The theater world is mourning.
Ben Lewis, the West End star best known for his roles in The Phantom of the Opera and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, has died.

The Australian actor passed away at 46, after a battle with bowel cancer.

“One of the greats”
The sad news was shared on Instagram on Monday, October 6, by his friend and Australian TV host Todd Woodbridge, who described Lewis as “one of the greats.”

“Ben was a star on stage as Phantom…in Phantom of the Opera on the West End,” Woodbridge wrote. “More importantly he was one of the great humans, funny, caring, and a wonderful mentor to all of the people he work[ed] with.”