Broadway actor Clifton Oliver, who is known for playing Simba in 'The Lion King', dies at 47

The actor died due to an undisclosed illness on Wednesday.

Confirming the death of the actor, his sister Roxy Hall posted on Facebook: "My baby brother, Clifton Oliver, has had his final curtain call. It was peaceful. His partner Richard, was singing to him the song Psalm 23 as he took his last breath this morning at 3:20 AM."

"He had a Gorgeous smile on his Beautiful face!! He went twirling into the afterlife ready to make his Grand Appearance as the Star of his Homecoming Celebration! My heart is sad, and overjoyed at the same time! I will miss him, but he is finally at peace!" she wrote.

She said: "He will be missed, but never forgotten! He lives within all of us! As the song goes in one of his most prominent roles of Simba in the Lion King on Broadway, He Lives In Me! I will value my time with him the last six weeks of his life that I spent at his bedside in the hospital and then finally hospice."

"I was able to love on my baby brother, and I will always cherish the memories of having an honor and privilege to do just that! There will be more information to come, as we begin to plan the Celebration of Clifton Oliver!" the actor's sister said.

Oliver was born on December 3, 1975, in Jacksonville, Florida.

Oliver attended the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts before moving to New York City in 2010 to start his career on Broadway, where he joined the ensemble of Wicked and served as an understudy for Fiyero, Playbill reported.

He also played the role of Benny in In the Heights alongside Jordin Sparks. Oliver also opened the Las Vegas production of The Lion King as Simba, a role he later played in the national tour and finally on Broadway in 2011, reported the popular news outlet and guide for the Broadway theater community.