Dave Dave

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Dave Dave (born June 18, 1976 as David Rothenberg ; † July 15, 2018 in Las Vegas ) was an American conceptual artist whose father tried to murder him in 1983 by dousing him with kerosene and setting it on fire. He was therefore also known as Burn Boy in the US media .

Attempted murder

In 1983, when David Rothenberg was six, his parents were divorced, he was living with his mother, Marie Rothenberg, in Carroll Gardens , Brooklyn , New York, but his parents were still fighting over custody.

His father, Charles Rothenberg, visited the Disneyland Resort in California with him . When they had stopped at a motel in Buena Park , Calif. On the evening of March 3, 1983 , his parents had a phone call. Charles gave his son a sleeping pill. After he fell asleep, he poured kerosene on the bed and set it on fire. He left the room and watched from a phone booth across the street as other motel guests saved his child.

David Rothenberg suffered burns of third degree over 90% of his skin. Fingers and toes had to be amputated . Dave received over a hundred skin grafts in total. He was severely disfigured and suffered brain swelling during one of the skin grafts , which led to epileptic seizures and other complications .

Charles Rothenberg claimed that he originally wanted to kill himself with his son. In July 1983 he was sentenced to the (then, local) maximum sentence of 13 years in prison. He was paroled in 1990, with a three-year probation period. After two years, he fled but turned himself in. In 1996 he was charged with a shooting in Oakland . At the time, Dave, then 19, was visiting him in prison. He explained that Charles Rothenberg was not a father, but a con man ( “not a father but an imposter” ). In 1998 Charles Rothenberg changed his name to Charley Charles. In 2007 he was sentenced to 25 years to life imprisonment for armed attacks in San Francisco under California's Three Strikes rule , after he was convicted of various crimes in two other US states.

David Rothenberg made television appearances and met celebrities, including Michael Jordan, and became a friend and protégé of Michael Jackson , who partially paid for his medical treatments. Marie Rothenberg married Richard Hafdahl, a police officer who led the investigation into the attempted murder, and moved to Orange County, California with David . In 1985 she published the book David , which was filmed in 1988 under the same name.

Later life and career

Rothenberg attended the ArtCenter College of Design . From 1996 he only used his first name. He then officially took the name Dave Dave to free himself from his father and his legacy ( to "free myself of [Charles Rothenberg's] name and his legacy") . He was House Music - DJ , music producer and rapper . In 1996 he directed a music video for Kelli Lidell . He later focused on conceptual art in Las Vegas . This included a project called Lifted , which he claims arose from the urge to inspire others to surpass themselves ( "a conscious desire to inspire others to be greater than themselves" ) and collaborations with artists including Sheridee Hopper.

Dave died on July 15, 2018 at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas at the age of 42.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Obituary on welt.de
  2. ↑ a b The Searing Tale Of A Father`s Deadly Crime . In: Chicago Tribune , January 6, 1985.  Excerpted from David .
  3. ↑ a b Artist bio: Dave Dave . Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Dave Dave, whose father set him on fire in 1983, dies at 42 . In: San Francisco Chronicle , August 16, 2018. 
  5. ↑ a b c d e F. Andrew Taylor: Through life, Las Vegas artist Dave Dave finds inspiration for his work after childhood tragedy . In: Las Vegas Review-Journal , August 4, 2016. 
  6. ↑ a b c d e f Corina Knoll: Dave Dave, an artist disfigured after his father set him on fire, dies at 42 . In: Los Angeles Times , August 16, 2018. 
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g h Sean Emery: Dave Dave, the former David Rothenberg who was set afire by his dad in Buena Park 35 years ago, dies at 42 . In: Orange County Register , August 16, 2018. 
  8. ↑ a b 'Air' Michael Does His Stuff For 13-year-old Burn Victim . In: Orlando Sentinel , January 30, 1990. 
  9. ↑ a b Annette Haddad: Burn victim says wounds will heal when father's dead , UPI. January 24, 1990. 
  10. ↑ a b Man gets term for burning son . In: Los Angeles Times , Jul 30, 1983, p. 8. 
  11. ↑ a b Man Who Burned His Son in 1983 Is to Be Freed From California Jail . In: The New York Times , Jan 23, 1990, p. 21. 
  12. ↑ Rothenberg Flees, Then Surrenders . In: Los Angeles Times , March 6, 1992. 
  13. ↑ Kevin Fagan: Dad Who Set Son Afire Rages in Court / He denies shooting at Oakland hotel . In: San Francisco Chronicle , Jan. 26, 1996. 
  14. ^ A b Marisa Lagos: Rothenberg sentenced 25 years to life under three-strike law . In: San Francisco Chronicle , April 4, 2007. 
  15. ^ Library of Congress record
  16. ^ Nancy Mills: Bernadette Peters Becomes the Logical Choice for TV's 'David' . In: Los Angeles Times , October 24, 1988. 
personal data
SURNAME Dave, Dave
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rothenberg, David (maiden name); Boy, burn
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American concept artist
DATE OF BIRTH June 18, 1976
DATE OF DEATH 15th July 2018
Place of death Las Vegas