Entertainment

Dave Dave, who was set afire as boy, died of natural causes

22 of October 2018

FILE - In this Feb. 22, 1997 file photo, David Rothenberg poses for a portrait in Los Angeles. Medical examiners in Las Vegas have determined that the death in July, 2018, of artist Dave Dave, who was born David Rothenberg, at age 42 was from natural causes. (AP Photo/Susan Sterner, file),FILE - In this Feb. 22, 1997 file photo, David Rothenberg poses for a portrait in Los Angeles. Medical examiners in Las Vegas have determined that the death in July, 2018, of artist Dave Dave, who was born David Rothenberg, at age 42 was from natural causes. (AP Photo/Susan Sterner, file)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Medical examiners in Las Vegas have determined that artist Dave Dave, who was badly scarred when his father set him on fire as a boy, died of natural causes.

Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg (FYOU’-den-berg) said in a statement Monday that the artist born David Rothenberg died July 15 of sepsis due to pneumonia. He was 42.

As a 6-year-old, Dave was set afire and badly burned in 1983 by his father in a Southern California motel room near Disneyland.

He underwent numerous skin grafts but refused to define himself as a victim. He became a close friend of Michael Jackson’s.

Dave’s father, Charles Rothenberg, went to prison for attempted murder and later amassed a criminal record for other crimes before being sentenced in California in 2007 to 25 years to life in prison.