Monti Rock III, the flamboyant entertainer who stole scenes as the exuberant DJ in the 1977 disco classic “Saturday Night Fever,” died Monday at his Las Vegas home. He was 86.
Lucille Thaler, Rock’s friend of more than 60 years, confirmed that the performer died on February 23, 2026, after a long battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Rock had suffered a broken hip in December 2024, underwent surgery, and signed himself out of the hospital to spend his final months in home hospice care.
Thaler last visited with Rock around 8:30 p.m. Monday evening. “He said, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you.’ Three times,” she recalled. Rock had no surviving immediate family and was broke at the time of his death.
Born Joseph Montanez Jr. on May 29, 1939, in the Bronx, Rock built a career on pure personality and showmanship. He first gained fame in the 1960s as a celebrity hairdresser whose work graced the pages of fashion magazines. The New York scene dubbed him “Rebel With a Comb,” and his magnetic presence soon landed him on television.
Rock became a fixture on late-night and daytime talk shows, making appearances on “The Tonight Show,” “The Mike Douglas Show,” and “The Merv Griffin Show.” While IMDb lists 36 appearances on “The Tonight Show,” Rock himself claimed 84, often joking that he had nothing to promote but was simply great company for Johnny Carson.
His music career took off in February 1975 when he recorded “Disco-Tex & His Sex-O-Lettes Review” with legendary producer Bob Crewe. The singles “Get Dancin'” and “I Wanna Dance Wit’ Choo (Doo Dat Dance)” became disco anthems, with “I Wanna Dance Wit’ Choo” climbing to No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The songs dominated New York’s dance clubs and helped define the era’s sound.
That success led to Rock’s most memorable role. Cast as “The Deejay” in “Saturday Night Fever” in 1977, Rock delivered one of the film’s most quotable lines: “Hello, again! This is beautiful Monti, your delicious DJ!” Though John Travolta’s Tony Manero anchored the film, Rock’s cameo added authentic disco flavor to the club scenes that defined the movie’s atmosphere.
Rock never claimed to be a traditional star. In a 2017 interview, he offered a candid assessment: “I’m not a good actor, but I did film. I’m not a good singer, but I did records. I’m a columnist who can’t type. My one genius was hair. I could do hair.”
He attempted to parlay his fame into stage success, headlining a cabaret show at Caesars Palace in 1969 that he admitted “bombed.” His 1993 stint as host of “Legends In Concert” also failed to click, despite his hopes that a brief hosting role would showcase his strengths.
Rock moved to Las Vegas in 1996 and became a beloved character on the entertainment scene. He wrote a gossip-style column for Gaming Today and was known for his dramatic entrances at PR agencies, where he would announce, “Hello, everybody! It’s the famous Monti Rock III!”
His fashion choices rivaled those of Liberace, whom Rock insisted “stole my act.” He wore stage makeup without a stage show, donned bedazzled caps and capes, and drove a leopard-print wrapped Ford Focus featuring his own image. For years, he carried his 10-year-old Pomeranian, Zozo, whom Thaler has now adopted.
Las Vegas television personality Dayna Roselli remembered Rock as a gracious man who loved to talk about his entertainment history. She told EntertainmentNow that Rock had a gift for timing—his calls would come at just the right moments, offering unsolicited advice she always appreciated.
Dave Kirvin of Kirvin Doak Communications captured Rock’s unique place in Las Vegas lore, calling him “equal parts gracious and maddening” and noting that his great comeback—always just around a corner that remained out of reach—never came to be.
Rock lost his longtime partner, Bruce Moshman, about 10 years ago after 42 years together. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, he had adopted various stage names throughout his career, including “Monti Rock IV,” “Monti Rock V,” and eventually “Sir Monti Rock.”
Celebration-of-life plans remain pending for the entertainer who once described himself as “the world’s most successful failure” but left an indelible mark on disco history.
