Television Co-Founder Richard Lloyd Diagnosed With Bile Duct Cancer, Bandmate Launches GoFundMe
Richard Lloyd, co-founding guitarist of the New York band Television, has been diagnosed with bile duct cancer, and a crowdfunding campaign is raising money for his treatment.
The diagnosis was announced through a GoFundMe campaign titled "Help Richard Lloyd Fight Cancer," posted on the band's social media pages. Sean Seymour, Lloyd's bandmate in the Richard Lloyd Group, launched the campaign on Lloyd's behalf and shared details of the guitarist's condition in a public appeal.
Lloyd was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma — bile duct cancer, a relatively rare form of the disease — in March 2026, according to Consequence of Sound. Since then, he has survived two bouts of sepsis and made seven visits to the intensive care unit, Seymour wrote in the campaign's description, as Pitchfork reported.
The cancer has produced multiple tumours in Lloyd's liver. One of them sits dangerously close to a major blood vessel, making surgical removal unsafe at this stage, according to the GoFundMe page and confirmed by Consequence of Sound.
Lloyd is unable to tour, and his wife Sheila is now working as his full-time caregiver. In the campaign appeal, Lloyd noted that he and his wife are financially strapped and asked for donations to help cover treatment costs, as Pitchfork reported.
The GoFundMe was created on 22 August 2026, according to the campaign page, which Seymour promoted through his own social media as well. "My friend and bandmate Richard Lloyd is fighting cancer and needs our help," Seymour wrote in a Facebook post that day.
Television formed in New York City in the early 1970s and became one of the defining bands of the city's downtown punk and art-rock scene. Lloyd's guitar work, particularly his interplay with bandmate Tom Verlaine, was central to the band's sound. Their 1977 debut album Marquee Moon remains a touchstone of the era.
The crowdfunding appeal directs supporters to the GoFundMe page for donations toward Lloyd's ongoing medical care and living expenses.
