{"id":3526,"date":"2026-07-01T21:11:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3526"},"modified":"2026-07-01T21:11:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:11:08","slug":"victor-willis-dies-at-74-village-people-co-founder-portrayed-police-officer-and-co-wrote-y-m-c-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3526","title":{"rendered":"Victor Willis dies at 74; Village People co-founder portrayed police officer and co-wrote ‘Y.M.C.A’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

By Mark Kennedy | Associated Press<\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 Victor Willis, who co-founded the Village People, co-wrote the disco group\u2019s classic hits \u201cY.M.C.A.,\u201d \u2033Macho Man\u201d and \u201cIn the Navy,\u201d and delighted crowds while dressed as the band\u2019s helmeted and mustachioed police officer, has died. He was 74.<\/p>\n

Read more These 8 new California laws are going into effect on July 1<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are profoundly sad to announce the death of Victor Willis, lead singer of Village People,\u201d the group posted on its official Facebook page. The cause was identified as \u201ca short but aggressive illness.\u201d<\/p>\n

FROM THE ARCHIVES: \u2018Macho Man?\u2019 Trump uses gay anthem at rallies, even after Village People say stop<\/strong><\/p>\n

Willis was a musician-actor who, among other things, had appeared on Broadway in \u201cThe Wiz\u201d when he decided to cash in on the disco craze in 1977 by joining a group made up of beefy, macho-looking guys dressed as a biker, a construction worker, a cop, a cowboy and a Native American chief.<\/p>\n

With producer Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo, Morali\u2019s business partner, Willis founded the six-member Village People. The idea came to them while partying at an after-hours gay nightclub in the West Village of Manhattan. The group\u2019s self-titled debut album was released in 1977.<\/p>\n