The legendary rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen passed away on Tuesday after battling throat cancer for several years. He was 65 years-old.
Sources told TMZ that Van Halen passed away at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica surrounded by his wife, Janie Liszewski, his son, Wolfgang, and his brother Alex. After battling cancer for over a decade, Van Halen’s health reportedly went downhill fast in the past 72 hours, with doctors finding that his cancer had moved to his brain as well as other organs.
Wolfgang broke the news of his father’s death on social media.
“I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning,” wrote Wolfgang, who is the son of Van Halen and his ex-wife, actress Valerie Bertinelli.
“He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift,” Wolfgang added. “My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss. I love you so much, Pop.”
Back in 2015, Van Halen opened up about his cancer battle, telling Billboard magazine that he had one-third of his tongue removed after learning that his cancer had spread to his esophagus.
“I used metal picks — they’re brass and copper — which I always held in my mouth, in the exact place where I got the tongue cancer,” the rocker explained at the time. “Plus, I basically live in a recording studio that’s filled with electromagnetic energy. So that’s one theory. I mean, I was smoking and doing a lot of drugs and a lot of everything. But at the same time, my lungs are totally clear. This is just my own theory, but the doctors say it’s possible.”
Van Halen will be remembered by millions of fans for his unbelievable skills on the guitar. His eponymous band Van Halen rose to fame in the late 1970s, knocking disco off the top of the charts with their self-titled album. They followed this up with the blockbuster album “1984,” which contains the classics “Jump,” “Panama” and “Hot for Teacher.”
Van Halen himself remains one of the top 20 best-selling artists of all time, and his band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, according to Fox News. After his death, his bandmate Sammy Hagar took to social media to honor his memory.
“Heartbroken and speechless,” Hagar wrote. “My love to the family.”
Heartbroken and speechless. My love to the family. pic.twitter.com/MQMueMF2XO
— Sammy Hagar (@sammyhagar) October 6, 2020
Rest in peace, Eddie Van Halen.
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