Arthur Kane: Arthur "Killer" Kane
Arthur “Killer” Kane was the bassist and original member of the punk band group the New York Dolls. The band made only two albums and did not have any major hits, but the band’s pioneering style deeply influenced punk rock that continues today.
While recovering in the hospital from minor injuries sustained during an attempted suicide, Kane saw an ad for a free copy of the Book of Mormon. He requested the book, and two sister missionaries delivered it to him. He studied the book and prayed to know if it was true. He described the answer he received as an “LSD trip from the Lord.” He joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1989 and left behind his life of drugs and rock-n-roll. He spent his last years serving in the Family History Center of the Los Angeles Temple.
Kane was born on February 3, 1949, in The Bronx, New York City, New York. He reunited with former band members for a 30th-anniversary concert in 2004. He died twenty-two days later, on July 13, in Los Angeles, California. He had been suffering with leukemia but did not know it until he went to the emergency room for flu symptoms.
Greg Whiteley created a documentary about Kane’s journey from rocker to devout member of the LDS Church entitled New York Doll, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Whiteley met Kane when he was assigned to home teach him. Whiteley said, “I wasn't that familiar with their music, but I was familiar with their reputation. All I could think of when I met him was, 'He's such a quiet man.' You'd never know, never believe, that this humble, soft-spoken guy used to be a cross-dressing, glue-sniffing glam-rocker. And at the same time, his faith in God was so obvious and evident that it was contagious.[1]
