Andrew Lloyd Webber's Oldest Son Dies at 43

Andrew Lloyd Webber's oldest son, Nicholas Lloyd Webber, has died at age 43 from gastric cancer.

Taking to Twitter, the Oscar-winning composer announced his son's death Saturday, saying that he was surrounded by his family.

"I am shattered to have to announce that my beloved elder son Nick died a few hours ago in Basingstoke hospital. His whole family is gathered together and we are all totally bereft," Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote. 

Days earlier, Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed that his son was "critically ill" and said he would not attend the opening night of the Broadway musical "Bad Cinderella," which he composed, last Thursday at the Imperial Theatre. 

"As my friends and family know, he [Nicholas] has been fighting gastric cancer for the last 18 months and Nick is now hospitalized," he said in a statement at the time to The Hollywood Reporter.

"We are all praying that Nick will turn the corner," he said. "He is bravely fighting with his indomitable humor, but at the moment my place is with him and the family."

Nicholas Lloyd Webber was also a successful composer who notably scored the BBC One series "Love, Lies and Records," the film "The Last Bus," and the short "Mr. Invisible." In 2021, he also scored the original cast album for "Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella."

Nicholas Lloyd Webber was born in July 1979 to Andrew Lloyd Webber and his former wife Sarah Hugill. He rose to prominence after his musical adaptation of "The Little Prince" was performed at the Lyric Belfast in 2011-12. 

Nicholas Lloyd Webber told The Telegraph in 2011 that although he was initially self-conscious of his famous pedigree, he eventually learned to embrace it.

"For a long time, I dropped the Lloyd bit to see what the reaction would be," he said. "I got some stuff on the radio, so I thought, OK, I'm obviously not a complete idiot. Then I thought, Hang on, if other people are prepared to work with me without the surname, then maybe I should just get on with it."

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