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 We weekly by his partner, Alex Tempelwijkthrough a publicist.

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

According to Playbill, Creel underwent treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering before beginning hospice care at home.

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

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

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

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

In 2021, Creel opened up about his role as a gay man on the horror series – which he called his favorite part about the experience of working on the show.

“I want to tell more gay stories,” he told Theaterly at the time. “Ryan Murphy is the hero who especially puts the gay community and stories on screen. I’m so excited that I’ve been an interesting, weird, and complex gay character, and it’s not just the standard stereotypical characters. He writes and creates and produces all kinds of stories. If I never play a straight man, that’s fine with me. I want it to be interesting or a complicated, beautiful, deep, rich, weird, horrible character who just happens to like men, you know? And I am very happy that I was able to do exactly 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.