Roth suffers medical emergency in Ontario
OPP credited for saving David Lee Roth’s life
Former Van Halen star suffers medical emergency in Ontario
By MONTE SONNENBERG, Sun Media
“We didn’t run anything on it because it’s something we come across everyday,” Plummer said. “We try to protect people’s privacy when it involves personal information.”
Const. Chris Thompson was one of the officers who helped. Thompson may not have known who Roth was, but he recognized immediately that there was something different about him.
“At the time, I wasn’t star struck,” Thompson said. “I was just trying to help him. The guy stuck out like a sore thumb. He was wearing a little silk scarf and flashy clothing – it’s not something you see in Oakland too often.”
Plummer said Roth has been seen in the Simcoe area in recent weeks. Plummer added that Roth’s appearance has changed since the rock band Van Halen exploded on the scene in the late 1970s.
Bob Boisclair of Erie Music in downtown Simcoe said he has also heard that Roth has been hanging around the Norfolk area. Boisclair said the talk suggests Roth is considering buying property in Port Dover.
Robert Bianchini of Scorpion Recording Studio in Port Dover has heard numerous reports of the famous and semi-famous eyeing land along the Norfolk shoreline, Port Dover in particular. Bianchini said it is conceivable Roth was in southern Ontario late last month because Van Halen played in Quebec City July 3 as part of that’s city’s 400th anniversary celebration.
Roth is the voice behind Van Halen’s most famous songs. These include Running With The Devil, Panama, The Cradle Will Rock, Jump, Jamie’s Crying and Hot For Teacher.
Depending on the source, Roth either quit Van Halen or was fired in 1985. His relationship with guitar player Eddie Van Halen has always been stormy. Roth enjoyed moderate success as a solo artist with covers of such tunes as Ice Cream Man and Just A Gigolo.
Roth was tapped to replace shock jock Howard Stern at New York City radio station K-Rock in 2005. The gig didn’t last. Soon after, Roth and Van Halen reconciled their differences and resumed making music together.
There was no reply to an e-mail from Roth’s publicist.
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July 9th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Apparently David Lee Roth had an allergic reaction to peanuts or nuts and his throat starting to close and he was experiencing anaphylactic reaction and was rushing in his car to the Brantford General Hospital. It is not known if the OPP gave him a Police Escort OR if he did in fact proceed to the hospital because the staff at the BGH are being quiet about it. But seeing as this is area news and the thousands of Van Halen fans in the area and all abuzz about DLR being in town…that’s the news. It is also rumoured that he was at Monarch Studios visiting his friend, who is a sound engineer and lives in Oakland.
July 9th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Maybe Michael Anthony sent him some Planters Peanuts.
July 9th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Why do they say “former” VH star? Did I miss something?
July 9th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
This article is confusing. Doesn’t indicate what happened and it goes from Ontario to Oakland.
July 9th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
I don’t know if that was the entire article, but if it was, that is some way bad journalism. DLR will survive..he is too f#*&ing obnoxious to go away because of a little ol’ peanut. I mean that in a totally good way
July 9th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
“Roth enjoyed moderate success as a solo artist with covers of such tunes as Ice Cream Man”
- last time I checked ice cream man wasn’t one of Dave’s solo tunes…
Very poorly written article if you ask me. All I got from it was David lee Roth is looking at buying property in Port Dover (which is cool cause its close to where i live!) , and that he suffered some sort of medical emergancy.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Maybe he got a brown M&M.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Just glad Dave’s OK. Hopefully some new VH material will follow.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Take care, Dave!
July 10th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
“Former” Van Halen Star???
July 11th, 2008 at 9:55 am
This is 100% fake
July 11th, 2008 at 9:55 am
This is 100% fake…
http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/458498
July 11th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Anne Lu - Celebrity News Service News Writer
Ontario, Canada (CNS) - Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth has denied the circulating rumors that he almost died after eating peanuts while driving in Canada.
The reports claimed that Diamond Dave was in Ontario when he was pulled over for speeding on May 23. The officers allegedly said that he was suffering from an allergic reaction and an ambulance was immediately called.
