Tony-Winning Actor Gavin Creel Passes Away at 48

Obituaries

Tony-Winning Actor Gavin Creel Passes Away at 48

Mr. Creel, a beloved fixture of the Broadway community, was known for his performances in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Into the Woods, and more.

Tony winner Gavin Creel, known for performances in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hair, The Book of Mormon and many more, passed away September 30 after a battle with cancer. He was 48. The news was confirmed by his partner, Alex Temple Ward.

Mr. Creel was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of sarcoma in July 2024, and underwent treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering before transitioning to home hospice care.

Mr. Creel was a fixture of the theatrical community, noted for versatile acting performances in a career that saw him often alternate between comedy and drama, leading man and character actor. But performing was only one facet of Mr. Creel’s life. Blessed with a virtuosic voice in every sense of that word, Mr. Creel would also use his gifts as a skilled writer and devoted activist.

Born April 18, 1976 to parents Nancy (Clemens) Creel and James William Creel, Mr. Creel grew up in Findlay, Ohio. Along with frequent sing-alongs with his piano-playing music teacher grandmother, Mr. Creel found his love of Broadway from an elementary school teacher, Nancy Glick, who gave him his first solo with The Music Man‘s “Gary, Indiana.” He would go on to graduate from the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre in 1998. 

After working in regional theatre for a time and performing the national tour of Fame, Mr. Creel made his Broadway debut originating the role of Jimmy Smith in Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2002—the musical opened on his 26th birthday. His performance earned him his first Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actor. 

Mr. Creel would go on to star in a multitude of Broadway shows after his breakthrough performance, including Hair, for which he received his second Tony nomination; La Cage aux Folles; She Loves Me; The Book of Mormon; Waitress; and Hello, Dolly!, the latter of which earned him a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor. Mr. Creel also starred in West End runs of The Book of Mormon, Mary Poppins, and Waitress. For his performance as Elder Price in the original West End production of the former, Mr. Creel received an Olivier Award for Best Actor. 

His most recent stage role was starring as Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf in the 2022 revival of Into the Woods, first at New York City Center Encores! and later in the production’s Broadway transfer and North American national tour.

On screen, Mr. Creel appeared in the films Eloise at the Plaza and Eloise at Christmastime, the filmed version of She Loves Me, and FX’s spin-off American Horror Stories, among other film and television credits. 

But Mr. Creel was a multi-faceted artist who was also an accomplished songwriter apart from his acting. Over his career, he released two full albums, Goodtimenation and Get Out; an E.P., Quiet, which reached number 44 on Billboard’s list of Top Heatseekers; and two singles, “Noise (Equality Now)” and “Whitney Houston.” He was also a devoted activist, co-founding Broadway Impact with Rory O’Malley and Jenny Kanelos in 2009 during the fight for marriage equality. Mr. Creel donated all of the proceeds raised from the sales of Noise to support the group. He also founded a scholarship fund with best friend and fellow Michigan alum Celia Keenan-Bolger aimed at supporting students engaging in social justice causes while at school.

Mr. Creel was commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to create a musical inspired by the institution, which would become Walk On Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice. With a book, music, and lyrics by Creel, the piece was developed at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s 2022 National Music Theater Conference before making its world premiere Off-Broadway at MCC Theater in 2023. With a series of original songs set to a journey through the museum and engaging with its collection, Mr. Creel gave audiences a look inside his own existential crisis, how he’d gotten to where he was at the time, and what kept him moving forward.

When Mr. Creel discussed Walk On Through with Playbill at the time, he explained that the show illustrated how the idea that we are all alone is actually the one thing that connects us all universally. “The one thing that binds us all together is the one that separates us all,” he said. “Even a twin pops out alone before the other twin. Even if we are both in a car that careens off a cliff, one of us is going to hit first and go out first. If you can accept that you are alone in this world, then you can accept that you are not.” While in the interview, Creel pointed to the tattoo on his wrist, the word “both,” inked in simple lowercase typeface. “Both things can be true at the same time,” he added. “Those are both sides of me. There’s the me that only sees dark and shadows; then there’s the me who’s like, ‘There’s so much possibility and hope.’”

Mr. Creel is survived by partner Ward, mother Nancy Clemens Creel, father James William Creel, sisters Heather Creel and Allyson Creel, sister-in-law Jennifer Kolb, and dog Nina. Creel’s family is requesting donations be made in his memory to Broadway Cares. 

Plans for a community celebration of life are forthcoming.