Motorcycle Crash Leaves Oscar/Grammy Winner Dead: Glen Hansard Was 56

Irish musician Glen Hansard, the Oscar-winning songwriter behind the film Once and frontman of the rock band The Frames, has died following a motorcycle crash. He was 56.

Hansard’s publicists at ATC Management confirmed his death on social media on Wednesday.

“With broken hearts, we announce the passing of Glen Hansard in the early hours of this morning,” the statement read.

It continued, “We are still dealing with the shock of it all, so we kindly ask that the privacy of Glen’s family, colleagues and friends.”

According to Hansard’s management per BBC, his family is devastated by the loss and has asked for privacy as they grieve. The statement also thanked emergency responders for their efforts following the crash.

Irish police said a man in his 50s died after a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in Lucan, on the outskirts of Dublin, before 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. The man was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead a short time later. Authorities said the crash occurred on the R109 Lower Road between Tinkers Hill and Rugged Lane and appealed for witnesses to come forward.

Hansard rose to international prominence after starring alongside Markéta Irglová in the 2007 independent film Once. The pair won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008 for “Falling Slowly,” which later became the centerpiece of the Tony Award-winning stage adaptation.

Before his acting success, Hansard built a devoted following as the lead singer of The Frames, a band he formed in 1990 after beginning his musical career as a teenage busker on the streets of Dublin.

He later released several solo albums and continued collaborating with Irglová as the folk duo The Swell Season. His solo work earned him a Grammy nomination in 2016.

Tributes from fellow musicians quickly followed news of his death.

Bruce Springsteen said he and the E Street Band were heartbroken by the loss of “a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man.”

Meanwhile, Bono remembered Hansard as “a smiling rascal if you needed him to be … this most musical and mischievous archangel of Ballymun.”

Bono also praised Hansard’s compassion, writing that he “could never walk by a person living rough without checking they were OK,” before adding, “Voice of the streets. A choir of angels in one man.”