Roth dismisses the vicious gossips and released a statement through his rep saying, “I was in Canada only from July first through the fourth for a performance at the Quebex City Summer Festival. I had no encounters or incidents with the police. The only thing I’m allergic to is criticism. - Love, Dave”
July 11th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Turns out it was a fake DLR…
Man, ever since this site changed updates have been so slow…
July 11th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
David Lee Roth was not in Ontario May 23, was not pulled over by Brant OPP and, oh, he’s not allergic to peanuts.
“I was in Canada only from July first through the fourth for a performance at the Quebec City Summer Festival. I had no encounters or incidents with the police. The only thing I’m allergic to is criticism,” Roth said last night in a statement sent to the Reformer by his publicist, Elaine Schock of Shock Ink.
As well, Van Halen publicist Janie Liszewski of High Profile Media confirmed Roth and his bandmates were elsewhere that night.
“Indeed they did play at Madison Square Garden in New York on the 23rd,” Liszewski said.
The nutty tale about Roth’s alleged incident started after word got out that Brant OPP stopped a speeding driver at 7 p.m. on May 23 and found the driver was in anaphylactic shock due to a peanut allergy. The story was first reported by CTV earlier this week.
Two young officers got paramedic assistance for the man and one of them visited him later at the Brantford General Hospital. Police said the man identified himself as David Lee Roth.
But Const. Larry Plummer said the officers didn’t know at the time what the real Roth looks like.
“The guys didn’t put a report in till later in the week and someone else in the office spotted the name and went, ‘Hey!’” Plummer told Sun Media yesterday.
Now the OPP are trying to verify the story, too, saying they can’t confirm whether the responding officers actually got ID from the man who they helped.
Roth is best known as the lead singer of Van Halen. Their hits with Roth at vocals include Running With The Devil, Panama, The Cradle Will Rock, Jump, Jamie’s Crying and Hot For Teacher. Roth left the band in 1985, but recently reunited with them for a tour.
Media reports have been swirling about the incident. Yesterday a Hamilton newspaper reported the man who was thought to be Roth was partying at the Liquid Lounge in Brantford after his ordeal, possibly with two nurses from the hospital. The story said the man sang a song with a band performing at the bar.
But the club’s owner was asking herself yesterday if it was really the rocker.
“It seemed to be him and when I asked him, ‘Are you David Lee Roth,’ he said, ‘Yes,’ but there’ve been a million discussions in here since,” Liquid Lounge owner Cheri Walsh said.
Walsh also admitted that she wouldn’t know the real Roth. She noted that the man was wearing a hospital bracelet, didn’t drink and was wearing expensive clothes.
The story of Roth’s appearance in the area was questioned after videos showed up on the website YouTube of a Van Halen concert May 23.
“The story is BS. I told that to anyone who asked,” Schock told the Reformer last night in an e-mail.
July 11th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
about reports he suffered a near-fatal allergic reaction to nuts recently - because the incident didn’t happen.
Two Canadian police officers claimed they helped to save the rocker’s life last month (Jun08) after finding him suffering from anaphylactic shock in a car by the side of a highway in Ontario.
The Jump singer had reportedly suffered a severe allergic reaction to a nutty snack.
One of the cops, Chris Thompson, told reporters he had no idea he was dealing with a rock star when he and his partner helped to calm Lee Roth down until paramedics arrived.
But Lee Roth insists the cops have the wrong guy.
He tells TMZ.com, “I was in Canada only from July 1st through (to) the 4th for a performance at the Quebec City Summer Festival.
“I had no encounters or incidents with the police (and) the only thing I’m allergic to is criticism.”
The rocker’s representative confirms Lee Roth is not allergic to nuts.
July 11th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
re : David Lee Roth,Yea its all fake, the guy who pulled this off is an imposter, why do people bother, are their lives that sad that they have to do that, someone else here in Toronto was impersonating Kim Mitchell on Facebook, Kim Mitchell is a Canadian rock legend, it didnt take long for him to find the imposter and the person left Facebook…..ha ha, get a life people, be yourself, not someone else
July 11th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
I know David Lee Roth has pulled off magical stunts before, but he can’t be two places at once. I personally saw Roth in a concert in New York City on the date. Actually, the police department now confirms it was not Roth.
GET RID OF THIS. Does anyone here ever check their sources?
