Céline Dion's husband, René Angélil, dies of cancer

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      The man who managed one of Canada's most well-known talents into international stardom has died.

      René Angélil, husband and former manager of Céline Dion, died on January 14 at the age of 73 in Los Angeles, two days before his 74th birthday, after a long battle with throat cancer.

      He previously had two other bouts of throat cancer.

      Dion had put her career on hold last summer to care for her husband.

      Angélil discovered Dion, from Charlemagne, Quebec, when she sent him a demo tape when she was 12 years old in 1980. Despite a 26 year age difference, they became a couple and married in 1994.

      Angélil, who was born in Montreal and is of Syrian and Lebanese descent, began as a pop singer himself, and formed the pop-rock group The Baronets.

      The couple had three children: 14-year-old René-Charles, and five-year-old twins Eddy and Nelson.

      A statement was released on social media from Dion's management:

      On Facebook, the message also states: "The family requests that their privacy be respected at the moment; more details will be provided at a later time."

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