Madonna's estranged brother dead at 66!

msn.com:

Anthony Ciccone has died at the age of 66. Best known as the older brother of global superstar Madonna, 64, the former photographer's assistant passed away on Friday (24.

02. 23), with his death announced the following evening by his brother-in-law Joe Henry, who is married to the 'Like a Prayer' hitmaker's younger sister Melanie.

He wrote on Instagram: "My brother-in-law, Anthony Gerard Ciccone, exited this earthly plane last evening. I’ve known him since I was 15, in the spring of our lives in Michigan so many years now gone. "As brother Dave Henry (who took this photograph) notes here, Anthony was a complex character; and god knows: we tangled in moments, as true brothers can.

But I loved him, and understood him better than I was sometimes willing to let on. But trouble fades; and family remains— with hands reached across the table. " Without revealing a cause of death, the 'Time is a Lion' singer went on to wish "farewell" to his late brother-in-law as he shared his hopes that he has made it to the afterlife.