Gavin Creel, the musical actor who won a Tony Award for it Hello, Dolly! and was nominated for it hair And Thoroughly modern MillieHe died Monday at his home in Manhattan. He was 48.

Creel’s death was confirmed by his partner, Alex Temple Ward, through a publicist, Matt Polk. The cause was metastatic melanotic peripheral nerve sheath sarcoma, a rare type of cancer that Creel only learned he had two months ago.

Gavin Creel was born on April 18, 1976 in Findlay, Ohio and began his career with touring and regional performances in musical theater before landing the breakthrough role of Jimmy Smith opposite Sutton Foster in the Broadway production of Thoroughly modern Millie.

After touring in Stephen Sondheim’s Chicago production Road showCreel made his acting debut in the 2003 film Eloise in the Plaza and its sequel, Eloise at Christmas time.

Creel returned to Broadway in the 2004 revival La Cage aux Folles. Two years later he made his West End debut Mary Poppins. In 2009, he returned to Broadway in the revival of hair and moved to London until 2010, when production moved to the West End. Below hairHe played the lead role in the world premiere of Prometheus bound at the American Repertory Theater.

In 2014, Creel won an Olivier Award for his role as missionary Elder Price in The Book of Mormonstarring in the show’s first national tour and in London’s West End.

In 2017, he played the role of Cornelius Hackl in the revival of ” Hello, Dolly!for which he won the aforementioned Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

Creel’s other stage appearances are included La Cage aux Folles (2004), She loves me (2016), waitress (2019) and Into the forest (2022), among many others. On television, he appeared in two episodes of Ryan Murphy’s American horror stories on FX on Hulu.

The Shubert Organization, the oldest professional theater group in the United States, wrote on X that after Creel’s death, “the lights on Broadway will shine a little less.”

SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union of which Creel was a member, noted that “one of Broadway’s brightest personalities has left us.”

Other tributes on social media include…

“I looked forward to working with him every evening. He was fantastic. I can’t believe he’s gone. What a loss,” wrote Bette Midler on X.

Idina Menzel shared a photo of Creelm on Instagram and wrote: “Sweet, sweet Gavin Creel. An angel among angels.”

“Rest now @realgavincreel” Joy alum Lea Michele wrote on Instagram. “I send my love and prayers to his family and to all who were fortunate enough to know his light.”