Founding Television guitarist Richard Lloyd dies at 75

Richard Lloyd, a founding member and guitarist of the influential punk band Television, died on Saturday morning at the age of 75. His family said he passed away at his home in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with his wife Sheila and his dog Willie Mays present.

The family attributed his death to cholangiacarcinoma, a bile duct cancer diagnosed in March 2026. Earlier crowdfunding updates had revealed that Lloyd had developed liver tumors, including one that could not be surgically removed.

Television, formed in 1973, was a key act in the early punk scene that coalesced around New York’s CBGB club. The group was among the first punk bands to play the venue, which had previously focused on country and bluegrass music.

"CBGB’s is the most famous rock ‘n’ roll club to have ever existed and I fucking created it! I was the invisible force behind it," Lloyd said in a 2007 interview.

The band released two studio albums in the late 1970s, with the 1977 debut Marquee Moon later ranked No 107 on Rolling Stone’s 2023 list of the 500 greatest albums. The record is widely regarded as a landmark guitar-driven work in rock history.