July 12th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Doppelganger Dave
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SPECIAL TO RECORD NEWS SERVICES 1
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
2
SPECIAL TO RECORD NEWS SERVICES
SPECIAL TO RECORD NEWS SERVICES
It’s a story that circulated around the world: Rock star David Lee Roth saved by two OPP officers after suffering a severe allergic reaction to nuts while driving on a country road near Brantford.
Then came the report about how the Van Halen singer, dressed in flashy rock-star duds, strutted into a Brantford bar with two nurses after spending the evening in Brantford General Hospital.
In May, Diamond Dave even made an appearance at Kitchener’s Circus Room, leaping on stage with local musicians — promising to bring them on tour with AC/DC — and taking home several women.
The only problem, the story isn’t true. The two OPP officers, and a lot of other people, appear to be victims of a charming imposter.
“The story is completely false,” David Lee Roth’s personal publicist Elaine Schock said yesterday from her Los Angeles office. “I don’t even understand where that came from. David doesn’t drive himself. He has a driver. And he doesn’t dress flashy unless he’s onstage.”
This, of course, came as a bit of a shock to the two OPP officers who entered the name “David Lee Roth” into their report of the May 23 incident and later described his flashy dress to CTV News.
The officers weren’t the only ones fooled. Club patrons, hospital employees, hair stylists, music producers and performers all thought they had spent some quality time with Diamond Dave.
Alex Tintinalli, who was playing guitar at the Circus Room the night the imposter came in, said the man dressed very flashy and spent most of the night bragging.
“He didn’t really ask to come onstage, he just came up,” Tintinalli said. “Then he spent most of his time just throwing the microphone around. . . . But everyone in the bar was like, ‘That’s David Lee Roth!’ ”
The man claimed he had just recorded an album with Jimmy Page, and was constantly hitting on women. He even tried to pick up several female paramedics stationed near the bar, Tintinalli said. It wasn’t until later in the evening when someone at the bar went online and discovered the real Roth was on tour that the gig was up.
OPP Const. Larry Plummer also confirmed it couldn’t have been Roth whom the two young Brantford officers saved.
“On May 23, the day this was supposed to have happened, Roth was performing at Madison Square Garden with Van Halen,” he said.
Plummer said the two officers never asked for identification when they stopped the Mystery Dave’s rented car for erratic driving near Oakland, a tiny hamlet south of Brantford.
“They were too concerned with helping a man who was in medical distress,” Plummer added.
After being treated in hospital, the Mystery Dave then took two nurses to the nearby Liquid Lounge where he got up and performed with a local band. He even had his picture taken with at least one of them.
Liquid Lounge owner Cheri Welsh was drawn in by the flashy scarves and alligator shoes.
“I can’t understand his motives,” she said yesterday. “It’s not like he was getting free drinks or anything. He was putting money on the table. He offered to buy me one.”
Even Phatstick the St. Catharines band that jammed out Van Halen’s Ice Cream Man with him at the bar were impressed.
“We weren’t totally convinced at first because so many people come to shows saying they are someone famous or related to a star that you just don’t know who to believe . . .” said drummer Joe Lavergne. “But in Dave’s case, he did pretty well.”
The Mystery Dave also went to the U Are Beautiful salon in Cambridge several times over a two-week period for tanning treatments, hair cuts and dye jobs.
“He always paid in cash,” said Lesley, who asked that her last name not be used. “He even bought gift certificates.”
Lesley said the salon gave him one free treatment when he said he was going on MuchMusic. He gave them a private concert in the salon. Lesley said they were initially suspicious because of a gap in the man’s teeth, but he explained he always wore a cap when he went onstage.
“He had answers for everything,” Lesley said.
And Dean Hajas, a local songwriter and recording engineer, said he’s still certain the man who stayed at his house for three weeks is the real David Lee Roth. Hajas says he met Roth while working in Los Angeles in 1993.
“He just phoned me out of the blue and asked if he could come over and do some work,” Hajas says. “I gave up the master bedroom for him because I think that’s the hospitable thing to do.”
“He showed up in a navy blue Alfa Romeo car. I think he had two or three hundred pair of sunglasses with him and had six full flight bags of clothes and a lot of guitars, as well,” Hajas said.
“He’s got some of my music . . . I talked to him on his cellphone yesterday and he said his publicist would be issuing a press release (today) to clear this mess up.”
