The musician died on June 18, 2023. She was 60 years old.
Teresa Taylor passed away on June 18th. The Butthole Surfers drummer and actress in the 90s cult film “Slacker” turned 60. The cause of death was given as complications from a long-standing lung disease. This was announced by her former band on their Facebook page.
Born in Arlington, Texas, in 1962, Taylor began playing drums for various marching bands while still in high school. One of her bandmates at the time was Jeffrey Coffey, with whom she later joined the band Butthole Surfers. Under the names Teresa Nervosa and King Coffey, they formed the group’s drummer duo.
In 1989, Taylor left Butthole Surfers after the strobe lights on the live shows caused her to have seizures. A little later, doctors found her to have a brain aneurysm, which was successfully operated on. In the late 2000s, she began performing again with her old band.
Like many artists from the Austin, Texas area, Teresa Taylor starred in a film directed by Richard Linklater (“Boyhood”). In 1990’s Slacker, Taylor played the character “Pap Smear Pusher,” who was trying to sell an alleged swab taken by Madonna. Taylor also promptly landed on the film’s poster.
In 2021, the drummer announced on Facebook that she was suffering from end-stage lung disease. Only a short time later she publicly said goodbye to her fans and bandmates with the words: “[…] It was a pleasure for me…. Bye.”