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Macaulay Culkin is again the subject of death hoaxes, with the latest alleging that he was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on Friday just seven months after the last rumour.
The claims about the actor and musician, who rose to fame after starring in the 1990 classic family comedy Home Alone and is now in a band called Pizza Underground, spread quickly on social media from Thursday.
The misleading report on MSNBC.website (not to be confused with the real MSNBC) said: "Sources are reporting that Macaulay Culkin, best known for his role as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone and sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, has been found dead at the age of 34."
Fans of the former actor's work posted emotional tributes after hearing the false claims about his wellbeing.
"Multiple unconfirmed reports say Culkin was found dead Friday afternoon in his Manhattan apartment after police responded to a wellness check requested by a family member.
"At least one occupant of the Manhattan apartment confirmed the apartment belongs to Culkin but police have not confirmed the man’s identity at this time.
"'The apartment was exceptionally clean and we found no signs of abuse or foul-play so we are depending on the coroner to make a final ruling of what happened here today,' said Det. James Patterson, of the Manhattan Police Department," the hoax statement added.
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Pizza Underground perform Velvet Underground parody songs with pizza-themed lyrics and the five-man band have toured the UK and US.
In May this year, Macaulay stormed off stage during gig in Nottingham and cancelled the rest of his UK tour after he was booed and pelted with pints of beer by the audience during his kazoo solo performance.
He is also ranked second on VH1's "100 Greatest Kid Stars" after Shirley Temple and also starred in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and Richie Rich.
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