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David Johansen, New York Dolls Frontman and ‘Scrooged’ Star’ Dead at 75, Cause of Death Revealed

CultureCelebs
By Craig Garrett
March 1, 2025 | 11:40 a.m. CST
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Photo by Bruce Alan Bennett / Shutterstock

David Johansen, the frontman of punk pioneers the New York Dolls and a talented character actor, has died at 75.

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Johansen died on Friday at his New York City home, as confirmed by a family spokesperson via Rolling Stone. In early 2025, it was disclosed that he had been battling stage 4 cancer and a brain tumor. Originally diagnosed in 2020, he wasn’t able to to perform in the final years of his life.

The punk icon’s death was likely first announced by former Smiths frontman Morrissey on his website, leading to an outpouring of tributes. Later, Johansen’s family released their own statement.

Johansen rose to fame as the lead singer of the New York Dolls, a pioneering band in the punk rock movement.

The band struggled to achieve commercial success and was plagued by internal conflicts and drug addictions, ultimately disbanding after releasing just two albums by the mid-1970s. However, in 2004, former Smiths frontman and devoted Dolls fan Morrissey persuaded Johansen and the remaining members to reunite for England’s Meltdown Festival. This revival led to the creation of three additional studio albums.

David Johansen’s Second Act Included a Successful Singing Alter Ego and an Acting Career

He launched a solo career in the 1970s and later reinvented himself in the late ’80s as a cabaret performer under the persona Buster Poindexter. During this era, he achieved widespread recognition with the hit song “Hot Hot Hot.”

In the late 1980s, Johansen also embarked on an acting career, making appearances in films such as Candy Mountain (1987) and Married to the Mob (1988), per IMDb. Of course, he notably portrayed the Ghost of Christmas Past in the 1988 classic Scrooged.

Horror fans also fondly remember Johansen for his performance as a beleaguered hitman trying to kill a seemingly supernatural cat in 1990’s Tales From the Darkside. In the horror anthology, his segment is a standout, written by Night of the Living Dead‘s George Romero from a short story by Stephen King.

He went on to feature in popular television shows like The Adventures of Pete & Pete and Oz, as well as the holiday special A Very Murray Christmas.

With the passing of Johansen, no original members of the New York Dolls remain. Sylvain died in January 2021, while the band’s first drummer, Billy Murcia, tragically passed away in 1972, before their recording career even began. Jerry Nolan, who replaced Murcia as the group’s drummer during their classic lineup, died in 1992. Guitarist Johnny Thunders passed away in 1991, and Arthur Kane followed shortly after the band’s 2004 reunion.

He leaves behind his wife, Mara Hennessey, and his stepdaughter, Leah Hennessey.