Chuck Varga, a founding member of the shock-metal band GWAR, has died. He was 68. He lost his battle with cancer.

GWAR bassist Casey Orr, known onstage as Beefcake the Mighty, announced the death on September 25. “Chuck Varga has left this earthly realm,” Orr wrote. “He passed peacefully, his beloved wife Bambi holding his hand.”

Varga was best known to fans as the Sexecutioner. He played the towering character from 1985 until 2022. He also worked as a sculptor, illustrator, set designer and special-effects artist. He helped build GWAR’s grotesque costumes, props and mythology from the band’s earliest days.

Varga co-founded the Richmond art collective Slave Pit Studios in the early 1980s. He contributed vocals to songs including “Sexecutioner” and “Rag Na Rok.” He also co-wrote two GWAR films, including the Grammy-nominated “Phallus in Wonderland.”

The band revealed his cancer battle in April. In June, GWAR launched a fundraiser to help cover his treatment and hospice care. Orr closed his tribute with the band’s salute: “Hail Varga! Hail Sexecutioner!”