The sound mixer for the award-winning film, “Nomadland”, died after taking his own life … and his father thinks the coronavirus pandemic may have influenced it.
Michael Wolf Snyder he wasn’t heard of for several days when his father, a psychiatrist Dr. David Snyder, went to see how he was at his apartment in Queens. David discovered his son’s body.
Dr. Snyder says his son has struggled with severe depression for years.
Michael, 35, who used his middle name, Wolf, had won very professionally. In addition to the Golden Globe “Nomadland”, he worked on the Emmy nominated program, “Good Omens”. He also worked on the 2017 science fiction film, “Imitation Girl”, and the 2018 film, “The Amaranth”.
Frances McDormand, the star of “Nomadland”, said, “Wolf recorded our heartbeat. Every breath we take. To me, he is ‘Nomadland’.”
Wolf worked as a boom operator and sound mixer with the filmmaker Chloe Zhao to “The Rider”, and Zhao said, “I always looked at Wolf after each take. I didn’t use headphones on set, so I trusted Wolf too much to be my ears. He waved at me with a happy smile, or tears in his eyes, or at times he would quietly signal, ‘one more’. “
Wolf’s father said he did not know how deeply his son was struggling with depression, saying: “I am a psychiatrist who was unable to save his own son, partly because he did not want to share the depth of his pain”, adding, “For most people, this is a disease that increases and decreases over the years. I’m sure it was difficult for Michael to have spent most of last year alone in his small apartment in Queens, being responsible for dealing with the coronavirus. “He continued …” Despite that, we all believed he was doing well and, for most of last year, I think he was. “
Wolf was 35 years old. RIP