One-half of the Broadway Husbands account, the actor was diagnosed with an aggressive form of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) and T-cell lymphoma in 2025
People
By Dave Quinn
January 3, 2026
Bret Hanna-Shuford — a Broadway performer and social media influencer known for his work onstage and for chronicling his life with husband Stephen Hanna-Shuford and their 3-year-old son, Maverick, as part of the account Broadway Husbands — has died less than five months after being diagnosed with cancer. He was 46.
The actor's husband confirmed the news on social media, writing that Bret died in the early hours of Saturday, Jan. 3.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that early this morning we said goodbye to the most amazing man, husband and Papa in the universe,” the post read. “Bret Hanna-Shuford left this world peacefully with love surrounded by his family. Our hearts are broken, but we will continue to make him proud of us.”
Bret had been diagnosed in the summer of 2025 with an aggressive form of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) — rare, life-threatening conditions that affect the immune system.
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, commonly known as HLH, occurs when the body’s immune defenses become dangerously overactive, attacking healthy tissue and organs, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The condition can lead to severe inflammation and organ failure, and requires urgent treatment.
T-cell lymphoma is an aggressive blood cancer involving immune cells and, the organization notes, is frequently linked to HLH, making both diagnosis and treatment more complex. Bret was CD30 negative, meaning his T-cell cancers lacked the CD30 protein marker, making standard targeted therapies (like Brentuximab Vedotin) less effective.
Throughout his illness, Bret and his husband shared updates about his condition and treatment across their social media platforms. Bret had been in the hospital for months, throughout the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
"I really want to go home," Bret said in an October post, after revealing he had been unconscious for three days while in the intensive care unit. "I really miss my son, a lot, and my husband. ... But I'm sending so much love to you, because your love to me has been incredible."
A GoFundMe was launched in August to help support Bret and his family amid mounting medical expenses and the need to step away from work during treatment. Many notable Broadway names have donated to it, including John Tartaglia, Douglas Sills and Thomas Schumacher, the former president and producer of Disney Theatrical Group.
In the fundraiser description, organizer Scott Barnhardt — a close family friend to Bret and Stephen who met Bret in 1999 while both attending Wagner College — explained that it took weeks of "uncertainty, misdiagnoses and countless medical visits" to properly understand what was going on with Bret. The family has just moved into a new home in Orlando, flipping a time that should have been about new beginnings for the family into "an unexpected battle for health and stability."
HANNA-SHUFORD, Bret (Bret McCole Shuford)
Born: 5/20/1979, Beaumont, Texas, U.S.A.
Died: 1/3/2026, Manhattan, New York, U.S.A.
Bret Hana-Shuford’s western – voice actor:
Red Dead Redemption II [voice of Laramy]
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