Barry Manilow was spotted in public for the first time on Thursday since cancelling his shows amid his cancer battle.
The 82-year-old singer has been forced to postpone and cancel several tours, including performances from his Las Vegas residency, as he continues to recover after undergoing surgery for stage one lung cancer.
His health issues began last November with two bouts of bronchitis and sore hips, leading to an MRI that revealed a suspicious spot on his lung, resulting in a lobectomy and a week in the ICU.
Now considered cancer-free, he is expected to gradually return to the stage later this year, with rescheduled shows and summer dates still on the calendar.
However, in March, he revealed he was still working to regain his voice, telling The Times, ‘I tried to sing my show, but I have not been able to make it to the end without getting so winded that I have to stop.’
Despite the challenges, the Copacabana singer appeared in high spirits as he stepped out in New York City, looking stylish and upbeat.
Barry Manilow was spotted in public for the first time on Thursday since cancelling his shows amid his cancer battle
Despite the challenges, the Copacabana singer appeared in high spirits as he stepped out in New York City , looking stylish and upbeat
Dressed in a chic black leather jacket and matching pants, the singer completed his look with a pair of designer sunglasses as he stepped out of a vehicle.
The longtime music artist first told his fans in December that he had a cancerous spot on his left lung that would be surgically removed.
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Barry Manilow postpones his Las Vegas residency as he shares health update after cancer surgery
He noted at the time that he would not have to undergo chemo or radiation.
Manilow explained that his doctor had suggested an MRI after he suffered from two separate bouts of bronchitis that lasted for weeks.
‘Even though I was over the bronchitis and back on stage at the Westgate Las Vegas, my wonderful doctor ordered an MRI to make sure that everything was OK,’ he wrote on Instagram .
He added that it was ‘pure luck’ that the spot was discovered early.
A cancerous spot on the lung, called a lung nodule, is common and often benign, but needs evaluation due to its link with lung cancer, the leading cancer killer, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The star is a longtime smoker who has switched to vaping in recent years.
The Copacabana singer revealed late last year that he’d had a cancerous spot on his lung removed, and has since reassured fans he’s ‘recovering well’
Manilow told the London Evening Standard in 2012 that he’d been smoking since age nine. He was spotted vaping in Palm Springs just weeks ago in photos obtained by Daily Mail.
In a December 22 Instagram post, Manilow told fans he would be taking a break to focus on his recovery.
‘The bad news is that now that the Christmas Gift Of Love concerts are over I’m going into surgery to have the spot removed. The doctors do not believe it has spread and I’m taking tests to confirm their diagnosis. So that’s it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns,’ he detailed.
The entertainer was supposed to hit the stage for US tour dates in January 2026, visiting cities including Orlando, Tampa, Charleston, Greensboro and Columbus.
‘The only follow-up is a month to recover and that means we will have to reschedule the January arena concerts… I’m very sorry that you have to change your plans,’ he wrote.
The Mandy singer has overcome numerous health issues, including bronchial pneumonia, a mouth tumour, heart problems and hip surgery, and admitted he’s amazed he can still put on a show.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper in 2019: ‘I’m fine, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’m very old, I should not be able to do this.
‘You saw me going up those stairs on stage – there’s 14 steps up and 14 down, you would think I should be in a wheelchair or something.’
Now considered cancer-free, he is expected to gradually return to the stage later this year, with rescheduled shows and summer dates still on the calendar; (pictured 2024)
He’s also said his love of music and performing is what keeps him going.
The singer who ‘writes the songs that make the whole world sing’ has much more music yet to produce, he told Palm Springs Life in 2015.
‘And it’s a good thing I wound up successful in music, because if I didn’t do this, I’d be in trouble,’ he added.
‘Because I don’t know how to do anything else. And it’s really all I’m interested in. You’d think, after all these years, I’d have found all the colors that interest me – I’ve recorded pop, big band, Broadway, jazz … everything – but there’s always something more I haven’t done.’
He previously revealed that he traded his heavy cigarette-smoking habit for vaping over a decade ago.
