David Johansen Has Stage 4 Cancer and a Brain Tumor, Leaving His Family to Raise Funds for Medical Care

The singer from the iconic punk band the New York Dolls has been privately battling illness for a decade

David Johansen in New York City in 2015. Photo: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty

    David Johansen, the vocalist of the influential punk band the New York Dolls, who played a memorable role in the 1988 movie "Scrooged" and had solo successes under the stage name Buster Poindexter, has been battling stage 4 cancer, according to his daughter Leah Hennessy.     The music icon recently suffered a fall that left him "bedridden and incapacitated," prompting his family to start a fundraiser to help cover his significant medical expenses.     The family has partnered with the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund to collect funds for his treatment. David Johansen, the frontman of the groundbreaking punk band New York Dolls, is battling stage 4 cancer, his daughter revealed in a statement announcing efforts to raise money for his care. “David is a legend but he's also my very real very sick dad,” his daughter Leah Hennessy shared in an Instagram post on Feb. 10, when she announced a partnership with the Sweet Relief Musician' Fund — which provides financial assistance to artists and those in the music industry struggling with health challenges.

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David Johansen in Los Angeles in 2023. Matt Winkelmeyer/Deadline via Getty

On the charity’s website, Hennessey detailed Johansen’s health struggles, explaining, “David has been in intensive treatment for stage 4 cancer for most of the past decade.” Although she didn't specify the type of cancer, she revealed that five years ago, it progressed into a brain tumor. “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." “To make matters worse, the day after Thanksgiving David fell down the stairs and broke his back in two places.” He had surgery, but Hennessy explained that since then, “David has been bedridden and incapacitated. Due to the trauma, David’s illness has progressed exponentially and my mother is caring for him around the clock. ​​”

David Johansen performs with the New York Dolls in London in 2011. Matt Kent/WireImage

As Johansen stated, according to Rolling Stone, “We’ve been living with my illness for a long time, still having fun, seeing friends and family, 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.” The family is raising money to cover the costs of full-time nursing care, physical therapy, and daily living expenses. “With professional specialized care, we are hopeful that David can regain some mobility and independence,” Hennessey wrote. Besides his work with the New York Dolls, Johansen is also known for his alter ego, Buster Poindexter. In 1987, he achieved a Billboard hit with the single “Hot Hot Hot” as the eccentric character, a year before his memorable appearance as the Ghost of Christmas Past in the Bill Murray film "Scrooged."

David Johansen (left) in "Scrooged" (right) as Buster Poindexter. Moviestore/Shutterstock; Alamy

As Hennesssy wrote in an Instagram post: “David is a legend but he's also my very real very sick Dad. I have so much to say but I guess I'll be posting about this a lot and I don't have to say it all now. I know how dire so many of our situations are right now, and how much fundraising literally everyone is doing but if you love David or any of the magick he's brought into the world please just take a minute to read this or share it. Thank you guys as always.”