“I think it’s very important to thank my dad every night”: The simple gesture Wolfgang Van Halen does to honour late dad Eddie every time he’s on stage
It’s a way for Wolfgang – who wishes he could spend more time with his dad – to thank him.
Images: Chris McKay / Scott Legato / Getty
Wolfgang Van Halen has followed his late father, Eddie, into music, and there’s one particularly way he always honours his dad when he’s on stage.
Speaking to People, (via Yahoo! News) Van Halen shares that he points to the sky at the end of every show as a nod to his dad, who died from throat cancer in 2020. He says, “The reason I do what I do is because of my dad. So if I didn’t or at least think about him throughout the process, I’d be doing a disservice to my existence.
“So I think it’s very important to establish that to thank my dad every night, every time I’m on stage. Just to thank my father and to know that he’s always there with me every night.”
Van Halen also discusses his relationship with his mother, the actress and TV personality Valerie Bertinelli, who was married to his dad from 1981 to their divorce in 2007.
He says of his relationship with Bertinelli, this week’s cover star for People, “A big thing is that she’s the only parent I have, and so I think it’s important to be close to your family and to make that time count because it doesn’t last forever.
“It’s very important to spend every chance you can get with your family. My parents raised me. I wish I could spend more time with my dad, but I can’t, but I can spend time with my mom and it’s the best. She’s the best.”
Also in the interview, Bertinelli shares that, after her ex-husband died, the family all ordered pizza to his hospital room. She explains, “I forget who suggested it, but we were like, ‘Should we have pizza?’… Because he couldn’t eat, and the last thing Ed really wanted was pizza. He loved pizza and burritos, so we had pizza in his hospital room. I hope people don’t think that’s morbid.”