English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is recalling his son Nicholas Webber's final moments before dying of stomach cancer.
Nicholas Webber, 43, died March 25 in hospice care. A day before, he was laughing and speaking with his father in P.G. Wodehouse quotes, Andrew Lloyd Webber shared in an essay for The New York Times.
"'Here's one for you,' said Nick, laughing. He had surmised that, after bulletins from New York, his father, as Wodehouse might have put it, was less than gruntled," Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote.
"'Has anybody ever seen a dramatic critic in the daytime? Of course not. They come out after dark, up to no good.' We hugged and said our goodbyes."
That was Andrew Lloyd Webber's last memories of his son.
"The next day, my son died," he wrote. "Nothing's worse for a parent than the death of a child."
On March 19, Andrew Lloyd Webber announced in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter that his son was "critically ill" with gastric cancer, saying that he was "devastated."
"As my friends and family know, he [Nicholas] has been fighting gastric cancer for the last 18 months and Nick is now hospitalized," Andrew Lloyd Webber said, adding that his son was "bravely fighting with his indomitable humor."
Days later, Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed his son's death in a statement to Twitter, telling his followers at the time: "I am shattered to have to announce that my beloved elder son Nick died a few hours ago in Basingstoke Hospital."
He added: "His whole family is gathered together and we are all totally bereft."
Like his father, 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."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.