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Author Frank McCourt dying, brother says

The 78-year-old writer contracted meningitis and is not expected to survive

People Frank McCourt
Peter Kramer / AP
Frank McCourt, author of "Angela's Ashes," is gravely ill with meningitis.
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updated 11:35 a.m. ET July 16, 2009

NEW YORK - Frank McCourt is gravely ill with meningitis and is unlikely to survive, the author's brother said Thursday.

Malachy McCourt said that his 78-year-old brother, best known for the million-selling "Angela's Ashes," is in a New York hospice with "his faculties shutting down."

"He is not expected to live," said McCourt, himself an author and performer.

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Frank McCourt was recently treated for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, but his brother says he had been doing well until about two weeks ago, when he contracted meningitis.

"He was out and about, being active, doing talks and so forth," Malachy McCourt said.

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