Punk and pop singer David Johansen, 75, died of cancer on Feb. 28. The Joe E. Brown lookalike was best known as the cofounder and lead singer of the New York Dolls, a 1970s proto-punk/glam rock band who had a brief, colorful success before burning out in 1976. Johansen did not let the grass grow under his feet, setting out on a solo career and, by the ’80s, invented his next persona: retro/pop singer Buster Poindexter. He had a ubiquitous hit with 1987’s "Hot Hot Hot” ("the bane of my life,” he called it). Johansen was also busy as an actor (Married to the Mob, Freejack, Mr. Nanny, Car 54 Where Are You?, 200 Cigarettes, Oz, Scrooged)—“Every singer who's worth his salt is an actor,” he said. “You play different characters in different songs.” Later in life, he hosted David Johansen's Mansion of Fun on radio, and continued to record and tour till illness took him off the boards. Johansen told interviewer Jason Gross, “I love singing and I love the art of singing and I love so many different kinds of singers. I love Maria Callas and I love Janis Joplin. It's such a beautiful expression and a beautiful way for me to spend my time. I just derive a lot of pleasure from it.”
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