Las Vegas Headliner Barry Manilow Has Lung Cancer

Posted on: December 22, 2025, 12:03h. 

Last updated on: December 22, 2025, 12:31h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Vegas Myths Busted.
  • Barry Manilow is postponing nine shows scheduled for next month due to a cancer scare
  • Manilow says the cancer was caught early
  • He expects to reschedule the shows, and to continue his Vegas residency starting in February

Barry Manilow, 82, announced Monday morning that he is undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous spot on his left lung.

Barry Manilow performs at the Westgate in September 2023, after breaking Elvis Presley’s record of 636 shows at the property. A year later, the Westgate signed Manilow to what they referred to as a “lifetime residency” contract. (Image: Ethan Miller/Getty)

“The doctors do not believe it has spread, and I’m taking tests to confirm their diagnosis,” the Las Vegas headliner said on Instagram, explaining that an MRI revealed the spot after six weeks of bronchitis and a five-week relapse.

“It’s pure luck (and a great doctor) that it was found so early,” he wrote.

Manilow, who accepted a “lifetime residency contract” from the Westgate in December 2024, was forced to reschedule nine January dates that kicked off the extension of his “The Last Concerts” tour. The shows — in Florida, Georgia, Ohio, and North and South Carolina — will now take place from February 17 to April 29. Those who had tickets to the January concerts can use their tickets for the rescheduled dates.

“I’m very sorry that you have to change your plans,” he wrote. “Just like you, we were all looking forward to the January shows and hate having to move everything around.”

Despite the part about still waiting for test results, Manilow pledges to resume his Westgate Las Vegas residency on Valentine’s Day weekend as scheduled.

“I’m counting the days,” he wrote. Of his recovery, he said: “No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and ‘I Love Lucy’ reruns.”

Manilow first played the Westgate in January 1988, when it was still the Las Vegas Hilton. His first residency there began in December 2009. He then moved to Paris Las Vegas from 2010-2012, returning to the Westgate to launch his current residency, “The Hits Come Home,” in 2018.

Westgate president and GM Cami Christensen said in a statement that the property’s staff is “sending love and support.”

“Our thoughts are with him, and we wish him a speedy recovery.”