gas station 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 station to another. The station's owner took out an advertisement in the local newspaper that was sent anonymously to David Letterman, who was amused by Assman's name. Assman was introduced on July 24, 1995, on the Late Show with David Letterman, 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 declared himself an "Ass-maniac", while Assman received a musical tribute from Tony Orlando on Letterman:
As his fame grew, Vancouver polling company Angus Reid Public Opinion reported that 49 percent of surveyed Canadians in September 1995 had heard of his name. 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 in August 1995 for the Janetville Jamboree and Truck Pull in Janetville, Ontario. "Assmania" came to a close in August when Assman visited the Ed Sullivan Theater and was presented with a bouquet of roses by Letterman. In October 1995, James Blanchard, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, paid a visit to Assman at his gas station, citing his status as "an international celebrity". 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 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 Dick and Dave Assman were related, but did note both pronounced their names the same way and were of German descent.
