Actor Micheal Cuccione who portrayed Jason QT Mcknight on MTVs boy band spoof series 2gether died January 13th in Vancouver, British Columbia. Cuccione who had turned 16 just eight days earlier died when his lungs collapsed after a bout with pneumonia.

Chemotherapy treatments that the actor had endured during his two battles with Hodgkins disease years earlier severely weakened his lungs, making it difficult for him to properly circulate air. Also a small car accident that Cuccione was involved in during early December may have contributed to one of his lungs collapsing. While the family has not officially stated this as a cause of Cucciones illness, the actor was admitted to the hospital just days after the accident complaing of difficulty breathing. He developed pneumonia early during his nearly six week stay in the hospital.

Thousands of friends and family packed into a suburban Vancouver church for a prayer service and funeral the following day. The huge turnout was no surprise as Cuccione had been an active member of the Vancouver community mainly through his efforts to raise money for cancer research. Cuccione, a two time cancer survivor, had raised nearly half a million dollars for Childrens Hospitals in the Vancouver area through his book These are Survivors which detailed his personal fight with Hodgkins disease, and an album of songs he wrote and performed with the money going to charity.

Cucciones first acting credit came in 1997 when he guest starred on an episode of "Baywatch" in which he portrayed a real life cancer victim, who died at the end of the episode. Eerily, the episode was rerun on cable just days before the actors death. It was then that Cuccione met the shows star David Hasslehoff. Hasslehoff was so impressed with Cuccione that he remained in touch with him in the years following, and helped raise money for Cucciones Cancer Foundation. Hasslehoff and Cucciones bandmates in 2gether, Noah Bastian, Evan Farmer, Alex Solowitz and Kevin Farely were among the celebrities present at the funeral and prayer service. Hasslehoff spoke at the ceremony.

Cucciones big break came last year when he was cast to play QT in the first ever MTV made for TV movie 2gether, a parody of the current boy band craze. Although it began as a parody, 2gether quickly became a real boy band. The movie was such a success it lead to two albums both of which debuted in the Billboard Top 20, and a weekly series on MTV and Much Music in Canada, where it is one of the highest rated shows on the network.

Cucciones portrayal of the unique QT character was one of the highlights of the series. The character which had a habit of making out with ladies hands (and sometimes his own) and trying to sneak into clubs to meet pretty girls was a major part of the show that will be sorely missing should the show continue. The character also was afflicted with the fictional liver disease bilary thrombosis, and had written a book called " Living with My Liver". Although the illness was treated lightheartedly on the show, Cuccione enjoyed playing a character that was ill because it would allow him to better identify with the charecter, and better enable him to spread his message to raise money hoping to find a cure for cancer.

Before Cucciones death, six new episodes of the series were taped some of which featured him. Cuccione will appear in four of the six upcoming episodes as he was hospitalized during the taping of the final two. Two of the episodes heavily feature Cuccione and one of them heavily deals with QT's fictional ailment The episodes are scheduled to air on MTV beginning in February , and will be airing with the blessings of the Cuccione family.

The question of what will become of the series after Cucciones death has yet to be answered. MTV may want to renew the show if the ratings for the next six episodes are high enough. The producers of the show have not officially decided if they would continue with just four band members, or introduce a new member. Reportedly, they have ruled out casting somebody else to play to role of QT.

Micheal Cuccione was an inspiration to many people on many levels. Some knew him for his talent to sing and act. Others knew him as a gutsy cancer survivor. But to those who knew him, he will be rememberd as a loving, charming, personable young man who will truly be missed.

In lieu of flowers and cards, the family has asked that donations be made to the Micheal Cuccione Foundation for Cancer research and a donation can be made online at www.makingadifference.org.