Actress Virginia Madsen shared a heartbreaking tribute to her brother, actor Michael Madsen, just hours after his death.
“My brother Michael has left the stage,” Virginia said in a statement given to Variety. “He was thunder and velvet. Mischief wrapped in tenderness. A poet disguised as an outlaw. A father, a son, a brother — etched in contradiction, tempered by love that left its mark.”
Madsen died July 3 at his Los Angeles home from cardiac arrest, his manager, Ron Smith, confirmed to Entertainment Weekly. He was 67.
In her heartfelt words about him, Virginia, 63, explained, “We’re not mourning a public figure. We’re not mourning a myth — but flesh and blood and ferocious heart. Who stormed through life loud, brilliant, and half on fire. Who leaves us echoes — gruff, brilliant, unrepeatable — half legend, half lullaby.”
Virginia spoke about the time she and Michael spent together in their childhood days. They had one sister, Cheryl.
“I’ll miss our inside jokes, the sudden laughter, the sound of him. I’ll miss the boy he was before the legend; I miss my big brother,” she said. “Thank you to everyone reaching out with love and memory. In time, we’ll share how we plan to celebrate his life — but for now, we stay close, and let the silence say what words can’t.”
Tibrina Hobson/FilmMagic
Michael Madsen and sister Virginia photographed in 2014
Michael Madsen was best known for his frequent collaborations with director Quentin Tarantino, on movies such as 1992’s Reservoir Dogs, in which he played Mr. Blonde, and both volumes of Kill Bill. The two also teamed up on the movies The Hateful Eight (2015) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).
His other work included movies such as Thelma & Louise, The Doors, and Donnie Brasco.
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The siblings grew up together in their hometown of Chicago, where Michael fell in love with acting after being wowed by seeing actor John Malkovich in a stage show.
After both ended up in the entertainment industry, they appeared to have stayed on good terms, often attending each other’s premieres. Sister and brother costarred in the 2007 satirical documentary Being Michael Madsen as fictionalized takes on themselves.
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