Ben Lewis, Phantom of the Opera star, dies at 46 from bowel cancer

Ben Lewis, an Australian-born musical theatre actor best known for playing the title role in The Phantom of the Opera on London’s West End and the Phantom in the original Australian production of Love Never Dies, has died in Sydney at age 46 after a battle with bowel cancer, his friend Todd Woodbridge said on social media. Woodbridge, a television presenter and former professional tennis player, described Lewis as “one of the great humans, funny, caring and a wonderful mentor” and said he and the Australian musical theatre community had lost one of their greats.

Lewis’s death follows a period of intensive treatment after an initially diagnosed cancer that doctors found had spread beyond the bowel. According to a fundraiser established for Lewis and his wife, the disease involved lymph nodes and the liver and, after multiple surgeries and courses of chemotherapy, was later found to have metastasized to the lungs and pelvis and to be incurable. The fundraiser also included updates from Lewis describing the couple’s gratitude for support and the strain of managing both his illness and his wife’s ongoing health needs.

Lewis trained in voice at London’s Royal College of Music and at...