Michael Cuccione, the actor/singer who played Jason “Q.T.” McKnight on MTV’s boy band spoof “2gether,” died Saturday at his home in Vancouver, B.C. Cuccione was 16.
Cuccione, aka “the cute one” of 2gether had battled Hodgkin’s disease since he was a child, according to MTV.com. Doctors said that he died of complications with his cancer treatment.
“His lungs just gave out,” his uncle, also named Michael Cuccione, told MTV. “We weren’t really expecting it.”
Cuccione had been fighting respiratory problems for several months and did not appear in the last several episodes of the MTV series.
“He fought gallantly,” Michael’s mother, Gloria, told ABCNews.com. The teen had been in a car accident in December and was unable to fight off the effects of the crash. He contracted pneumonia, but his lungs were weakened from the chemotherapy he endured as a child to fight Hodgkin’s disease.
Madonna MADONNA AT THE GRAMMYS: There’s still no word yet when or if Madonna will launch a tour to promote her latest album “Music,” but fans can get a glimpse of the performer on stage at the Grammy Awards telecast on Feb. 21.
The Material Mom’s Web site today is confirming that Madonna will perform at the award show. No word yet, however, which song she’ll sing.
STING AWARD STOLEN: Sting has been stung.
The former Police frontman was ripped off today while he was performing on stage. Thieves reportedly broke into the singer’s dressing room in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and ran off with a bag of his “personal effects” which included a human rights award given to him days before by the Chilean government, Reuters reports.
“Sting reported the theft of a bag containing personal effects from his dressing room while he was at a sound test,” a police spokeswoman said, refusing to give further details.
Sting‘s song “They Dance Alone,” about the mothers of those who disappeared under Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s brutal dictatorship under which some 3,000 people were either killed or went permanently ”missing,” became an emblem for the former strongman’s victims and their families.
ANOTHER BRUSH WITH THE LAW: Oasis mate Liam Gallagher is being investigated by British police over allegations that he groped a female staff member of British Airways while she checked him on to a flight bound for Rio de Janeiro, Reuters reports.
The singer, known for his “wild boy” antics, allegedly asked the staffer about her sex life and then grabbed her bottom. The staff member reported the incident to the police. A spokesman for the band had no comment on the official police report.
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