# Bo Dietl - what is so "legendary" about him? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033 "2013-07-20T13:54:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/21 "2014-01-26T16:24:09Z")
He doesn’t look like someone I’d want around any food I was planning on eating. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/22 "2014-01-26T22:37:03Z")
In Goodfellas he played the cop who busted Henry Hill at the end. He said “don’t move or I’ll blow your head off” and he’s been in a few other movies too. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/23 "2014-01-27T15:32:16Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Except P.I.s are stereotypically going to nosh on fast food while working a case, and should be stereotypically qualified to recommend the best fast food. Judges, not so much. The reason they have him in the commercials is they do an “investigation” to determine that Subway uses meats which are sliced at the factory and not at the store like Arbys. Presumably this makes the meat at Arby’s better tasting and more appealing than Subway. Since the conceit of the commercial is an investigation they use a real life private investigator. Deitl is probably the most famous private investigator around, even though he isn’t really famous. So they are not using him for expertise in eating fast food, but expertise in investigating. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/24 "2014-01-27T16:25:58Z")
When I first saw the commercials, I assumed he was “legendary” in the mythos of the commercial world, and just ran with it. I see he’s actually legendary in the same way the Olympic curling team in Canada is legendary - well known within the community but not in the wider world. And I, for one, actually like Arby’s. Their Beef’n’Cheddar may be messy, but it’s tasty too. ---
**Author:** ![TomFin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee59a6/32.png) [@TomFin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomFin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/25 "2014-02-06T07:06:32Z")
Bo Dietl not mentally fit to spell his first name correctly. Just a lowly cop punk who felt he deserved fame so embarked on life of self aggrandisement. Hate to bump into such a sweaty greaseball at a party, or anywhere for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/26 "2014-02-06T14:41:18Z")
I never heard of the guy before the Arby’s commercials either, but just popping into mention that he was also in Wolf of Wall Street (just a couple short scenes where he was advising Leo over the phone). At one point Leo’s wife says something like “Bo Dietl’s on the phone, what is going on?” So he must have been big shit even back in the 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/27 "2014-02-06T15:07:07Z")
> [@Clawdio](#): > > I never heard of the guy before the Arby’s commercials either, but just popping into mention that he was also in Wolf of Wall Street (just a couple short scenes where he was advising Leo over the phone). At one point Leo’s wife says something like “Bo Dietl’s on the phone, what is going on?” So he must have been big shit even back in the 80’s. I can’t make any useful comments about Dietl’s fame or lack of it beyond what’s already been posted in this thread. But I do remember something that strikes me as about as silly. Decades ago, and that’s as close as I can pin it down ( 🙂 ), there used to be an inside joke or gag that celebrities on one or more of the late-night shows (Carson in particular) would use and I never did figure out (or hear) what was so funny to others about it. As a piece of mock surprise or shock or disbelief, somebody would say as an exclamation “Sonny Tufts!” at which laughter would erupt from some (not all) of the audience. As you may be able to see, [Sonny Tufts](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0876211/?ref_=nv_sr_1) was not without credentials, but at that particular time his name was not what you might think of as common knowledge. If anybody knows more about why Sonny Tufts might be spoken of in mock horror, maybe there’s a clue to Dietl’s “fame” there. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/28 "2014-02-06T15:15:45Z")
As for Sonny Tufts, maybe [Who Is Sonny Tufts? | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/radio/sonnytufts.asp) can shed any light that might be of use. I guess my decades-old memory is not for shit! ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/29 "2014-02-06T15:16:19Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > If anybody knows more about why Sonny Tufts might be spoken of in mock horror, maybe there’s a clue to Dietl’s “fame” there. From Wikipedia: " Tufts is the subject of an urban legend. The legend holds that he had been selected to host a well-known radio show as a last-minute replacement for a better known celebrity. The week before Tufts’s episode was scheduled, the previous host introduced him with a combination of surprise and outrage, shocked that a relatively unknown actor would succeed him as host. There is no evidence, however, that such an incident occurred.[5] Tufts himself parodied this legend in frequent appearances on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In: seated in a director’s chair with his name printed on it, he would turn around to face the camera and utter a word or phrase relevant to the previous bit, in mock contempt. " Thats actually pretty funny, and cool that he got in on the gag himself. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/30 "2014-02-06T15:19:51Z")
> [@Clawdio](#): > > Thats actually pretty funny, and cool that he got in on the gag himself. Nice find there, **Clawdio**! ---
**Author:** ![normfromga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6de8d8/32.png) [@normfromga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/normfromga)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/31 "2014-02-07T04:05:23Z")
I never heard of him before, and if asking a question, and then asking “Really?” twice was the extent of his abilities, then his prowess as a detective is definitely “legendary”…:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/32 "2014-11-19T06:28:10Z")
Just reporting that I saw the book “One Tough Cop” at the Strand (used book store) today, so I have now heard of him outside this thread. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/33 "2016-08-26T15:53:41Z")
And now he plans to [run for mayor](http://nypost.com/2016/08/25/bo-dietl-will-run-against-de-blasio-for-mayor-in-2017/). The legend continues. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/34 "2016-08-26T16:04:34Z")
Is he dead? Is his zombie running for mayor? Had to do it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/35 "2016-08-26T19:00:42Z")
Zombo! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/36 "2016-08-26T19:19:17Z")
Adding new and interesting news to an old thread justifies the revival, IMHO. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033.md?page=1)