Barry Manilow, 83, gets cheeky surprise on stage as he returns to touring following cancer battle

It was like the decades had never passed on October 8, 2026 as Barry Manilow returned to the stage in Las Vegas – and had underwear thrown at him.

The singer exclaimed "I'm back!" to the cheering audience before a pair of white men's boxers were thrown at him. "You want me to send this to the laundry?" he quipped before a pair of bright pink panties landed at his feet.

"Now you're dancing!" laughed Barry, who tucked them into his pants and joked: 'I'll keep this one."

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The 83-year-old revealed last December that he was undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous spot on one of his lungs. He is now in remission but the process left him unwell and he postponed several concert dates as well as also canceling a string of events

He canceled two nights of his Las Vegas residency in August, hours before he was due to take to the stage. "We're very sorry but we have to cancel tonight's and tomorrow's performances," a statement read. "Due to technical and vocal problems, we're unable to put on our show."

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In 2025, the "Mandy" singer revealed he had been battling recurring bouts of bronchitis, which affected his ability to perform. By December that same year, after the bronchitis began to wane, the singer was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer after his doctor discovered a tumor on his left lung.

"Even though I was over the bronchitis and back on stage…my wonderful doctor ordered an MRI just to make sure that everything was OK. The MRI discovered a cancerous spot on my left lung that needs to be removed," he shared on Instagram at the time.

He underwent surgery to remove the tumor but while in ICU he was diagnosed with pneumonia, which left him "terrified," he bravely admitted during an appearance on Good Morning America in June.

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More heartache was to come, as the post-surgery appointments revealed it had impacted his vocal abilities.

"My voice. I don't know whether it's coming back," he said. "I did my first sound check about a month ago, and I didn't sound like me at all. I just couldn't believe that. That it's over."

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Barry is married to Garry Kief, his manager, since 2014 but they have been together since 1978. Barry came out publicly as gay in 2017.

Garry has a daughter, Kirsten, who was born in 1976, and Barry - who was previously married to Susan Deixler from 1964 to 1966 - has been present as her step-dad helping to raise her.

In 2023, the singer told People that they had become grandparents when she welcomed a baby via adoption.