"New York Dolls" singer David Johansen dies at the age of 75

By Silke Sullivan

USA - David Johansen, lead singer of the influential glam-punk band New York Dolls, has died.

David Johansen has died at the age of 75.
David Johansen has died at the age of 75.  © Christopher Smith/Invision/AP/dpa

He died at home in New York on Friday at the age of 75, as his daughter Leah Hennessey confirmed to US media.

It was only in February that Hennessey asked the US musician's fans for help on Instagram, as her father had been suffering from cancer for years and had also been diagnosed with a brain tumor five years ago.

She launched the fundraising campaign on the "Sweet Relief" page.

After Thanksgiving, Johansen also fell down a flight of stairs and suffered two fractures in his back, Hennessey wrote at the time. The appeal said: "As funny and wise as David still is, he is physically weakened." And needed the help of specialists.

The band members (from left to right) of the New York Dolls David Johansen (†75), Sami Yaffa (61), Steve Conte (64), Sylvain Sylvain (†69), Brian Delaney (58, back) and Brian Koonin. (archive picture)
The band members (from left to right) of the New York Dolls David Johansen (†75), Sami Yaffa (61), Steve Conte (64), Sylvain Sylvain (†69), Brian Delaney (58, back) and Brian Koonin. (archive picture)  © JIM COOPER/AP/dpa

Johansen founded the New York Dolls ("Personality Crisis") with punk forefather Johnny Thunders in 1972, which is often regarded as one of the first US punk bands.

The band broke up in 1976, but reunited in 2004. Director Martin Scorsese (82) portrayed the singer in the music documentary "Personality Crisis: One Night Only".