Dieter Brummer, who played Shane Parrish in Home and Away, was a huge soap icon when he became famous in the 1990s – but struggled with fame and met a tragic end
Home & Away: Dieter Brummer’s first appearance as Shane Parrish
Australian heartthrob Dieter Brummer was best known for his role as Shane in Home and Away. With his blonde hair, perfect tan, adorable dimples and pearly white teeth, he won over millions of viewers, including up to eight million in the UK for each episode of the soap.
He starred alongside Melissa George, who played Angel, and together they became one of the most beloved couples on the soap. Their characters’ storyline included a school-age proposal, much to the shock and surprise of Summer Bay’s older residents.
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However, their on-screen romance was marred by tragedy, with Angel being temporarily paralysed after being hit by Alf (Ray Meagher), and Shane being knocked off his motorbike. Despite initially recovering, Shane tragically died of septicaemia, leaving Angel to be taken under the wing of Pippa (Vanessa Downing).
Melissa George, who played Angel, welcomed her third child in March last year, at the age of 47. Meanwhile, Tristan Bancks, whok played his on-screen friend Tug, now writes award-winning children’s books.
In the 1990s, Dieter graced the covers of numerous teen magazines and won two Australian TV Logie awards for his performances. After leaving Summer Bay in 1996 following 557 episodes, he appeared in the hospital drama Medivac and later returned to soaps in the short-lived 2001 Sky TV soap Crash Palace, as well as Home and Away rival Neighbours, playing Troy Miller from 2011 to 2012, reports OK!.
However, life wasn’t always smooth sailing for Dieter, who later admitted to having a strained relationship with co-star Melissa off-screen.
In 2019, he spilled to Woman’s Day that the romance with his co-star on Home and Away wasn’t what it seemed: “We may have been love interests on the show but the chemistry was far from real. Mel was incredibly ambitious right from the outset. I don’t think she had much time for the cast of Home and Away.”
He then made it clear: “We had to look like the perfect darling couple in public. It wasn’t like anything off screen. It was all on screen.”
Opening up about his battles with fame, reminiscent of Neighbours’ icon Paul Keane who portrayed Des, he laid bare his feelings, saying: “It can be very fickle. You’re hot one moment and then you’re not the next. You’d have to just deal with it in any way you can.”
Going further, he shared: “I think I’d experienced so much fame during those years on Home and Away that I did just want to take a break from it and literally try and experience a life as Joe Bloggs and live like normal people do.”
Turning away from acting, Dieter trained as a skyscraper window cleaner and reveled in the anonymity that came with his new trade.
Yet, despite finding joy outside of the limelight, his happiness took an abrupt hit. Just as he was prepping for a fresh window cleaning gig, Australia’s New South Wales government clamped down on Covid, stopped construction dead, plunging him into gloom and joblessness.
Then, four years ago on 24 July 2021, admirers were left heartbroken by the news that the former pin-up had tragically taken his own life at his parents’ house in Sydney, aged just 45.
Following the harrowing news, his family issued a poignant statement: “We lost our handsome, talented, funny, complicated and beloved Dieter on Saturday morning.
“He has left a massive hole in our lives and our world will never be the same.”
Despite a multitude of fans grieving his loss, a mere 10 individuals were present at his funeral, a consequence of strict lockdown measures.
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