Famous Latter-day Saints

From Suicidal Rock Star to Rock Solid Mormon: New York Dolls' Arthur Kane's Incredible Conversion Story

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This story is republished from "8 Famous People Who Became Mormon." Read the article here to learn other incredible conversion stories.

One night, Arthur "Killer" Kane, former guitar bassist for the '70s punk rock group New York Dolls, was watching TV when the movie Scrooged started playing. When he saw former bandmate David Johansen with a role in the movie, Kane's jealousy and anger spiraled so out of control that he attempted suicide by jumping out of a third-story window. But his attempt failed when he landed on an awning below. 

While recovering in the hospital from minor injuries, Kane saw an ad for a free copy of The Book of Mormon. He requested the book, and soon two sister missionaries delivered it to him. He studied the book, and when he prayed to know if it was true, Kane described the answer he received as an “LSD trip from the Lord.”

He was baptized in 1989 and left behind his life of drugs and rock-n-roll. He even started serving in the Family History Center of the Los Angeles Temple.   

  ► You'll also like: 6 Must-See Documentaries About Remarkable Mormons

In 2004, popular British singer Morrissey organized a reunion concert for the New York Dolls in London. Before the show, Kane explained the Word of Wisdom to other band members and said that tithing was a “pretty good deal.”

On July 13, 2004, just 22 days after the reunion concert, Kane went to the emergency room believing he had the flu. Shockingly, he was diagnosed with leukemia and died two hours later. He was 55 years old.

A documentary titled New York Doll tells the story of Kane's transformation from washed up rocker to rock solid Mormon. 

Lead images from ronihoffman.com and IMDb
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