'My brother Michael has left the stage,' his sister, Virginia Madsen, wrote. 'He was thunder and velvet. Mischief wrapped in tenderness. A poet disguised as an outlaw.'

'In the last two years Michael Madsen has been doing some incredible work ... and was really looking forward to his next chapter in his life,' his managers said in a statement.

Kelowna RCMP have released the name of the victim of an explosive fire on Stockwell Ave. Apr. 1 and are now calling his death a homicide. Michael Madsen died in the blaze that gutted the home in the middle of the night. RCMP say he lived at the home with other men and are now...