Christopher Ciccone, Madonna’s brother, has died at the age of 63. Of the artist’s 5 brothers, he is the best known, since in the 80s and early 90s, he was closely linked to her artistic career. He was a dancer in their shows, appearing for example in the video for ‘Lucky Star’ and in a well-known performance of ‘Holiday’. Above all he was the art director for some of his tours.
Specifically, he was in charge of the art direction of two of Madonna’s most important tours: ‘Blond Ambition Tour’, the most influential of the queen of pop’s shows due to its theatrical nature and its division into acts; and ‘Girlie Show’, which featured ‘Erotica’, also a cult show.
Of course, Christopher has a fundamental role in the documentary that was made about ‘Blond Ambition Tour’, ‘In Bed with Madonna’. He is the one who informs Madonna that she may be arrested in Toronto because of her lewd concert.
The relationship between the two deteriorated in the mid-90s, and especially when Madonna married Guy Ritchie in 2000. Christopher went on to write a book called ‘Living with My Sister Madonna’ in which he claimed that many of the artistic decisions of Madonna had been his, and he left her as a despot. He has also directed videos for Dolly Parton and Tony Bennett.
The death of Christopher Ciccone began to be discussed on social networks this Saturday, but it was not until early this Sunday – US time – when TMZ confirmed the news. The media claims that Christopher had prostate cancer.
News that shakes the Ciccone family just a few days after Joan, Madonna’s stepmother, also died from cancer. Madonna’s father, Silvio Ciccone, turned 93 this June.
Two days after his death, Madonna said goodbye to her brother with an emotional text in which she revealed that they both reconnected due to his illness:
“My brother Christopher is gone. For a long time, he was the closest human being to me. It’s hard to explain our bond. But it was born from the understanding that we were different and that society was going to give us a hard time for not following the status quo. We held hands and danced through the madness of our childhood.
In fact, dancing was the glue that brought us together. Discovering dance in our small Midwestern town saved me and then my brother joined in and saved him too. My ballet teacher, who was also named Christopher, created a safe space for my brother to be gay. A word that could not be spoken or whispered where we lived.
When I finally had the courage to go to New York to become a dancer, my brother followed me. And again we held hands and danced through the madness of New York. We devour art, music and cinema like hungry animals. We were at the epicenter of all these things exploding. We danced through the madness of the AIDS epidemic. We went to funerals and we cried, and we kept dancing. We danced together on stage at the beginning of my career, and at the end, he became the creative director of many tours.
When it came to good taste, my brother was the Pope, and you had to kiss his ring to get his blessing. We challenge the Roman Catholic Church, the Police, all the figures of moral authority who stood in the way of artistic freedom. My brother was by my side. He was a painter, a poet and a visionary. I admired him. He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue, which he sometimes used against me. But he always forgave him.
We climb together to the highest peaks and stagger at the lowest. Somehow, we always meet again, hold hands and continue dancing.
The last few years have not been easy. We didn’t speak for a while, but when my brother got sick, we found our way to meet again. I did everything I could to keep him alive as long as possible. In the end I was suffering so much that, once again, we held hands, closed our eyes and danced together. I’m glad you’re not suffering anymore. There will never be anyone like him. “I know he’s dancing somewhere.”
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