American comedian, writer and actor Bob Einstein has died aged 76.

Mr Einstein, who played Marty Funkhouser on Curb Your Enthusiasm alongside Larry David from 2004 to 2017, died of cancer on Wednesday.

Mr David said: "“It was an amazing, unforgettable experience knowing and working with him. There was no one like him, as he told us again and again. We’re all in a state of shock.”

Mr Einstein was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish family in 1942, the grandson of eastern European immigrants. His brother Albert Brooks is also a noted actor and writer who called his late brother "a great brother, father and husband. A brilliantly funny man".

Mr Einstein won two Emmy awards for writing in the 1960s and 1970s and created the stuntman character Super Dave Oborne, playing him in a variet of sketch comedies, including his own series in 1987.

Curb cast member Richard Lewis said he was "in shock" and praised his awkward character on the show as "excruciatingly brilliant".

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill said simply: "Thank you for a lifetime of laughs, Bob Einstein".