David Johansen

David Johansen passed away on February 28th; he was 75. Johanson got his start doing sound and lights for Charles Ludlam’s Ridiculous Theater Company and was part of Andy Warhol’s Factory scene. He is most known for his work with the proto punk band The New York Dolls in the mid ’70s and for his 1980s and ’90s pompadoured musicologist persona Buster Poindexter. In the 2000s he created the Harry Smiths, the name a nod to the influential Harry Smith Anthology of folk and blues records and released several acoustic records.

David Johansen sang for Vince Giordano on the Boardwalk Empire soundtrack and also appears in the Giordano documentary There’s a Future in the Past. In recent years, among many projects and a radio show, he could be found singing with small jazz bands in a stylized persona-forward way. He also appeared in several films, including 1988’s Scrooged as the Ghost of Christmas Past.