Herman Brood

By MARLENE EDMUNDS

Dutch music and visual artist Herman Brood died Wednesday July 11 after falling from a balcony of the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel. He was 54. The death was ruled a suicide: In a note found on the body, Brood said he did not want to go on living.

Brood was a rock 'n' roll legend in Holland, his fame memorialized in the 1994 documentary film "Rock 'n' Roll Junkie," which took its name from a number written by Brood.

He was born in Zwolle and attended the art academy in Arnhem until the mid 1960s, when he became the pianist for Cuby & the Blizzards.

By the end of the '70s, he, along with his band Herman Brood & His Wild Romance, had established a reputation with such hits as "Saturday Night" and "Still Believe." He also earned a name for his part in the 1979 film "Cha Cha" with German singer Nina Hagen. In the latter part of his life, he achieved a reputation as a successful painter.

Brood had been ill for some time after attempting to kick a drug habit that had plagued him for many years.