profile

Eddie Van Halen

1955-01-26 (69 years old) in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Eddie Van Halen (26 January 1955 - 6 October 2020) was a Dutch-American musician, songwriter, producer, and inventor. Moving with his family (headed by musician Jan Van Halen) to Pasadena, California as a boy, Eddie and brother Alex were both trained on classical piano. Eddie got a paper route to pay for a drum set, but Alex spent far more time playing it while Eddie was at work, so Eddie "stole" Alex's guitar to get back at him, and they continued to play those instruments for the rest of their careers. The Van Halen brothers started a band called Mammoth, eventually recruiting frontman David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony, and renamed the band Van Halen at Roth's insistence. Van Halen's debut album is one of the most influential and best-selling rock debut albums in history, and Eddie's innovative guitar playing had a massive influence on rock musicians worldwide, with Eddie being hailed as a guitar god and routinely being featured on and in guitar magazines. After a decade with Roth as frontman, he was fired and was successfully replaced by Sammy Hagar, bringing another decade of success for the band before Hagar's departure. A third lineup featuring Gary Cherone was not successful, and Van Halen reunited with both Hagar and Roth for brief periods, replacing Anthony with Eddie's son Wolfgang on bass. Eddie developed tongue cancer in the 2000s, had surgery and was in remission for a number of years, but it eventually returned, and he passed away in 2020, with an outpouring of support and appreciation from musicians the world over.

Movies

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Thriller 40
85 %|Dec 2, 2023
Documentary, Music
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Randy Rhoads: Reflections of a Guitar Icon
80 %|May 6, 2022
Documentary, Music
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The Dirt
75 %|Mar 22, 2019
Drama, Music, History, Comedy
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Play It Loud: The Story of Marshall
65 %|Nov 28, 2014
Music, Documentary
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Van Halen The Downtown Sessions
30 %|Feb 7, 2012
Music
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Cry Baby: The Pedal that Rocks the World
80 %|Mar 11, 2011
Documentary, Music
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Van Halen - In Concert
80 %|Mar 11, 2011
Music
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Van Halen: The Van Halen Story
72 %|Jan 1, 2003
Music, Documentary
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Van Halen : Live from Australia
73 %|Apr 9, 1998
Music
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Van Halen: Video Hits Vol. 1
82 %|Jan 1, 1996
Music
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The History of Rock 'n' Roll
100 %|Mar 6, 1995
Documentary, Music
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Van Halen - Live: Right Here, Right Now
75 %|Feb 23, 1993
Music, Documentary
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Van Halen: Live Without A Net
68 %|Sep 15, 1987
Music, Documentary
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Van Halen Live at US Festival
0 %|May 29, 1983
Music, Documentary
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Van Halen - Live 1986 New Haven
0 %|Invalid Date
Music

Series

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Two and a Half Men
75 %|Sep 22, 2003
Comedy
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Cafe Americain
63.33 %|Sep 18, 1993
Comedy
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Frasier
77 %|Sep 16, 1993
Comedy, Family
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MTV Video Music Awards
75 %|Sep 14, 1984
Documentary
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Saturday Night Live
69.36 %|Oct 11, 1975
Comedy, News