David Johansen

David Johansen was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who led the New York Dolls, a proto-punk group, and who later performed swing, jump blues, and novelty songs as Buster Poindexter. Born in Staten Island, he sang with a local band, the Vagabond Missionaries, in the late 1960s. With the Dolls he released two albums, New York Dolls in 1973 and Too Much Too Soon in 1974, written largely with guitarist Johnny Thunders; critics such as Lester Bangs gave them glowing reviews, though the band did not find commercial success at first. After the group splintered he recorded solo albums and, as Poindexter, had a hit with Hot Hot Hot. On screen he played the Ghost of Christmas Past in Scrooged (1988) and appeared in Let It Ride (1989) and Freejack (1992). He also voiced animated characters, recorded blues with the Harry Smiths, and in 2004 reunited with former Dolls bandmates.