Rebecca Luker, ‘The Broadway’ actress who portrayed the iconic role of Christine in “The Phantom of the Opera” and Marian the librarian in “The Music Man,” has passed away at the age of 59.
Rebecca Luker agent Sarah Fargo confirmed to The New York Times that the actress had passed away on Wednesday in a hospital in Manhattan.
Rebecca Luker died Wednesday after a year-long battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease also called ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Rebecca Luker husband Danny Burstein in a statement said;
“Our family is devastated. I have no words at this moment because I’m numb,”
During her prominent career of over three-decade, Luker snagged three Tony Award nominations.
Rebecca Luker Illness and Cause Of Death
Actress Rebecca Luker was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in late 2019. Luker announced on February 9, 2020, that she was suffering from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
She tweeted:
“Hello friends. I have some tough news. Late last year I was diagnosed with ALS. I have the best medical care in the world and the greatest support. My dear husband Danny has been an angel. I will get well. In the meantime, we fight and go forward. Keep us in your thoughts.”
As of June 2020, she could still sing, as she recorded a Zoom performance to raise money for the development of prosetin, an experimental drug that rescues motor neurons in ALS patients.
However, in October 2020, Luker told NPR she had been confined to a wheelchair for seven months, and THE disease had progressed to the point where she had “no diaphragm,” thus could not speak loudly.
ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and causes the loss of muscles and eventual paralysis.
There is no cure for the illness, and the average life expectancy for people diagnosed with ALS is three to five years, according to the ALS Association
Cause Of Death
Actress Rebecca Luker cause of death was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. She passed away battling(ALS) for a long time.
Rebecca Luker died at a hospital in Manhattan on December 23, 2020, at the age of 59, her agent Sarah Fargo confirmed to the New York Times. Her husband Burstein told TODAY in a statement:
“Our family is devastated. I have no words at this moment because I’m numb. Thank you for the overwhelming amount of love & support. We feel you here with us.”
Rebecca Luker Wiki / Biography
Rebecca Luker was an American actress, singer, and recording artist. She appeared in several musical theatre productions on Broadway. She began her three-decade-long Broadway career as an understudy for the role of Christine Daaé in “The Phantom of the Opera” from 1988 to 1991.
Rebecca Luker left in 1991 to originate the role of Lily in the Secret Garden musical, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. By 1995, she received her first Tony nomination for a revival of Show Boat; in the musical’s long Broadway history, she was the only actor nominated for a Tony for the role of Magnolia Hawks.
Rebecca Luker received subsequent Tony nominations for the role of Marian Paroo in a 2000 revival of The Music Man and Mrs. Banks in the original cast of the Mary Poppins musical, which she starred in from 2006–10.
Luker largely played stage roles but also guested on TV shows like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Good Wife, and Boardwalk Empire. Her final Broadway role was as a replacement in Fun Home in the role of mother Helen Bechdel. She took the stage for the final time in a 2019 Kennedy Center production of Footloose, as preacher’s wife Vi Moore.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, she received her bachelors of arts in music from the University of Montavello in Alabama in 1984, before which she took a break to join the Michigan Opera Theater where she met a New York agent that would lead her to a Broadway career beginning with “The Phantom of the Opera.” Her other Broadway credits include “The Secret Garden” (1991-1993), “The Sound of Music” (1998-1999), “Nine” (2003), “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella” (2013-2014) and “Fun Home” (2016).
Rebecca Luker Husband Danny Burstein
Actress Rebecca Luker had been married to her husband actor Danny Burstein since June 200. In April 2020, Burstein along with several other cast members of Moulin Rouge!, in which he was starring, contracted COVID-19.
He was subsequently hospitalized at St. Luke’s in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan and recovered.
Rebecca Luker husband Danny Burstein is devasted by his wife passing away as they shared a very close bond with each other.
Rebecca Luker Net Worth?
As per sources, the actress who has a prominent career of over three-decade had ner worth in millions of dollars.
Apparently, sources claim actress Rebecca Luker net worth estimation to be at $2 million dollars.
