Thursday, July 16, 2009

Frank McCourt gravely ill, brother says

NEW YORK – Frank McCourt is gravely ill with meningitis and is unlikely to survive, the author's brother said Thursday.

Malachy McCourt said that his 78-year-old brother, best known for the million-selling "Angela's Ashes," is in a New York hospice, "his faculties shutting down."

"He is not expected to live," said McCourt, himself an author and performer.

Frank McCourt was recently treated for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, but his brother says he had been doing well until about two weeks ago, when he contracted meningitis.

"He was out and about, being active, doing talks and so forth," Malachy McCourt said.

4 comments:

Janet said...

That's sad. I liked his work. Almost appropo: His brother was on "One life to Live" a number of years ago. I didn't meet him, but spent a day on that set one time. All the actors were very nice.

Relax Max said...

Janet, you spent a dy on One Life to Live? Malachy was on that show? Hmmm. :) Frank is the better writer and he will be missed.

Unknown said...

Sad that we will lose a good writer. Angela's Ashes was a very good book.

Janet said...

It was 1996, prior I think to Angela's Ashes, but that could be wrong. Malachy Court played the Irish bartender when Patrick and what's her name met. It was far and away the best storyline on a soap in years and terribly romantic. Then the writers ruined it the following year by turning Patrick into an ex-terrorist with the bartender as his boss or something. Poor kindly Malachy had to turn all evil and it turned many fans away, including me. I haven't watched it since. Well, I stopped taping it.

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