Victor Willis, the lead singer of ’70s disco group Village People, has died. He was 74.
Willis’ wife, Karen-Huff Willis, posted to the musician’s Facebook page on Wednesday: “It is with profound sadness that I must announce the death of my husband … Victor passed away on Tuesday … as a result of a short, but aggressive illness.” She added: “The family request privacy at this time of great loss.”
The Texas-born Willis was the frontman of the Village People, a name inspired by New York City’s Greenwich Village, who dominated the charts with “Macho Man,” “In the Navy,” and “Y.M.C.A,” which was undoubtedly their biggest single. Willis was a co-writer on their most successful songs.
Originally formed by Willis with French producers Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo, Willis rose to global fame, performing in costume as a policeman or naval officer alongside bandmates including Randy Jones, Glenn Hughes, Felipe Rose, David Hodo, and Alex Briley. Tension arose in 1980 when Willis left the band, in what would be the beginning of decades of legal battles over copyright concerns. They were just about to start shooting Nancy Walker’s feature film, the pseudo-biography about Village People called Can’t Stop the Music.
During this time, he consistently refused to perform any Village People songs and declined offers to make other records. In 1979, he recorded a solo album, Solo Man, though it would go unreleased for 35 years. In August 2015, Solo Man came out. Willis re-teamed with Village People in 2017 after reaching an out-of-court settlement and toured with the band internationally. Just last year, they took to the stage at President Donald Trump’s pre-inauguration rally.
Willis was a prolific stage actor and performed in a slew of musicals and plays throughout his career, including in the original Broadway production of The Wiz.
Later in life, he spoke candidly about struggling with drug addiction after leaving Village People. In 2007, after leaving rehab, Willis said in his first public statement in 25 years: “The nightmare of drug abuse is being lifted from my life… I’m looking forward to living the second part of my life drug-free.”
From 1978 to 1982, Willis was married to Phylicia Ayers-Allen, now Phylicia Rashad, who played Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show. On Nov. 17, 2007, Willis married Karen Huff, a lawyer and entertainment exec.
