Photo: Montecruz Foto from Berlin, Alemania / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
David Johansen is one of those rare figures whose influence outweighs his fame. Fronting the New York Dolls, he essentially wrote the blueprint for punk before punk had a name, then reinvented himself as the lounge-lizard Buster Poindexter with a wink few rockers could pull off. I love that he never seemed precious about his own legend; playing the Ghost of Christmas Past in Scrooged showed a man happy to be in on the joke. His passing in 2025 felt like the closing of a chapter of downtown New York history. Trace almost any strand of glam or punk backward and you end up at his feet.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- David Johansen
- Name (Japanese)
- デイヴィッド・ジョハンセン
- Reading
- でいゔぃっど・じょはんせん
- Born
- January 9, 1950 (age 76)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Tiger
- Origin
- Staten Island, New York, United States
- Occupation
- actor / musician / songwriter / singer / television actor
2. Background
- High school
- Port Richmond High School
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%20Johansen
Frequently asked questions
When was David Johansen born?
Born January 9, 1950 (age 76).
Where is David Johansen from?
David Johansen is from Staten Island, New York, United States.
What does David Johansen do?
David Johansen works as actor, musician, songwriter, singer, television actor.
Actor — see all → · Musician — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-10
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.