Gavin Creel: Tony Award-winning star dies aged 48
Gavin Creel, the US stage musical and TV actor known for roles in Hair, Hello, Dolly! and American Horror Stories, has died at the age of 48 from a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
Creel, who was diagnosed with sarcoma in July, died at his home in Manhattan, New York, his publicist Matt Polk said.
Soft tissue sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that starts in soft tissue, such as muscle and fat, according to the NHS website.
Creel won a Tony Award for best featured actor in a musical for his portrayal of Cornelius Hackl opposite Bette Midler’s Dolly Levi in the 2017 revival of Hello, Dolly!
Gavin Creel poses with his Tony award in 2017
Pic: Invision/AP
On Instagram, Midler said she “looked forward to working with him every single night”.
His career took off after he starred as Jimmy Smith, opposite fellow newcomer Sutton Foster, in another revival – on Broadway – of Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2002, which won him his first Tony nomination for best leading actor in a musical.
Foster said in a post on Instagram: “My sweet friend. I will love you forever.”
His second Tony nod came seven years later for best leading actor in a musical as Claude Hooper Bukowski in the revival of Hair.
Gavin Creel attends the opening night of ‘Mother Play’ in April.
Pic: Shutterstock
He made his West End debut in 2006 as Bert in Disney and Sir Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins and reprised his role in the West End transfer of Hair in 2010.
Creel went on to win the Olivier Award for best actor in a musical in 2014 for playing Elder Price in The Book Of Mormon, a role he proceeded to play on Broadway.
He also ventured into the world of TV and film, starring in Ryan Murphy’s miniseries American Horror Stories, opposite Matt Bomer in 2021; as well as opposite Dame Julie Andrews in Eloise At The Plaza and Eloise At Christmastime.
Other notable roles include Dr Pomatter in Sara Bareilles’s musical Waitress on Broadway in 2019 and on the West End a year later.
Among those paying tribute was Dear Evan Hansen star Ben Platt, who described Creel as his “first role model, idol, and hero”.
British star Hannah Waddingham said on X she was “shaken to my core” following his death, writing “not this man, not this beautiful, smiley, talented man”.
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Frozen stars Idina Menzel and Josh Gad also paid tribute on social media.
There will be a small private gathering for the family and a celebration of his life will be held for the community at a date to be announced, Mr Polk said.
Entertainment
Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’
Police are taking no further action over Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury.
Officers said they had investigated “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance” at the festival on 28 June.
However, after Crown Prosecution Service advice, they decided there is not enough evidence “to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
The Avon & Somerset force started investigating the Irish group’s show last month, as well as comments by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
It said they were looking at a possible public order incident.
Police said on Friday that the investigation into Bob Vylan’s performance was ongoing.
The London duo were widely criticised – and caused a BBC crisis – after leading on-stage chants of “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).
Kneecap’s Liam Og O Hannaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. Pic: PA
Kneecap posted a photograph on Instagram, which the group said was an email from police announcing the case was being dropped.
They said their packed Glastonbury gig was a “celebration of love and solidarity” and reporting used “wildly misleading headlines”.
Fears over what Kneecap might do or say during the performance had prompted the BBC not to show it live.
The group said: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”
“There is no public apology, they don’t send this to media or post it on police accounts,” they added.
The police statement on Friday said they had informed Kneecap of their decision to drop the case.
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One of the group’s members appeared in court in June charged with a terror offence.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK, at a gig last year.
He was released on unconditional bail ahead of a second court appearance in August.
Entertainment
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
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