Teresa Taylor, a drummer for the indie rock band Butthole Surfers who had a small but memorable role in the 1990 film Slacker as a “pusher” trying to sell an unusual Madonna souvenir, died Sunday of lung disease, her former bandmates have announced.
Taylor, who sometimes used the stage name Teresa Nervosa, “passed away peacefully this weekend after a long battle with lung disease,” the Butthole Surfers tweeted today. “She will live in our hearts forever. RIP, dear friend.”
Born in Arlington, Texas, Taylor played drums in her high school marching band alongside fellow percussionist King Coffey. After joining the San Antonio-based rock band, Coffey recruited his friend Taylor to join. The two drummers would perform in unison, often standing up, giving the band its early signature sound and visual style.
Taylor left the band in 1989 after experiencing seizures caused by a brain aneurysm. She underwent brain surgery in 1993. The group had an infectious No. 1 modern rock hit with “Pepper” in 1996, and she returned for some tour dates in 2009.
‘Slacker’ poster art (1991) featuring Taylor
Everett Collection
Aside from her drumming career, Taylor is remembered for an attention-getting performance in Richard Linklater’s breakthrough film Slacker, portraying a character credited as “Pap Smear Pusher” who tries to sell a jar containing what she claims is a pap smear belonging to Madonna. Taylor’s character, dressed in a black T-shirt, sunglasses and ball cap, was featured on the movie’s poster and home video packaging.
In a 2006 oral history of the movie published on the Salon website, Taylor recalled feeling very unsure of what would be her sole major film performance.
“When I finished my scene, about a week later, I had a sort of breakdown where I decided that I had humiliated myself so publicly, I even considered going to their house and getting my reel,” she remembered, adding that she reconsidered upon realizing, “I didn’t want the movie to come out and me not to have done my bit. So I signed.”
“I don’t get recognized,” she said in 2006. “Nobody recognizes my face, but when I’m in public, and I’m going off on something, people will be, ‘Are you the chick from Slacker?’ But it’s always because I’m ranting and raving about something.”
Information on survivors was not immediately available.