Classic Rock Legend Diagnosed With Stage 4 Cancer: Fund Started for David Johansen

David Johansen, lead singer and songwriter of the legendary punk band New York Dolls, has stage 4 cancer, his daughter Leah Hennessy announced on Monday, Feb. 10.

Hennessy revealed that her father had been in “intensive treatment” for his cancer for “most of the past decade” but revealed things had taken a turn for the worse, which is why she was now announcing a partnership with the Sweet Relief Musician’ Fund, which provides financial assistance to artists and people in the music industry going through health struggles.

“Five years ago at the beginning of the pandemic we discovered that David’s cancer had progressed and he had a brain tumor. There have been complications ever since,” Hennessy wrote. “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,” Hennessy continued. “After a week in the hospital and a successful surgery 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.”

Johansen’s immediate needs are funding for full-time nursing, physical therapy and day-to-day vital living expenses. “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,” his daughter wrote.

She concluded, “My mother’s favorite acronym for God is ‘Grace Over Drama.’ Together we have endured crisis after crisis, but with the support of our community we hope to carry on laughing and loving our way through this most trying of times. Thank you for embracing our family, and for your love and generosity.”

Johansen confirmed his health struggles in a statement, as per 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,” he said. “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, who in addition to the New York Dolls performed with the David Johansen Band, The Harry Smiths and under the name Buster Poindexter in the 1980s, also appears in the Bill Murray Christmas classic Scrooged and the 1989 comedy Let It Ride. The musician was recently the subject of Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi’s documentary Personality Crisis: One Night Only.