Rob Guest dead at 58 from stroke

THE Princess Theatre was Rob Guest's home away from home in the early 1990s when he was starting his record-breaking run performing the lead in The Phantom of the Opera.

The media gathered there again yesterday, and Guest was the centre of attention, hours after his death in St Vincent's Hospital following a stroke.

"He would have loved all this fuss," said John Frost, his long-time friend and the Australian producer of the hit musical Wicked. "He was an animal of the theatre and he loved doing publicity for the shows. That was all part of what he lived for."

Guest, who played the lead in the Australian production of The Phantom of the Opera for a record 2000-plus performances over seven years, collapsed at his home as he sat at his computer on Tuesday night.

He was placed on life support at St Vincent's Hospital, where he died early yesterday. He completed his 100th performance as the Wizard in Wicked a week ago.

His partner, Kellie Dickerson, who is the show's musical director, was with him at St Vincent's, together with his teenage children, Christopher and Amy, and their mother, Judy Barnes.

Frost said other musicals now running in Australia — The Rocky Horror Show in Melbourne, Billy Elliot in Sydney and The Phantom of the Opera in Brisbane — were dedicating last night's performances to Guest's memory.

A private family funeral will be held early next week, and Frost hopes a memorial service can be held at the Princess or Regent theatre later this month.

Marina Prior, who played opposite Guest's Phantom for two years as Christine, described him as the ultimate professional. "We used to joke that he would go on stage in an iron lung if he had to," she said.

Guest, 58, never missed a performance in the lead role and, before that, failed to go on only once when playing Jean Valjean in Les Miserables for more than two years.

The English-born and New Zealand-raised singer performed more than 40 roles during his career. "It was an absolute privilege to have known him and worked with him," Prior said. "He was a great leader of a company and a great mentor."

She said his dressing room might have had a star on its door, but it was always open for other cast members. "He was an extraordinary person who was very much loved."

Frost said Guest's death had shocked everyone. Guest had not smoked, was not a big drinker and was in great shape.