Tragedy strikes as last surviving original member of glam-punk band New York Dolls David Johansen has passed away. He was 75 years old at the time of death, battling stage four cancer. Unfortunately, it eventually spread to his brain. Additionally, he broke his back after Thanksgiving in 2024. His last moments were in his bed, holding hands with his wife Mara Hennessey and his stepdaughter Leah.
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Mara writes a loving statement to partially eulogize her late husband David. "We had a marvelous adventure of a life together. He was an extraordinary man," she says. "So grateful we went public with news of his illness before his passing as the past couple of weeks have been full of messages and love from family, friends, & fans."
David Johansen Passes Away After Long Fight With Stage 4 Cancer
The trauma from Johansen's back injury only made his illness much worse as his body couldn't properly recover. In a statement to Rolling Stone at the time, David explains just how much agonizing pain he was in. "We've been living with my illness for a long time, still having fun, seeing friends and family, carrying on, but this tumble the day after Thanksgiving really brought us to a whole new level of debilitation," the rock singer explains at the time. "This is the worst pain I've ever experienced in my entire life. I've never been one to ask for help, but this is an emergency."
Johansen makes his start back in the 70s with the New York Dolls. With them, they lay the groundwork musically for acts like KISS, the Clash, David Bowie, Morrissey, and more to prosper later on. Additionally, the band's stylistic aesthetic lends some inspiration for hair metal acts of the 80s to emulate. The band was short lived, breaking up in 1976. Eventually, Johansen rebrands as more of a throwback lounge singer as Buster Poindexter. He records four albums under the moniker and even works as the Saturday Night Live band in 1986-1987.
