Legendary New York Dolls frontman David Johansen is battling cancer.
The musician revealed that since 2020 he has been privately battling an aggressive form of cancer and a brain tumor, and has been dealing with several complications. In addition, he fell over Thanksgiving, breaking his back in two places; even with surgery, he has been confined to his bed ever since.
After keeping his health issues private for years, Johansen is now sharing his condition due to the financial burden his health care has put on his family, especially since he now needs round-the-clock care. Because of this, on Monday Sweet Relief launched the David Johansen Fund to help raise money for his immediate needs, including full-time nursing and physical therapy.
“We’ve been living with my illness for a long time, still having fun, seeing friends & family, carrying on, but this tumble the day after Thanksgiving really brought us to a whole new level of debilitation,” Johansen shared. “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.”
Johansen rose to fame as the lead singer and songwriter of the legendary punk band New York Dolls. He also had a hit in the ’80s with “Hot Hot Hot” under the name Buster Poindexter.
In 2023 he was the subject of a documentary called Personality Crisis: One Night Only, directed by Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi, which featured footage of a January 2020 performance of his cabaret show at the Café Carlyle in New York.
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