David Johansen, lead singer of the New York Dolls, died at his home on Friday, February 28, 2025. He died of natural causes after a decade of battling cancer, according to his daughter, Leah. He was 75 years old.

Johansen was the frontman for the proto-punk band that saw success in the 1970s, and later he performed as a solo act and as an actor.

He was born on January 9, 1950, in Staten Island, New York. In 1971, he joined Sylvain Sylvain, Arthur Kane, Jerry Nolan, and Johnny Thunders to form the New York Dolls. They released the punk rock albums, New York Dolls and Too Much Too Soon, then the band called it quits in 1975.

After the New York Dolls, Johansen released four solo albums, under the stage name “Buster Poindexter” and two albums as David Johansen and the Harry Smiths. He performed with The Who, Blondie, and Pat Benatar and was a musical guest on Saturday Night Live two times.

As an actor, Johansen was in Up Your Legs Forever, he did guest spots in Miami Vice and The Equalizer, he was the Ghost of Christmas Past in Scrooged, appeared in the TV show Oz, he was in Freejack and voiced Beartaur in the animated series, Centaurworld.