Richard Lloyd, co-founding guitarist of the influential rock band Television, has died at age 75, according to The New York Times. The cause of death was cholangiocarcinoma, a form of bile duct cancer. A GoFundMe campaign was launched in August to help cover his treatment costs. “His loving wife Sheila and his dog Willie Mays were with him at the end,” his family said in a statement to Rolling Stone.
Television formed in 1973 when Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell, and Billy Ficca disbanded their earlier group, the Neon Boys, and brought Lloyd in as a second guitarist. As part of a groundbreaking wave of New York City punk acts, the band cultivated a devoted following at iconic venues such as Max’s Kansas City and CBGB. Their sound—built on the intricate, propulsive guitar interplay between Verlaine and Lloyd—marked a distinct departure from the three-chord simplicity of their peers. After signing with Elektra in 1977, Television released the landmark album Marquee Moon, followed a year later by Adventure, before growing tensions between Verlaine and Lloyd led to the band’s dissolution.
“Richard Lloyd chisels notes out hard while Verlaine works with a subtle twang and a trace of space-gazing delirium,” Chris Dahlen wrote in Pitchfork’s review of Marquee Moon and Adventure. “They play lines that are stately and chiming, rutting and torrential—the riff, the solo, the rare power chord, and above all, the power note.”
Born Richard John Alt in Pittsburgh in 1951, Lloyd moved to Greenwich Village with his mother and stepfather after his parents separated. He picked up the guitar at age seven after seeing one at a cousin’s sleepover. “I recognized that the guitar was their magic wand,” Lloyd told Guitar World in January, recalling his early fascination with Beatles records. “They were casting a spell over young people. It’s an impulse that never left me.”
After spending time in Boston and Los Angeles, Lloyd returned to New York in his early twenties, where he reconnected with Verlaine and Hell. “We were ahead of the curve,” Lloyd told KEXP in 2017, reflecting on his years with Television. “Marquee Moon still sells—it’s never been out of print—and it continues to appear on all-time greatest-album lists, which makes me proud and happy.” Television reunited for one final self-titled LP, Television, in 1992. Verlaine passed away in 2023 after a brief illness.
Following Television’s initial breakup, Lloyd pursued a prolific solo career, releasing nine albums and contributing guitar work to records by Matthew Sweet, Stephan Eicher, and John Doe of X.
“For many years I wouldn’t touch Television songs,” Lloyd said in a Guitar World interview published this year. “But as the last remaining member of the band, I feel a responsibility to the fans. I perform a mix of Television songs, my own material, and covers, so everybody has a good time.”