Gavin Creel dies aged 48: cause of death revealed

Tony Award-winning actor Gavin Creel died at the age of 48.

Creel died on Monday, September 30, at his home in New York. His death was confirmed Us weekly from his partner, Alex Temple Wardby a publicist.

The cause of death was metastatic melanotic sarcoma of the peripheral nerve sheath, which Creel was diagnosed with in July. Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors are a very rare form of cancer that begins in the spinal cord and travels through nerves into the body, reports the Mayo Clinic.

According to Playbill, Creel was treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering before beginning home hospice care.

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Creel made his Broadway debut in 2002 playing Jimmy Smith Thoroughly modern Millie. He received a Tony Award nomination for this role.

During his career, Creel starred in productions by hair – for which he received a Tony Award nomination – La Cage Aux Folles, She Loves Me, The Book of Mormon And waitress. He received a Tony Award for his performance Hello, Dolly! as Cornelius Hackl in 2017.

Creel reflected on his award in a 2018 interview with The San Francisco Chronicle. “The Tony really felt like an embrace from the community I’ve lived in for 20 years,” he said. “That feels good. I literally can't do anything else in my life and still be a Tony winner. I would never have done that.”

In addition to Broadway, Creel also played roles on television, including Eloise in the Plaza And Eloise at Christmas time. He also appeared in Ryan Murphy'S American horror stories.

In 2021, Creel spoke about his role as a gay man in the horror series – which he described as his favorite part of the experience of working on the series.

“I want to tell more gay stories,” he told Theatrely at the time. “Ryan Murphy is the hero who, above all, brings the gay community and its stories to the screen. I'm so excited to have been an interesting, strange and complex gay character, and it's not just the usual stereotypes. He writes, makes and produces all kinds of such stories. If I never play a straight person, that's fine with me. I want it to be interesting or a complicated, beautiful, deep, rich, strange, terrible character who happens to love men, you know? And I’m really happy to be able to do just that.”

Creel is survived by Ward, his parents Nancy Clemens Creel And James William Creel and his sisters Heather Elise Creel And Allyson Jo Creel.