Ellen DeGeneres mourns the loss of Matthew Wright, who worked as executive producer on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for 16 years and appeared frequently on the show. Wright died Friday, Oct. 30, “in an unfathomable tragedy” while working remotely in Los Angeles, according to a GoFundMe for his family. He was 52 years old. No details about the cause of his death have been shared.
“In an unfathomable tragedy, Matt Wright passed away on October 30 while working remotely in Los Angeles. His husband, father, sister and niece are in New York, desperate to be reunited for a proper goodbye. We are asking all of his friends, whom Matt loved so much, to help the family at this time. As many of you know, Matt and Justin were both laid off this summer. And the unexpected costs of getting Matt home, to the funeral and to the memorial ceremony are impossible for the family to bear,” the statement said. GoFundMe continued.
“If Matt has ever made you laugh, said a word of encouragement just when you needed it, or ordered one appetizer too many for the whole table to enjoy, now is the time to return the favor. Please donate what you can and share it with everyone who has been in the orbit of Matt’s huge heart. And when you’re at dinner and you see a sunset, know that Matt is looking down, loving you, but being extremely disappointed with what you ordered.
DeGeneres shared a tearful video, saying: “He was an amazing guy. He was funny. God, he made me laugh. He surprised me with things he did all the time. He was smart. He was kind. He was part of our show that – I mean, everyone loved him. I loved him. And it’s just shocking – it’s shocking,” she said. “We will miss him. He is and always will be the glue that holds our entire ‘Ellen Show’ family together.”
Wright was a regular presence on the show, frequently appearing in a recurring segment called “Strong Opinions with Matt.” You can watch one of the segments here:
Wright also served as a producer on several episodes of DeGeneres. Ellen’s Game of Games in 2017-18 and its special 2009 Ellen is taller, longer and uncut. He began his television career as a producer on the 2002-06 SoapNet series. Discussion about soap. He
Andy Lassner, who also served as EP of Ellen DeGeneres Showshared photos of him and Wright on the Jennifer Hudson Show together that were taken Thursday, the day before Wright’s death. Lassner said Wright stopped by the set to visit him.
“We are all in shock. He was a brilliant producer and an even better human being,” Lassner wrote. “The way he cared for his mother, traveling back and forth from Los Angeles to New York virtually every weekend before her death, showed what an incredible son he was. He gave the same depth of love to his friendships. My heart breaks for his husband, Justin, his family and all of us who loved him. I was so lucky to work alongside Matt for so many years and call him my friend. We should have spent many years more time with him.”
Wright’s survivors include her husband Justin Fusella.
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