The Australian stage has lost one of its greats. Musical theatre star Rob Guest died last night at the age of 57.
He suffered a massive stroke on Tuesday night, and was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital suffering bleeding from the brain. He never recovered.
The English-born entertainer started his career as a pop star in New Zealand in the 70s before moving to Las Vegas in the 80s. But it was in Australia where he made his home. He came to play Jean Valjean in Les Miserables in 1991 and never left.
But he will be remembered most fondly as The Phantom of the Opera, a role he played a world record 2289 times over a nine-year period.
Before he passed away, Rob was playing The Wizard in the Melbourne production of Wicked.
Rob Guest is survived by his partner Kellie Dickerson and teenage children Christopher and Amy. He will be sorely missed.