'Phantom of the Opera' star Ben Lewis dies of cancer at 46

Australian native film and stage actor Ben Lewis, best known for his titular role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Phantom of the Opera’, has died of bowel cancer, aged 46.

As reported by the foreign media, actor Ben Lewis, whose credits also include soap opera ‘EastEnders’, besides playing Phantom on stage from 2017 to 2018, died on Monday, October 6, following a battle with bowel cancer, confirmed his friend, tennis star Todd Woodbridge.

“Today we lost Ben Lewis,” he wrote on Instagram, with a tribute to the stage icon. “One my families dearest friends, way too young, and the Australian Musical Theatre family also lost one of the greats!”

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“Ben was a star on stage as Phantom in Love Never Dies and In Phantom of the Opera on the West End.. more importantly he was one of the great humans, funny, caring and a wonderful mentor to all of the people he work with,” Woodbridge added. “So many fond memories of holidays together in Scotland, visiting the dressing rooms of Her Majesty’s Theatre in London to times spent at Wimbledon… and our last pic together in late June at our home.”

“Sending our love to all the family tonight,” he concluded.

Notably, Lewis had learned about his bowel cancer last February, when it had already spread to his lymph nodes and liver. Despite multiple surgeries and chemotherapy, the tumours continued to spread to his lungs and pelvis, and his cancer was determined to be ‘incurable’.