Ren Anglil dead: Cline Dion's husband dead at 73

Ren Anglil, the man who transformed Cline Dion from little-known teen francophone chanteuse tointernational pop superstar, has died.

Anglil, who started as Dion's manager and later became her husband, was 73.

He had undergone cancer treatment several times in the past two decades.

Last summer, Dion announced she was putting her career on hold to care for her ailing husband,cancelling all future performances of her Las Vegas show as well as an upcoming Asian tour slated tobegin in the fall.

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In his final years,Anglillived inLasVegas with Dion and their three children:Ren-Charles, 14, and five-year-old fraternal twins Eddy and Nelson.

Family requests privacy

A statement released by Francine Chaloult, a spokeswoman for Dion, saidAnglil died at his home in Las Vegas after a "courageous battle against cancer." The statement also said the family "requests that their privacy be respected at themoment" and that"more details will be provided at alater time."

Dion went to Facebook to announce the death of her husband.

Found early fame in Montreal boy band

Before he became the man behind the powerhouse vocalist,Anglilhad his first brush with the spotlighton stage.

In the early60s, theMontrealermade a name for himself in the boy band Les Baronets alongside twochildhood friends.

The group took English pop songs from groups like The Beatles and translated them into French.

They enjoyed short-term success and had a few hits.

After the group broke up in 1972,Anglilchanged gears and went into talent management.

He took on some of Quebec's biggest pop artists, includingRenSimardandGinetteReno. The lattersaw a resurgence in popularity after she was deemed the MontrealCanadiens' lucky charm forsinging the national anthem during their playoff run.

But it was the bigger-than-life voice of Dion that truly launchedAnglil'scareer into the stratosphere.

He discovered Dion, 26 years his junior, when she sent him a demo tape when she was 12 years old.

He mortgaged his house to launch her career and told anyone who would listen that he was going tomake the songstress a worldwide star.

The two eventually developed a romantic relationship, one that was initially kept secret.

They eventually married in 1994 at Montreal'sNotre-DameBasilica.

Surviving a bout of throat cancer in the late1990s,Angliland Dion welcomed their first son in 2001.

The twins were conceived nearly a decade later throughin vitrofertilization.

Extortion plot

While he lived life in the spotlight that shone brightly on his wife,Anglilmade his own headlines with hishigh-stakes gambling habit and an extortion plot that aimed to take him for $13.5 million.

In 2003, a California minister and his wife were sentenced to 28 months in prison afterdemanding millions from the manager in return for keeping quiet about an alleged sexual assaultinvolvingAngliland the minister's wife.

Investigators later confirmed the assault claim was bogus andAnglilwas never charged.

However, he did pay the couple $2 million and underwent a blood test to screen for HIV as part of aconfidential agreement reached with the pair in 2000.

Anglil'slegal team maintained that the money didn't amount to an admission of guilt and that he settledthe matter because he feared for his health and did not want negative publicity.

Cline Dion halts career to care for husband

10 years ago

Duration 2:58

Canada's pop superstar announces decision to postpone her show business activities to tend to Ren Anglil and their children

Other business ventures

His top client always remained Dion, butAnglilwas involved in a number of other entertainmentventures during the course of his career.

In 2008, he was named director of the popular Quebec reality show StarAcadmie, a French-languagesinging competition in the American Idol genre.

In 2012, a conglomerate that included Dion andAnglil, purchased beloved Montreal landmarkSchwartz's Deli for an undisclosed sum.

Anglilwas also an avid poker player and qualified for several high-level tournaments, including theWorld Series of Poker.

Angliland Dion were appointed members of the Order of Canada in 2012.

In his citation, Governor General David Johnston calledAnglilan "example of generosity," noting thathe helped created the firstotorhinolaryngologyoncology research chair in Quebec and that he was anhonorary lifetime patron ofSainte-JustineHospital in Montreal.

Anglilstepped aside as Dion's manager in June.

At the time, rumours had suggested his battle with cancer had taken a turn for the worse.

But Dion tried to defuse the speculation at a charity fundraiser in Montreal in July, telling reporters that her husband was "doing really well," and "working really hard on his health."

No funeral plans have yet been made public.