LORNA DOOM,
1957-2019

Lorna Doom, bassist for the celebrated L.A. punk band The Germs, died Wednesday afternoon after a yearlong battle with cancer. She was 61.

Her family and bandmates released a statement that read “she finally lost her struggle with cancer. It came as a shock to many, as she had chosen to not burden others with what she was going through.”

Born Teresa Ryan, she joined the band when the lineup was singer Jan Paul Beahm (Darby Crash), guitarist Georg Ruthenberg (Pat Smear), and future Go-Go Belinda Carlisle on drums. Don Bolles replaced Carlisle and other drummers before the band released its only full-length album (GI) on Slash Records in 1979.

The band, famous for performances at The Masque, Roxy and Whisky a Go Go, broke up in 1980 after Crash killed himself at the age of 22.

The Germs story was prominently told in Penelope Spheeris’s 1981 documentary of the L.A. punk scene, The Decline of Western Civilization, and they were the subject of the 2007 biopic What We Do Is Secret.

The Germs reformed in 2005 with Shane West, the actor who played Crash in the film, as the singer.

yesterday i lost a part of me, my best friend in high school and partner in crime in the early punk scene, #LornaDoom or Teresa passed away.... she was a visionary and a trail blazer. she never compromised. RIP, terry. i'm sure you can feel the love ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ln2RQSTN47

— Belinda Carlisle (@belindaofficial) January 17, 2019

"R.I.P. Lorna Doom, who we immortalized in this early Dickies song. Heartfelt condolences to Don Bolles, Pat Smear and all of her closest." - Leonard Graves Phillips https://t.co/4VC7md4S8P

— The Dickies Official (@thedickiesband) January 17, 2019

Lorna Doom of the Germs. Rest In Peace awesome bass player. pic.twitter.com/WzK98WPjPe

— Thurston Moore (@nowjazznow) January 17, 2019

I love Lorna Doom so much. I can’t count the times I lay on the floor listening to her play, imagining her rocking out, laying it down in her inimitable way. I always wanted to meet her… https://t.co/RIvk60BbxN

— Flea (@flea333) January 17, 2019