Is Edward Van Halen Dead or Still Alive? Edward Van Halen Birthday and Date of Death

Edward Van Halen Death

Edward passed away on October 6, 2020 at the age of 65 in Santa Monica, California, USA.

Edward Van Halen Birthday and Date of Death

Edward Van Halen was born on January 26, 1955 and died on October 6, 2020. Edward was 65 years old at the time of death.

Birthday: January 26, 1955
Date of Death: October 6, 2020
Age at Death: 65

Edward Van Halen - Biography

Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-born American musician, songwriter and producer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, occasional keyboardist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. He is considered to be one of the world's greatest guitarists, and one of the most influential rock guitarists of the 20th century. In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Van Halen number eight in the list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists. In 2012, he was voted in a Guitar World magazine reader's poll as the number one of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" over Brian May of Queen and Alex Lifeson of Rush (number three).
Van Halen struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse. He began smoking and drinking at the age of 12, and he stated that he eventually needed alcohol to function. He entered rehabilitation in 2007, and later shared in an interview that he had been sober since 2008.

Suffering from lingering injuries from past, high-risk, acrobatic stage performances and crashes, Van Halen underwent hip replacement surgery in 1999, after his chronic avascular necrosis, with which he was diagnosed in 1995, became unbearable. He began receiving treatment for tongue cancer in 2000. The subsequent surgery removed roughly a third of his tongue. He was declared cancer-free in 2002. He blamed the tongue cancer on his habit of holding guitar picks in his mouth, stating in 2015: "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. ... 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."
In 2012, Van Halen underwent an emergency surgery for a severe bout of diverticulitis. Recovery time required due to the surgery led to postponement of Van Halen tour dates scheduled in Japan. Van Halen was later hospitalized in 2019 after battling throat cancer over the previous five years. He died from the illness at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California on October 6, 2020, at the age of 65.