1. In 2004, after decades of estrangement from Dolls singer David Johansen, Arthur Kane rejoined the surviving Dolls to rehearse and play a reunion concert in London, which was the subject of the 2005 documentary New York Doll.
27 Facts About Arthur Kane
1. 2.
Arthur Kane said that it was inspired by the adversary of the 1930s' science fiction hero Buck Rogers, a villainous character named Killer Arthur Kane.
3.
Arthur Kane was born in The Bronx, New York City, the only child of Erna and Harold Arthur Kane.
4.
Arthur Kane was close to his mother and her aunt, his Aunt Millie, who used to like to listen to Elvis records.
5.
Arthur Kane's father was an abusive alcoholic and, when he quickly remarried, Arthur left home for good.
6.
Arthur Kane graduated from Martin Van Buren High School in Queens.
7.
Arthur Kane first played bass in the band Actress along with other original New York Dolls: Johnny Thunders, Rick Rivets and Billy Murcia.
8.
Arthur Kane attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York as a Food Science and Management student.
9.
Arthur Kane decided to approach him one day in front of a West Village pizzeria to ask him if he wanted to get together sometime to jam on their instruments.
10.
Sometime after that event, Arthur Kane then approached future Dolls singer David Johansen.
11.
Killer Arthur Kane was known for his outrageous outfits such as one-piece body stockings, large bow-ties, and thigh-high, neon-colored platform boots.
12.
Arthur Kane created many original and infamous looks by scouring shops in London, "combing through Amsterdam's Waterlooplein flea market during all of 1970", and "various Brooklyn thrift shops".
13.
Arthur Kane saw himself living in poverty and obscurity for the rest of his life.
14.
Lead singer of the Dolls, David Johansen, who Arthur Kane viewed as a rival, found success as Buster Poindexter.
15.
Arthur Kane relocated from New York City to Los Angeles, but he could not escape his regrets.
16.
In 1992 Arthur Kane was walking home from a party for the Red Hot Chili Peppers when someone attacked him and he was later found in a ditch near his apartment.
17.
Arthur Kane's injuries were severe enough that he was in physical therapy to learn how to walk and talk again.
18.
For several years Arthur Kane lived in a small studio apartment in West Hollywood where he was just scraping by financially.
19.
In 1998 Arthur Kane started volunteer work as a librarian assisting the public with genealogy at the Family History Center at the Los Angeles Temple.
20.
Whiteley commented that all Arthur Kane ever talked about was how he wished that he could somehow get the Dolls back together.
21.
On July 13,2004, just 22 days after the reunion concert, Arthur Kane thought that he had caught the flu in London and checked himself into a Los Angeles hospital, complaining of fatigue.
22.
Arthur Kane was quickly diagnosed with leukemia and died within two hours.
23.
Annual tributes to Arthur Kane's lasting memory and influence were held at the Continental in New York City until its closing in 2006.
24.
In 2009 Arthur Kane's autobiography was published entitled, I, Doll: Life and Death with the New York Dolls, with the foreword and epilogue written by Barbara Arthur Kane.
25.
Arthur Kane met Barbara when he was with the Dolls, and they were married in 1977.
26.
Arthur Kane was interviewed for the New York Doll documentary, portions of which are interspersed within the film's narrative.
27.
Arthur Kane appears in some of the footage wearing a plaster cast on his left arm.