Ded Bob died: Ded Bob’s human carrier, Clark Orwick, passed away on 10 March after a six-week battle in the ICU from “a massive heart attack”. Orwick, aka Smuj, and Ded Bob performed at Renaissance Festivals all over the US for more than 30 years.
Clark Orwick, aka Ded Bob, has died
Ded Bob was the highlight for many at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. The pair also performed at the Texas Renaissance Festival.
Clark Orwick, the man behind the mask and Ded Bob’s “beloved dummy”, passed away the evening before last.
The news came in the form of an announcement via the character’s Facebook page, in what WCRZ described as “true Ded Bob fashion”.
Michigan Renaissance Festival remembers Clark Orwick and Ded Bob
The Michigan Renaissance Festival Facebook page posted a commemorative message to its followers just under a day ago.
It includes a quote from Danish-American comedian Victor Borge: “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people”.
The post then reads, “Clark brought us all closer through laughter, critical thinking, and a persistent poke at our mortality. He cannot be replaced.”
Ded Bob origin and comedic influences
On Ded Bob’s website, Orwick lists among his comedic influences George Carlin and Richard Pryor.
He also includes Bill Cosby, Carol Burnette, Smothers Brothers, and Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, an American sketch comedy program that ran between 1968 and 1973.
Orwick was also a big fan of SNL, and enjoyed the music of Bach, the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin – “..too many to mention…”
When did Ded Bob first appear?
Ded Bob first appeared as a prop in Shakespeare’s Shorts, a series of parodies run by Atlanta Shakespeare Company.
Soon afterwards, Orwick, Smuj and Ded Bob had their first big hits at Maryland Renaissance Festival and Georgia Renaissance Festival. From there, they took the show to Texas, Colorado, Michigan and Arizona.
Finally, they landed in Michigan, where Ded Bob was a hit for over 30 years.
- ‘It won’t be highlighted anywhere’: Some Arsenal fans hail ‘flawless’ 25-year-old vs Olympiacos
- Is much-stanned Stefania Spampinato in a relationship?
- Keown impressed by £5m Arsenal man who’ll consider himself ‘better than Ceballos’
- ‘Put our crash helmets on’: Keown was concerned when Arsenal man came on yesterday
- Some Spurs fans hail 24-year-old’s ‘quality’ display, claim he’s been ‘so much better recently’
