‘New York Dolls’ Founding Member David Johansen Is Battling Cancer, His Family Says

David Johansen at a Norman Mailer Center gala in New York City on Oct. 27, 2014. Rob Kim/Getty Images for Norman Mailer Center and Writers Colony

The daughter of “New York Dolls” front man, David Johansen, reveals her father has been quietly battling stage-four cancer and a brain tumor for over most of the past decade.

In an Instagram statement on Feb. 10, Leah Hennessey explained the severity of her 75-year-old father’s health issues by announcing fundraising efforts for his care.

The family launched the David Johansen Fund through the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, a nonprofit that provides financial assistance to career musicians and others in the industry.

“Five years ago at the beginning of the pandemic we discovered that David’s cancer had progressed and he had a brain tumor,” Hennessey wrote.

“There have been complications ever since. He’s never made his diagnosis public, as he and my mother Mara are generally very private people, but we feel compelled to share this now, due to the increasingly severe financial burden our family is facing.”

After a fall in November 2024, Johansen broke his back in two places, leaving him bedridden and incapacitated, and requiring around-the-clock care, which has left his family struggling financially.

“As hilarious and wise as David continues to be, he is physically debilitated and his care exceeds what we are capable of providing without specialized professional help,” she added.

“David has worked continuously as a singer and actor for the better part of six decades, to the delight of his fans all over the world. However for the past five years, David has been unable to work as a performer.”

While Hennessey did not provide specifics about her father’s cancer diagnosis, she said he has been in intensive treatment and the family hopes through physical therapy, full-time nursing and funding for day-to-day vital living expenses, Johansen will be able to regain “some mobility and independence.”

Supporters can directly donate through the fund’s website, or purchase a custom Johansen “Luv” T-shirt to offer their support with all proceeds going toward his treatment.

Founded by singer Victoria Williams in 1994, the nonprofit was established after she needed help paying her medical bills after her multiple sclerosis was diagnosed.

Since then, Sweet Relief has helped numerous music industry professionals with grants for medical and vital living expenses, including insurance premiums, prescriptions, treatment and procedures, housing and food, utilities, and other basic necessities.

Early Career

Also known for his alter-ego Buster Poindexter, Johansen rose to prominence in New York City in the early 1970s for his work as a singer-songwriter for the proto-punk band the New York Dolls.

The band at the time also featured guitarists Johnny Thunders and Sylvain Sylvain, bassist Arthur Kane and drummer Jerry Nolan, and together helped set the stage for a punk revolution.

The group released two albums before Johansen later embarked on a solo career in 1976.

In 1987 he scored a Billboard hit with the single, “Hot Hot Hot” under his Poindexter pseudonym as he continued to explore his love for various genres including blues, jazz, swing, folk, and Latin.

He also embarked on a career as an actor, landing prominent roles such as the Ghost of Christmas Past in the 1988 Bill Murray-led film “Scrooged,” the part of Looney in the 1989 comedy “Let It Ride,” and television-series credits as well.

Most recently, Johansen was the subject of Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi’s documentary “Personality Crisis: One Night Only,” which captured his songs and storytelling while telling his life story.

Johansen also hosts a weekly radio show, “The Mansion of Fun,” on Sirius XM and became an avid painter, with an exhibition of his work going on display last summer at Elliot Templeton Fine Arts gallery in New York.