Celine Dion's husband Rene Angelil, who discovered the Canadian pop diva and long managed her career, died Thursday aged 73 after a struggle with cancer.
Dion announced his passing in a Twitter message, saying: "Rene Angelil passed away this morning at his home in Las Vegas after a long and courageous battle against cancer."
A spokesman for the singer, Marc Olivier, said more information would be given in the coming days, but for now the family wished to be left to mourn in private.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted his condolences to Dion and to Angelil's six children, including three from a previous marriage.
Born in Montreal to Lebanese-Syrian immigrants, Angelil started out in music dabbling in yeye -- French 60s music -- before trying his hand at comedy, and finally settling on a career in music management.
As a talent agent, he signed one of the biggest names in Quebec music, Ginette Reno, but the arrangement ended abruptly in 1981, leaving Angelil destitute and desperate.
Just then, another opportunity arose.
At age 12, Dion had recorded a demo tape with her mother and sent it to Angelil. He was so struck by her voice that he signed her to an exclusive management contract -- mortgaging his house to finance her debut album.
"I'd never heard anything like it. For me, it was the most beautiful voice in the world," he would recall in interviews.
The businessman set out to make Dion the biggest singer in the world.
His protegee and future wife went on to become one of pop's music's best-known voices, winning five Grammy awards including for the "Titanic" theme song "My Heart Will Go On," and collaborating with stars from Stevie Wonder to Barbra Streisand.
'All my life'
Behind the scenes, Angelil invested Dion's earnings from concerts and 220 million albums sold worldwide in restaurants, dance clubs and golf courses. He launched clothing lines, perfumes and other Dion branded merchandise, building an empire of wealth for them to share.
"There is no other manager like him," Dion once said. "Ninety-nine point nine percent of what's happened to me (my success) is because of Rene."
In 1994, when she was 19 and he was 45, the couple married in an extravagant wedding ceremony that was televised live in Canada, and splashed all over glossy magazines.
"My mother wanted to kill him," Dion said later.
Eventually the couple landed in Las Vegas where Dion played nearly 1,000 shows, earning her more millions.
Their fairytale life, however, took a turn when Angelil was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2013. A year later he stepped down as Dion's manager -- a position he held for more than 30 years.
After taking a break from performing to care for her husband, Dion returned to performing on the Strip in 2015 at Angelil's urging.
In a candid interview with USA Today she described dealing with the pending loss of "the only boyfriend I've ever had" and "the leader of the band all my life."
In a soft voice, she recalled: "I'll say, 'You're scared? I understand. Talk to me about it,'" pausing before adding: "And Rene says to me, 'I want to die in your arms.' OK, fine, I'll be there, you'll die in my arms."
AFP
Fri Jan 15 2016
At age 12, Dion had recorded a demo tape with her mother and sent it to Angelil. - Photo AFP
Enam rakyat Malaysia selamat tiba dari Lubnan, jumlah keseluruhan kini 17 orang dievakuasi
Wisma Putra dalam kenyataan segera memaklumkan, seramai enam orang lagi turut dijadualkan tiba di Malaysia malam ini.
Bekas gabenor New York, anak tiri diserang empat individu
Kedua-dua mangsa mengalami kecederaan di bahagian muka serta badan dan dikejarkan ke hospital untuk menerima rawatan.
Tentera AS lancar serangan di bandar Yaman
AS menyerang 15 sasaran Houthi di kawasan yang dikawal oleh kumpulan yang disokong Iran itu.
Korea Selatan pindahkan 97 rakyatnya dari Lubnan
Kementerian Luar Korea Selatan maklumkan, kesemua mereka tiba di Korea Selatan pada petang Sabtu.
Pelarian tiba di Syria selepas serangan Israel ke atas Lubnan - UNHCR
Lebih 200,000 warga Syria dan Lubnan telah tiba di Syria dari Lubnan sejak serangan Israel bermula 23 September lalu.
[LAPOR LANGSUNG] Lebih 2,000 terkorban di Lubnan akibat serangan Israel
Jumlah mangsa yang maut itu termasuk 261 wanita dan 127 kanak-kanak.
Lebih 2,000 terkorban di Lubnan akibat serangan Israel
Laporan Al Jazeera menyebut, jumlah mangsa yang maut itu termasuk 261 wanita dan 127 kanak-kanak.
AWANI Pagi: Pendayaupayaan Pembangunan Sosio Ekonomi Bagi Memacu Wilayah Persekutuan
Ikuti temu bual bersama Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Wilayah Persekutuan), Dr Zaliha Mustafa di #AWANIPagi jam 7.30 pagi di saluran 501 Astro AWANI.
Pentagon, Jabatan Negara AS beri amaran jenayah perang Israel
Pegawai-pegawai tersebut telah memberi amaran peningkatan jumlah kematian di Gaza mungkin melanggar undang-undang antarabangsa.
200,000 pelarian tiba di Syria selepas serangan Israel ke atas Lubnan - UNHCR
Lebih 200,000 warga Syria dan Lubnan telah tiba di Syria dari Lubnan sejak serangan Israel bermula pada 23 Sept.
Memerangi kanser payudara ketika pandemik COVID-19
Kebanyakan kanser payudara bermula dari sel yang melapisi bahagian saluran (ductal cancer), sebahagian lain bermula pada kelenjar lobul (lobular cancer) dan selebihnya bermula dari tisu-tisu lain.
Pesakit kanser cabar diri sendiri terima kad Krismas dari seluruh Amerika
Ternyata dengan kuasa media sosial, Ryan menerima 3000 kad daripada kesemua 50 negeri di Amerika Syarikat dan 29 negara.
Angelina Jolie umum buang ovari bimbang terjadi kanser
Angelina Jolie hari ini mengumumkan bahawa beliau telah menjalani pembedahan membuang ovari dan tiub fallopio dua tahun lepas.