Musician Eddie Money died Friday following a battle with Stage 4 esophageal cancer. He was 70.
“The Money Family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning,” Money’s family said in a statement to TheWrap Friday. “It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our loving husband and father. We cannot imagine our world without him. We are grateful that he will live on forever through his music.”
AXS TV, the cable network that carries Money’s reality show, “Real Money,” said in its own statement later Friday: “We are incredibly saddened to hear that Eddie Money passed away. Our thoughts are with Laurie, Jesse, Dez, Joe, Julian and Zach at this time.”
The channel says “to honor Eddie Money’s life and legacy” it will continue to air the final five episodes of “Real Money” on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT. It’s also set a tribute to Money for this and, starting at 8:30 a.m. ET, will air “Eddie Money: The Real Money Concert,” “Real Money” and his sit-down interview with Dan Rather on “The Big Interview.”
“Eddie Money was the very definition of a rock n’ roll icon, and one of the industry’s finest entertainers,” said Len Asper, Anthem Sports and Entertainment Founder and CEO, Friday. “We are honored to be able to play a part in keeping his legacy alive, giving viewers a glimpse at the man behind the music on ‘Real Money’–showing the world the unmatched charm and charisma that made Eddie such an incredible husband, father, and showman. He will deeply missed.”
“We are deeply saddened that we have lost the incomparable Eddie Money. Eddie was a true American original and a rock legend through and through,” said Mark Cuban, founder of AXS TV. “His enduring hits have been the soundtrack for generations of fans, and his one-of-a-kind sense of humor endeared him instantly to everyone he met. We have sincerely enjoyed working with him and his entire talented family on his reality show ‘Real Money’, and we extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Laurie; their children Zach, Jesse, Joe, Dez and Julian; and his many friends during this difficult time. He will be missed immensely by all of those who knew and loved him. But, if we know Eddie, he’s rocking right now in heaven, doing what he always loved.”
Money, whose real name was Edward Mahoney, burst on the music stage in the late ’70s when he charted with singles “Baby Hold On” and “Two Tickets to Paradise.” He was one of the first artists to take advantage of the MTV music video era in the early ’80s with his video for “Shakin’,” which featured future “Purple Rain” star Apollonia.
Last month, the “Take Me Home Tonight” singer-songwriter revealed on an episode of “Real Money” that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 esophageal cancer.
“I thought I was going in for a check-up and [the doctor] told me I have cancer,” Money said in a clip of featuring him and his wife Laurie Money discussing his diagnosis. “When we found out that I had cancer and that it was Stage 4 and that it was in my liver and my lymph nodes and a little bit in my stomach… it hit me really, really hard.”
“What I don’t want to do is, I don’t want to keep the fact that I have cancer from everybody,” Money said. “I want to be honest with everybody. I want people to know that cancer has come a long way and not everybody dies from cancer like they did in the ’50s and the ’60s. Am I going to live a long time? Who knows? It’s in God’s hands. But you know what? I’ll take every day I can get. Every day above ground is a good day.”
Money, who had suffered from drug addiction, joined a 12-step program in 2001. He received his cancer diagnosis last fall while filming the second season of “Real Money.”
His songs have appeared in several films, (including a pivotal scene in 2010’s “MacGruber”), TV shows and video games. Money himself had cameo appearances on CBS’ “King of Queens” and Netflix’s “The Kominsky Method.”