Michael Cuccione

Michael James Cuccione (born January 5, 1985 in Burnaby , British Columbia , Canada, † January 13, 2001 in Vancouver ) was a Canadian film actor , musician and founder of the Michael Cuccione Foundation for Cancer Research .

Life

Michael Cuccione was born the second oldest of three children to Domenic and Gloria Cuccione. His older sister is called Sophia, his younger brother Steven.

In June 1994, the 9-year-old was diagnosed with advanced lymph node cancer. He survived two chemotherapies in both 1994 and early 1995 , but retained permanent damage to the lungs and heart .

Michael began to draw attention to the deadly danger of cancer on radio and television . He visited schools , hospitals and performed at other events. He met with the then Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien and Pope John Paul II in Rome .

According to a quote from the IMDb, his life motto was :

• English : "One person can do so much, but together we can make a difference."
• German : "One person can achieve a lot, but many together can make the difference."

In collaboration with his grandmother, he published a book entitled "There Are Survivors" . He also composed and sang a music album with five songs, which contains the title "Make a Difference" as a cover song. The other songs are called Don't Wanna Say Goodbye, Lock The Door, Never Give Up and When You Are Away.

In 1997, Michael starred as a boy with cancer in Baywatch - The Lifeguards of Malibu , Episode Charlie . In 1999 he was cast for 2gether with four other boys ( Noah Bastian , Evan Farmer , Kevin Farley and Alex Solowitz ) . In the film, five guys formed a boy band that got a large following, even though the band was fictional. The soundtrack for the feature film , which was released in February 2000, hit Billboard's Top 100 chart . In August 2000, the decision was made to turn the film “2gether” into the television series 2gether: The series that was a great success. Although Michael and the boys were only playing a band in front of the film camera , other musicians noticed them. In autumn 2000 "2gether" was the opening act for Britney Spears .

During the filming of the second season of 2gether , Michael had to rely on an oxygen bottle because he was getting increasingly difficult breathing. He was unable to attend many of the band's public appointments. On December 4, 2000, he was hospitalized with pneumonia . During the hospital stay, his lungs failed and he passed away in the presence of his family. Baywatch star David Hasselhoff sang a song in memory of Michael Cuccione at his funeral in Vancouver on January 17, 2001 .

To the foundation

The Michael Cuccione Foundation for Cancer Research received numerous awards during Michael's lifetime : BCTV's Saturday Child , Vancouver Leader of Tomorrow Award and the YTV Achievement Award . As of December 2000, the Foundation had a budget of $ 500,000 CAD .

Web links

• Michael Cuccione in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Official site of the Michael Cuccione Foundation for Cancer Research