Television Guitarist Richard Lloyd Dies at 75
Richard Lloyd, a founding guitarist of the band Television, died Saturday at his Chattanooga, Tennessee, home. He was 75.
- March 2026: doctors diagnosed him with cholangiocarcinoma, a bile duct cancer.
- 1977 debut Marquee Moon paired Lloyd's guitar with Tom Verlaine's.
- Three Television albums total: Marquee Moon, Adventure and a 1992 self-titled record.
- Doctors could not operate because a liver tumor sat near a major blood vessel.
Why it matters: Television helped make CBGB the center of New York's mid-1970s music scene. That scene produced the Ramones, Blondie and Talking Heads.
- Marquee Moon sold poorly in the U.S. but influenced R.E.M., Sonic Youth and others.
- The band split in 1978, partly over Lloyd's heroin addiction.
How 10 sources split on this story
Where they split: Outlets differ on Lloyd's solo output, counting either nine albums after Television or two early records plus seven more.
Center coverage, 3 sources: The center frames the news as a straight obituary of an influential punk-era guitarist.
Left coverage, 6 sources: The left frames Lloyd as a virtuoso whose work on Marquee Moon was long underrated next to Verlaine's.
What’s next: Lloyd is survived by his wife, Sheila O'Keefe Lloyd, his son, Dylan, and his brother, Eric Lloyd.
- His family had set up a GoFundMe for medical costs after his illness stopped him from touring.
- Will Lloyd's death prompt reissues or new releases of Television or solo material?
