Dieter Brummer had such an influence on Home and Away that it took nearly five months and over 7,500 auditions to replace the hole after he left.
Rob, the ’90s heartthrob’s longest friend, went to his Glenhaven home in Sydney’s north on Tuesday to begin the painful job of sifting through his possessions.
After police were called to do a welfare check on the actor-turned-window washer, Brummer was discovered dead inside the home he lived with his parents on Saturday.
The 45-year-old took a break from the spotlight to run a commercial window cleaning company, which he dubbed his “Plan B profession.”
However, the firm was in trouble, which was exacerbated by citywide Covid lockdowns that judged the work he did non-essential.
Rob, Brummer’s 30-year closest friend, told the Daily Mail Australia that Brummer was the sharpest and most intellectual person he’d ever met.
He said his feelings over Brummer’s death were still fresh, but he understood why it had shattered the hearts of a generation of Australians who grew up with posters of the young Home and Away heartthrob Blu-Tacked to their walls.
‘My wife had [the posters] as well when we were kids,’ he added, beaming through watery eyes.
Rob met Brummer when he was 11 years old, four years before he was cast in the TV show, and claimed he’was just the best buddy’ from the start.
‘I don’t know what more to say except that he was the most amazing guy I’d ever met.’ ‘Intelligent, vibrant, and just wonderful.’
He gave so much to his part as Shane Parrish on the long-running drama from 1992 to 1996 that it took months for industry experts to replace the hole once he left.
When word got out that Brummer had been written out of the programme, Danny Rizk was working at Mullinars, the casting agency that gave him his big break.
‘They had to find a replacement,’ he explained. ‘Four and a half months and over 7,500 auditionees later, Mullinars was able to fill that hole.’
‘Of all the fatalities in the creative services industry, this one has disturbed me the most… Mental illness is not a hoax, as everyone reading this knows. It’s serious on both sides of the border because it eats away at one’s core.’
Brummer featured in 557 episodes of Home and Away, receiving the Logie Award for Most Popular Actor in 1995 and 1996.
Heath Ledger would come as a guest star on the show the following year. Before moving on to international success with the film 10 Things I Hate About You, he had a similar cult-like following among fans.
Meanwhile, Brummer has appeared in guest appearances in Neighbours, Underbelly, and Medevac.
He gave it all up for a job washing windows, later admitting that he prefered the isolation of the job over waiting tables or bartending in between jobs.
In 2009, he remarked, “The wonderful part about it is I don’t have to interact with people too much.”
‘If I was pulling beers, men would remark things like, ‘Oh, you’re pulling beers now and you used to be in Underbelly.’
However, a source informed the Daily Mail Australia that he has been thinking a lot about ‘what could have been’ if his career had taken a different path in recent years.
His ambition was to return to acting at some time in the future.
Brummer wondered if he would have had more success in the industry if he hadn’t been cast as Shane Parrish, and felt constrained by his position in such a popular series.
‘It’s as though you’re typecast.’ It’s difficult for producers or casting agencies to forget. After 20 years, I’m still ‘that bloke from Home And Away,” Brummer remarked.
‘Every now and again, you look back and ponder, ‘I wonder what it would have been like if I hadn’t gotten that job at 15?’
At the time of his death, Brummer was still living at home with his parents.
On Monday, his family issued a statement saying goodbye to ‘handsome, brilliant, witty, complex, and adored Dieter.’
‘He’s left a huge hole in our lives, and our world will never be the same without him.’ All of you who knew him, loved him, or worked with him throughout the years have our condolences.
His parents were not at home on Saturday, according to the Daily Mail Australia, and have yet to return.
Instead, on Tuesday morning, Rob spent nearly an hour inside, lugging items between his car and the garage while reflecting on Brummer’s brief existence.
He stated that the most important aspect of Brummer’s legacy should be that he was simply a good man, through and through, despite the fact that he was a hard worker, talented, and a heartthrob.
