Curious World Staff
Gavin Creel, a Tony Award-winning Broadway actor known for roles in musicals such as Hello, Dolly! and Hair, died Monday in Manhattan at the age of 48. His girlfriend confirmed the cause as metastatic melanotic peripheral nerve sheath sarcoma, a rare and deadly malignancy diagnosed in July.
Creel, born in Findlay, Ohio, on April 18, 1976, made his Broadway debut in 2002 in Thoroughly Modern Millie, earning his first Tony nomination. Despite an early injury, he returned to the stage, shining in musical comedy. His career included standout performances in The Book of Mormon, La Cage Aux Folles, and Waitress. In 2017, Creel won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly!.
He also acted in London’s West End, most notably in Hair and The Book of Mormon, as well as Sondheim’s Bounce at Chicago’s Goodman Theater.
Broadway luminaries paid tribute to Creel following his passing. Actor Josh Gad called him “far too young, far too early,” while Idina Menzel remembered him as “an angel among the angels.”
