December 7, 1980, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States
Fact
Lead singer for the Los Angeles punk band The Germs (1976-1980), featured in the film "Decline of Western Civilization 1, The (1980)". Crash's sole album recorded during his life was Germs(GI) (1979), produced by friend of the band Joan Jett. The Germs also recorded music for "Cruising (1980), " although only one would apear in the film and the rest would not be released until a decade after Crash's death. Crash was know for his erratic behavior on stage, including: sparking food fights between the audience and band, breaking bottles on his head, and even leaving the stage in the middle of a set for a heroin fix. The Germs were originally to appear in the film "Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke, " but were the only band not to pass the audition. Crash would die 23 hours before John Lennon was shot to death in New York City.
Darby Crash (born January 16, 1958) was an American punk rock singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the punk rock band the Germs, which he co-founded with Pat Smear in 1977.
Crash was born in Los Angeles, California. His parents were both actors; his father, Richard Berry, appeared in films such as The Wild One (1953) and Giant (1956), while his mother, Nadine Van der Velde, had roles on television shows such as The Addams Family (1964) and The Munsters (1964). Crash had two older sisters, one of whom is actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
Crash was educated at private schools in Los Angeles. He was expelled from several of them for his disruptive behavior. He later attended community college but dropped out after a semester.
In 1977, Crash and Smear formed the Germs. The band became one of the most influential punk rock bands of the era. They released one album, (GI) (1979), before breaking up in 1980.
After the Germs disbanded, Crash struggled with drug addiction. He died of a heroin overdose on December 7, 1980, at the age of 22.
At the time of his death, Crash had a net worth of $50,000.
General Info
Full Name
Darby Crash
Died
December 7, 1980, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States
Lead singer for the Los Angeles punk band The Germs (1976-1980), featured in the film "Decline of Western Civilization 1, The (1980)". Crash's sole album recorded during his life was Germs(GI) (1979), produced by friend of the band Joan Jett. The Germs also recorded music for "Cruising (1980), " although only one would apear in the film and the rest would not be released until a decade after Crash's death. Crash was know for his erratic behavior on stage, including: sparking food fights between the audience and band, breaking bottles on his head, and even leaving the stage in the middle of a set for a heroin fix. The Germs were originally to appear in the film "Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke, " but were the only band not to pass the audition. Crash would die 23 hours before John Lennon was shot to death in New York City.