{"id":26863,"date":"2025-10-07T19:42:04","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T19:42:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=26863"},"modified":"2025-10-07T19:42:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T19:42:04","slug":"phantom-of-the-opera-star-has-died-of-bowel-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=26863","title":{"rendered":"Phantom of the Opera star has died of bowel cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"136\" data-end=\"618\"><strong data-start=\"136\" data-end=\"170\">A Voice That Defined the Stage<\/strong><br data-start=\"170\" data-end=\"173\" \/>The theater community is mourning <strong data-start=\"207\" data-end=\"220\">Ben Lewis<\/strong>, the acclaimed West End star best known for <em data-start=\"265\" data-end=\"291\">The Phantom of the Opera<\/em> and <em data-start=\"296\" data-end=\"313\">Love Never Dies<\/em>. The Australian actor passed away at 46 after a battle with bowel cancer. The news was confirmed on October 6 by close friend and TV host Todd Woodbridge, who described Lewis as \u201cone of the greats\u201d\u2014a warm, funny, and deeply generous soul remembered with love by friends and colleagues around the world.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"620\" data-end=\"1023\"><strong data-start=\"620\" data-end=\"643\">A Relentless Battle<\/strong><br data-start=\"643\" data-end=\"646\" \/>Lewis was diagnosed with bowel cancer in February 2024. Despite surgery and months of intensive chemotherapy, the disease spread rapidly to his liver, lungs, and pelvis. A fundraiser for his family revealed that doctors deemed his condition incurable, yet he faced the illness with quiet strength and grace, continuing to inspire those around him through courage and dignity.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1025\" data-end=\"1525\"><strong data-start=\"1025\" data-end=\"1061\">A Career of Extraordinary Talent<\/strong><br data-start=\"1061\" data-end=\"1064\" \/>Born in London to a family of classically trained singers, Lewis studied at the Royal College of Music and Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. His breakout role as the Phantom in <em data-start=\"1254\" data-end=\"1271\">Love Never Dies<\/em> launched him to stardom in Australia and later on London\u2019s West End, where his powerful voice and emotional depth earned him wide acclaim. His performance was immortalized in Universal\u2019s filmed production, cementing his legacy for audiences worldwide.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1527\" data-end=\"1938\"><strong data-start=\"1527\" data-end=\"1556\">A Life of Love and Legacy<\/strong><br data-start=\"1556\" data-end=\"1559\" \/>Beyond the stage, Lewis was admired for his devotion to his wife, actress <strong data-start=\"1633\" data-end=\"1650\">Melle Stewart<\/strong>, who suffered a life-changing stroke in 2021. His unwavering care for her showed the same compassion that defined his life and art. Ben Lewis leaves behind not just a remarkable career, but a legacy of kindness, artistry, and a voice that will echo in the hearts of those who heard it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Voice That Defined the StageThe theater community is mourning Ben Lewis, the acclaimed West End star best known for The Phantom of the Opera and Love&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26864,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Phantom of the Opera star has died of bowel cancer -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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