Madonna has posted a tribute to her brother, Anthony Ciccone, who died aged 66 last week.
“Thank you for blowing my mind as a young girl and introducing me to Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Buddhism, Taoism, Charles Bukowski, Richard Brautigan, Jack Kerouac, expansive thinking, outside the box,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories, posting a photo of her brother having drinks with a group of people.
“You planted many important seeds.”
Anthony’s death was announced by his and Madonna’s brother-in-law, musician Joe Henry. His cause of death has not been disclosed.
Madonna – full name Madonna Louise Ciccone – grew up with Anthony and their six other siblings, Martin, Paula, Melanie, Christopher, Jennifer and Mario in the outskirts of Detroit.
Anthony was the eldest child of the singer’s parents, Tony and Madonna Ciccone.
He lived on the streets for years due to his struggle with alcoholism. He was arrested at least twice, in one case reportedly needing stitches after drunkenly fighting with police officers.
Anthony first became homeless in Los Angeles in the late Nineties, before being given a second chance with a job at the Michigan vineyard owned by his father Silvio Anthony Ciccone in 2005.
In 2010, he was fired from that role and ended up sleeping rough in the freezing Great Lakes state.
He has given several interviews over the years criticising his family for their alleged lack of support, but there are reports that Madonna had paid for him to go to rehab.
Anthony began to seek treatment for his alcoholism in 2017, and it is thought that he reconnected with his parents in his final years.
If you or someone you know is suffering from alcohol addiction, you can confidentially call the national alcohol helpline Drinkline on 0300 123 1110 or visit the NHS website here for information about the programmes available to you.
