Television Legend Dies of Cancer: Richard Lloyd Was 75

Richard Lloyd, a bandmate of the former music group Television, has passed away following a battle with cancer. He was 75 years old. 

According to The New York Times, the musician died on Nov. 7 at his home in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a little over six months after he was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a bile duct cancer. 

Born in 1951, Lloyd started his music career in the early ’70s. He formed Television with bandmates Tom Verlaine, Billy Ficca, and Fred Smith in 1973. The group was considered an “early fixture” of CBGB and the 70s New York punk rock scene.

Television released its debut album, Marquee Moon, in 1977, followed by the second album, Adventure, the following year. The group disbanded after Adventure’s release.

However, the bandmates reunited in 1991 to release a self-titled album, but disbanded again the following year. They reunited once again in 2001 and occasionally performed live until Verlaine’s death in 2023.

Between Television’s reunions, Lloyd worked with other legends, including Velvet Turner, Jimmy Hendricks, John Lee Hooker, and Matthew Sweet.

Lloyd revealed the news about his cancer diagnosis in a GoFundMe campaign.

“I am usually a pretty upbeat person, and I am taking this in stride,” he said in a statement about the campaign. “But it has become very difficult on our own, and financially we are strapped. That’s why I’m asking for your help. If you can see your way clear to make a donation, please do that. Otherwise, please pass it around to your friends that might help and people that know me.”

Sean Seymour, one of Lloyd’s bandmates in the Richard Lloyd Group, also shared in the GoFundMe’s description that Lloyd’s liver was “dangerously close to a major blood vessel,” making the cancer removal unsafe.

He survived two rounds of sepsis and multiple visits to the ICU following his diagnosis. The fundraiser was for all the musician’s medical expenses.

Lloyd death came just months after fellow Television bandmate Smith died of cancer at the age of 77.