Andrew Lloyd Webber Remembers Last Interaction With Late Son

The composer's elder son Nicholas 'Nick' Lloyd Webber died of cancer last month at age 43.

Andrew Lloyd Webber is looking back on his last moments with his late son, Nicholas "Nick" Lloyd Webber, who died at the age of 43 on March 25.

The famed composer, 75, announced the news in a heartbreaking social media statement at the time, revealing via Twitter that Nick, who had been battling gastric cancer, had passed away at Basingstoke Hospital in England.

Nearly a month later, Webber published a personal essay in The New York Times, where he remembered the final exchange he had with his son before his death.

"'An apple a day, if well aimed, keeps the doctor away,'" Webber began the essay. "I was speaking in P.G. Wodehouse quotes with my eldest son, Nick, who was in hospice, where he was being treated for cancer just days ago."

"'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. '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."

"The next day, my son died," he continued. "Nothing's worse for a parent than the death of a child."

He also pointed out that writing the rest of the essay, which went on to cover the future of Broadway and the closing of Phantom of the Opera, felt "wrong" to discuss in the wake of the personal tragedy.

"But I'll try," he persisted. "I owe everything to my love of Broadway and its glorious legacy of musicals."

Webber, who is the composer of 13 Broadway musicals, ended his essay by saying, "This has been a season of goodbyes, personal and public," referring to both the loss of his son and the final curtain call of Phantom, the longest-running show in Broadway history.

Being both the musical's creator and composer, Webber took the stage to big farewell to the beloved musical during the final performance, which he dedicated to his late son.

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"I hope you won't mind if I dedicate this performance to my son Nick,' he told the audience, Deadline reported of the final show on Sunday, April 16. "When Nick was a little boy, he heard some of this music."

Sarah Brightman, the original Phantom star, also chimed in at that point, adding, "Yes, he did. When Andrew was writing it, he was right there. So his soul is with us. Nick, we love you very much."

Though Phantom is over, Webber has a new project on his hands, his new show Bad Cinderalla, which opened on Broadway late last month.

Next: King Charles Enlists Andrew Lloyd Webber for Coronation Song