Punk rocker Dee Dee Ramone dead at 49

LOS ANGELES, June 6 (UPI) -- An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday on the body of Dee Dee Ramone, a founding member of the seminal punk rock group The Ramones, who died Wednesday night in his home in Hollywood. He was 49.

Authorities in Los Angeles said Dee Dee Ramone -- whose real name was Douglas Glenn Colvin -- was found in an unresponsive state by his wife when she came home at about 8:25 p.m. PST. She called the police, and Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics pronounced Colvin dead at the scene at 8:40.

Craig Harvey, operations chief at the Los Angeles County Coroner's office, said the case was being considered a possible accidental drug overdose.

"The investigator noted drug paraphernalia," said Harvey, "including a single syringe on the kitchen counter."

Colvin's death came 14 months after the death of lead singer Joey Ramone (Jeffrey Hyman) from lymphoma, and 11 weeks after The Ramones -- also including Johnny Ramone (John Cummings), Tommy Ramone (Tommy Erdelyi) and Marky Ramone (Marc Bell) -- were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

The band members assumed a common last name when they put the band together in 1974 in New York City.

Their earliest albums did not sell well, but were credited with inspiring a generation of punk rockers that included the Sex Pistols, The Buzzcocks and The Clash.

In 1977, they cracked the Top 40 when their single "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" entered the British singles charts and peaked at No. 22. Their third album, "Rocket to Russia," which hit No. 49 on the album chart, contained the band's only three U.S. chart singles -- "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," "Rockaway Beach" and "Do You Wanna Dance."

Their fourth album, 1978's "Road to Ruin," contained such anthems as "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "I Just Want to Have Something to Do."

In 1980, The Ramones scored their biggest commercial successes. Their remake of the Ronettes' "Baby I Love You" peaked at No. 8 on the British singles chart, and their Phil Spector-produced album "End of the Century" reached No. 44 -- their highest album chart position ever.

Colvin, who had engaged in repeated feuds with his band mates, left the group in the late '80s to pursue a solo career. In his autobiography, "Lobotomy: Surviving the Ramones," Colvin wrote about his abuse of drugs including alcohol and methadone -- but said he had gone straight and found peace.