The real Roth’s publicist admits the bizarre story has helped her keep her client’s name in the news.
But Roth issued the following statement to set the record straight:
“I was in Canada only from July first through the fourth for a performance at the Quebec City Summer Festival. I had no encounters or incidents with the police. The only thing I’m allergic to is criticism. — Love, Dave.”
July 12th, 2008 at 12:22 am
Roth scammer could face criminal charges
Posted By Monte Sonnenberg, SIMCOE REFORMER
Updated 8 hours ago
Brant OPP are investigating a man who passed himself off to police and others as Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth.
Const. Larry Plummer of the Brant OPP said today that the man may have violated the Highway Traffic Act in May when he identified himself as the famous rock star to two constables in Oakland. Brant OPP pulled the man over when they saw him driving erratically.
After identifying himself as Roth, the man told police he was having an allergic reaction to nuts. Police stayed with him until paramedics took him to hospital.
After he was discharged, the impostor and two nurses went for drinks in a bar in downtown Brantford. The man got up on stage with the band that was performing and delivered a rendition of Ice Cream Man, a song Roth covered during his solo career.
“He scammed a lot of people,” Plummer said.
It is a violation of the Highway Traffic Act to lie about your identify during a traffic stop. If lying about your identity or predicament prevents police from conducting a proper investigation, the result could be obstruction of justice charges under the Criminal Code.
Plummer says they have identified the Roth impersonator. They haven’t located him and will not release his name. When police do find him, the Brant OPP wants to speak to him.
“He’s done this in other provinces and other states,” Plummer said. “He’s an old hand at it.”
July 12th, 2008 at 2:45 am
Yea folks. It’s a fake. DLR was performing with The Mighty VH on May 23rd!
http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/V/Van_Halen/2008/07/11/6128151-sun.html
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=100756
July 12th, 2008 at 8:13 am
Note to self:
1) No Brown M&M’s
2) No Peanut M&M’s….
July 12th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
DLR is a paramedic, for crying out loud. If there’s anyone who will check an ingrediant package for something on is allergic to, its going to be Roth.
July 12th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Brant OPP are investigating a man who passed himself off to police and others as Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth.
Const. Larry Plummer of the Brant OPP said today that the man may have violated the Highway Traffic Act in May when he identified himself as the famous rock star to two constables in Oakland. Brant OPP pulled the man over when they saw him driving erratically.
After identifying himself as Roth, the man told police he was having an allergic reaction to nuts. Police stayed with him until paramedics took him to hospital.
After he was discharged, the impostor and two nurses went for drinks in a bar in downtown Brantford. The man got up on stage with the band that was performing and delivered a rendition of Ice Cream Man, a song Roth covered during his solo career.
“He scammed a lot of people,” Plummer said.
It is a violation of the Highway Traffic Act to lie about your identify during a traffic stop. If lying about your identity or predicament prevents police from conducting a proper investigation, the result could be obstruction of justice charges under the Criminal Code.
Plummer says they have identified the Roth impersonator. They haven’t located him and will not release his name. When police do find him, the Brant OPP wants to speak to him.
“He’s done this in other provinces and other states,” Plummer said. “He’s an old hand at it.”
July 12th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
And then there’s THIS story…this is pricless, he’s even scammed a local recording studio. Read on at:
http://brantfordexpositor.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1109365
July 13th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
It looks like it was an impostor, not DLR:
http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1111330
July 14th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Oakland is a little hamlet (small town) in Ontario Canada, which is a Province of Canada. Oakland is about 12 minutes outside of Brantford Ontario, where the fake DLR was circulating. Oakland is the home of Dean Hajas, the music producer who reportedly had the fake DLR (whom he says is the real deal) at his house for a few weeks.
The Ontario Provincial Police know who the guy is, as he’s passed himself off in several Canadian Provinces and American States and they are actively pursuing him.
It definitely has made the local news circuit in all forms of media and has been a hot topic of conversation here in Brantford, that’s for sure. A city known for our hockey stars; now we have a great tall tale of Diamond Dave.
Just goes to prove how immensely popular Van Halen are, any story, even a fake one, takes on a life of its own.
August 8th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
LOL, I fooled them all!!!!!!!!!!!
Lead singer for VH, Canada’s best Van Halen tribute!
http://www.myspace.com/vhthetribute