About Dave Mantel

It is Sunday afternoon, together with Otis and Jon we sit in the car singing songs. Otis sings the loudest of all and I feel like the happiest little person on earth. Then suddenly the phone rings: Dave Mantel has died. What the hell, he was in his late thirties! Natural causes? Oh lucky. Well, how can you say ‘lucky’? Surely it sounds a lot nicer than a suicide or violent accident, even if all scenarios have the same terrible outcome... Soon my timeline is full of sweet memories of Dave from friends and colleagues. I unfortunately never got to be on set with Dave, but several times I met him at castings, at parties and he once took beautiful photos of my sister. Because besides being an actor, he was a very good photographer and gave awesome acting workshops through his own platform ‘The Master Class’. I especially remember his friendly and radiant appearance, beautiful energy and how vital he always came across. Last year, I read his posts on Facebook about his ailing health and eventual gallbladder surgery. Whether this was linked to his sudden death is not yet known. It couldn't be that a 37-year-old vital man, who was full of life, suddenly drops down, could it? I immediately think of his beloved, friends and family who have to cope with this incredible shock. You imagine yourself immortal at that age: you never dwell on such a scenario. I come home and can only hold and hug Jon and Otis. We ARE mortal, that is unfortunately the painful truth. I wish all of Dave's loved ones incredible strength with this heavy loss. The world has lost a very sweet and talented person.