Obituaries

Iconic Musician and Musical Theater Writer David Bowie Has Died

Bowie, the author of the new musical ”Lazarus”, appeared on Broadway in the original production of ”The Elephant Man”.

Iconic musician David Bowie has died.
Iconic musician David Bowie has died.

Legendary musician David Bowie died January 10, after a battle with cancer. His death came two days after his 69th birthday on January 8.

David Bowie was born in South London as David Robert Jones and became interested in music at an early age. By the '60s, Jones, who had set his sights on becoming a pop star, decided to change his last name to Bowie in order to avoid being confused with Davy Jones of the Monkees. In 1969, Bowie signed with Mercury Records, who released his album Space Oddity, the title track of which became his first hit in the U.K. His musical success continued with the 1970 album The Man Who Sold the World and the 1971 album Hunky Dory.

The release of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, which is loosely based on the life of Bowie's fictional alter ego Ziggy Stardust, heralded the beginning of Bowie's well-known glam rock phase. His following albums would include Diamond Dogs (1974), Young Americans (1975), Low (1977), "Heroes" (1977), and Lodger (1979), among others. Also an actor, Bowie received the Saturn Award for Best Actor for his role in the film The Man Who Fell to Earth in 1976. In 1980, Bowie made his only Broadway appearance as John Merrick in the original production of Bernard Pomerance's The Elephant Man.

Bowie's musical offerings in the early '80s included 1981's "Under Pressure," a collaboration with Queen, and the album Let's Dance (1983). During more recent years, his albums have included Tin Machine (1989) and Earthling (1997). His last two albums were The Next Day, which was release in 2013 and Blackstar, which was released just last Friday.

Early last year it was announced that Bowie was penning a musical version of the film The Man Who Fell to Earth along with Tony winner Enda Walsh (Once). The musical, Lazarus, is currently playing a sold-out run at New York Theatre Workshop, with Michael C. Hall in the lead role.

David Bowie is survived by his son Duncan Jones, whose mother is Bowie's first wife, Angela Bowie, as well as his wife Iman and their daughter, Alexandria.

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Lazarus

Closed: January 20, 2016