David Johansen, best known for being the lead singer in the seminal punk band, The New York Dolls, has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. His daughter, Leah, announced the news via her Instagram Story on February 10.
“Today we’re launching a fundraiser for my dad @davidjohansen.official,” she wrote, alongside a throwback photo of the two of them.
“We’re working with this amazing organization @sweetreliefmusiciansfund who raise money for musicians in crisis – they’ve been doing so much for victims of the fires – and they’re helping us deal with an increasingly unmanageable situation.”
On the next slide, Leah shared that David has been in “intensive treatment for stage 4 cancer for most of the past decade.” However, in 2020, David’s cancer progressed and he developed a brain tumor.
Leah shared that he has always been a private person, so he never shared his diagnosis publicly, but they shared it due to their current financial situation. They need money for a nurse and physical therapy, along with daily expenses. David has been having complications ever since his diagnosis and fell down the stairs on Thanksgiving 2024, causing him to break his back in two places.
The musician’s daughter begged her followers to donate to the family’s fundraiser.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, David, who also performed as Buster Poindexter, said that despite living with his illness for a long time, he is still having fun, seeing friends and family, and “carrying on.”
“But this tumble the day after Thanksgiving really brought us to a whole new level of debilitation. 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. Thank you,” he said.
Aside from being a singer, Johansen is known for his roles in the movie Scrooged, and TV shows including Miami Vice and Oz, as well as a voice role in Centaurworld. In 2023 Showtime debuted a docunentary of him entitled Personality Crisis: One Night Only.