VICTOR WILLIS, THE frontman and co-founder of the 1970s disco group Village People, has died at the age of 74.

He died on 30 June and the band announced his death on their Facebook page today.  

His wife, Karen-Huff Willis, also announced his death in a post on social media.

“It is with profound sadness that I must announce the death of my husband, VICTOR WILLIS,” she wrote. 

She said he died as a result of “a short, but aggressive illness”.

“The family request privacy at this time of great loss.”

Victor Willis of The Village People during the Riot Fest Music Festival in Chicago, 2019 Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Village People are best known for their hit songs YMCA, In the Navy and Macho Man, all of which were co-written by Willis, and their stage performances playfully dressed in stereotypically masculine costumes.

Willis alternated between dressing as a policeman and a naval officer.

He left the band in 1980 but rejoined in 2017. 

While the band reached its peak popularity in the 1970s, their song YMCA has had a recent revival since it’s been adopted by US President Donald Trump, who frequently plays it at campaign events. 

Village People performing in 1979 Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The band initially issued a cease and desist letter to the Trump campaign and said they did not endorse the Republican. 

However, they later played at Trump inauguration events in 2025. 

Trump expressed his condolences today and said Willis will be sorely missed.

“He was a great and happy guy who loved that I used his group’s song, YMCA, at my Rallies. It became a ‘monster’ hit, again, 30 years after its original launch,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“We will think of Victor every time YMCA is played, like today, and all throughout this July Fourth Birthday week,” he added, referring to the 250th anniversary of US independence this weekend.