Las Vegas has long been a city built on performers chasing the next show, the next audience and the next paycheck. As a longtime Strip musician, David Mauk follows in the footsteps of the unheralded lounge performers who helped establish Las Vegas as the Entertainment Capital of the World.
For Mauk and his wife, singer Brenda Mandabach, that life has brought both applause and uncertainty.
Mauk became a familiar face as a dueling piano player in lounges along the Strip. Brenda, a former member of the Ohio Opera, married in 1994, moved to Las Vegas in 2004 and eventually became known together as the musical duo “Headstrong Butterflies.”
Their lives changed suddenly after Dave suffered what seemed to be a simple hip injury while chasing a taxi after believing he had left his cell phone behind. During medical testing, doctors discovered advanced kidney cancer. “The diagnosis was shocking,” Brenda said.
Like many Las Vegas entertainers, Dave worked as an independent contractor, where health insurance often becomes financially out of reach. “With the ebb and flow of work, sometimes insurance wasn’t possible,” Brenda explained.
Dave’s situation reflects a reality for many Las Vegas performers, whose careers often depend on short-term “gigs” without employer-sponsored benefits, even after years spent entertaining audiences on the Strip.
Cancer treatments have caused severe swelling in David’s hands, making it impossible for him to perform or even open a bottle of water. Yet the Las Vegas entertainment community has rallied around the couple with meals, groceries, cleaning assistance and companionship while Brenda performs.
Brenda credits Bruce Ewing, Tony Arias, Rebecca Spencer, Shane Peterson, Brian Greenfarb and many others in the entertainment community for their support. Despite the illness, Dave continues writing his new musical, The Flapper. “My new musical has kept me going,” he said.
Readers wishing to help can visit GoFundMe and search “Dave Mauk.”
