MUSIC
Madonna’s brother Christopher Ciccone dies at 63
Madonna’s brother, Christopher Ciccone, has “died peacefully” of cancer on Friday in Michigan.
Tragedy strikes the queen of pop once again and after the passing of her older brother, Anthony Ciccone last year, this weekend the news broke that Madonna’s other brother, Christopher has died at the age of 63 years old.
The news has been picked up by a series of US outlets with cancer being cited as the cause of death and comes a fortnight after the passing of Madonna’s stepmother, Joan Clare Ciccone.
Christopher was closely linked to his sister’s artistic career, and worked as a director organizing several concert tours, music videos and movies. He was spent some time as Madonna’s personal assistant and designed part of the wardrobe for her world tours.
Their relationship between the two siblings was not always smooth and this was detailed in Christopher’s book (Life with my Sister Madonna) where he claimed that the romance he had with English film director Guy Ritchie “was the death knell of my relationship with her”.
Christopher was an artist, interior decorator and designer and served as the art director on Madonna’s Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990 and was the tour director for her The Girlie Show in 1993.
He also directed music videos for Dolly Parton, and Tony Bennett in the 1990s and had a more settled life than elder brother Anthony Ciccone.
Madonna’s older brother, struggled with alcoholism and was homeless for many years, even living under a bridge. “I’m a zero in their eyes, I’m an embarrassment,” he went on to tell the ‘Daily Mail’ in 2011, “if I froze to death, my family probably wouldn’t know or care about it.”
Madonna grew up with her siblings in the city of Detroit before moving to New York City in 1978 anxious to establish a career for herself in the music industry with brother Christopher soon following her footsteps. Madonna and her siblings lost their biological mother to breast cancer in 1963.