Sylvain Sylvain Dies at 69 New York Dolls guitarist and co-founder died Jan. 13 from cancer Tweet Sylvain Sylvain (left) and Cheetah Chrome, as BatusisPhoto: Sandy Carson Sylvain Sylvain, co-founder and guitarist of profoundly influential proto-punks New York Dolls, died Wednesday in Nashville at age 69. His wife Wanda O’Kelley Mizrahi confirmed his death from cancer to Born Sylvain Mizrahi in Cairo, Egypt, in 1951, he emigrated to France with his family and then to the U.S. in 1961, settling in Queens, New York. His middle school and high school classmate Billy Murcia was also his partner in a clothing business and bandmate in a succession of rock bands. In 1971, the configuration of Murcia on drums, Arthur “Killer” Kane on bass, Mizrahi and Johnny Thunders on guitars and singer David Johansen took on the appellation New York Dolls. Mizrahi came up with the name: He and Murcia worked in a clothing store, and a nearby toy repair shop, the New York Doll Hospital, caught his eye.