He sang with an early ‘70s rock band whose sound and look influenced everyone from upstart American punks to Guns N’ Roses, cracked the pop market by reinventing himself as lounge singer and had some memorable acting roles as well.

But David Johansen – the vocalist for the New York Dolls who later took on the persona of Buster Poindexter – is suffering from Stage 4 cancer and in need of support, according to a plea for help from his daughter and wife.

In her post at sweetrelief.org, daughter Leah Hennessey wrote that her father has been undergoing cancer treatment for “most of the past decade,” but that he and his wife, Mara Hennessey “are generally very private people” and never made the diagnosis public.

“Five years ago at the beginning of the pandemic we discovered that David’s cancer had progressed and he had a brain tumor,” Mara Hennessey says in the post. “There have been complications ever since. … To make matters worse, the day after Thanksgiving David fell down the stairs and broke his back in two places. After a week in the hospital and a successful surgery David has been bedridden and incapacitated. Due to the trauma, David’s illness has progressed exponentially and my mother is caring for him around the clock.”

The family’s immediate needs are “full time nursing, physical therapy and funding for day to day vital living expenses,” she wrote. She said she was hopeful that with proper care Johansen could regain some mobility and independence.

Though he has not been able to perform since the pandemic, Johansen has continued to host the Sirius XM show “The Mansion of Fun.”

As Poindexter, Johansen scored a minor pop hit with a cover of “Hot, Hot, Hot;” the MTV generation may also remember a cover of Louis Armstrong’s seasonal tune, “Zat You, Santa Claus?” Johansen’s musical projects included the David Johansen Band and The Harry Smiths, a group that focused on classic blues.

According to the Internet Movie Database, his numerous acting credits include a role as the Ghost of Christmas Past in the Bill Murray comedy “Scrooged” and several appearances in the series “Oz;” he also voiced a villain in the animated series “Teen Titans.” He appeared as a member of the “Saturday Night Live” house band in 1986-1987.

For more information visit www.sweetrelief.org/davidjohansenfund.