Television co-founding guitarist Richard Lloyd dies at 75
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The gist
Richard Lloyd, co-founding guitarist of Television, died at 75 from bile duct cancer.
His death follows bandmate Tom Verlaine's in 2023, leaving the twin-guitar legacy.
Background
Richard Lloyd was the co-founding guitarist of Television, the 1970s New York punk band, and an architect of post-punk; he was born in Pittsburgh in 1951. He joined with Richard Hell, Tom Verlaine and Billy Ficca in 1973 to solidify the band's lineup, and his playing helped Television carve out a place in the CBGB cohort (the famous club that nurtured punk rock). He also released nine solo albums over a 50-year career, including Field of Fire (1986) and The Countdown (2018).
How it unfolded
- Mar 2026Lloyd was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a serious form of bile duct cancer.
- Aug 2026Lloyd revealed his diagnosis publicly.
- Aug 24, 2026Pitchfork reported a crowdfunding campaign posted on his band's social media pages to help pay for his treatment.
- Nov 6, 2026Richard Lloyd died at age 75.
- Nov 7, 2026Rolling Stone reported Lloyd died Saturday morning at his home in Chattanooga, Tennessee, from cholangiocarcinoma.
Key terms
- post-punk
- A loosely defined experimental music genre that emerged in the late 1970s in the wake of punk rock.
- CBGB
- A New York City music club that became a famous venue for punk and new wave bands.
- cholangiocarcinoma
- A type of cancer that forms in the bile ducts.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Family
- Lloyd's family said his wife Sheila and his dog Willie Mays were with him at the end, and that he died from cholangiocarcinoma.
- Bandmate
- Richard Lloyd Group bandmate Sean Seymour said one tumor in Lloyd's liver was dangerously close to a major blood vessel, making removal unsafe, and that Lloyd could not tour while his wife worked as his full-time caregiver.
- Lloyd
- In the crowdfunding appeal, Lloyd said he was taking the illness in stride but that it had become very difficult and financially they were strapped.
Still unverified
Velvert Turner claimed to be a friend and guitar student of Jimi Hendrix, an assertion generally regarded as unlikely, though Lloyd believed it. Lloyd also claimed he was the spark behind CBGB becoming a punk club after stumbling across the venue and working with Television's manager to get them a gig there in 1974.