Ellen DeGeneres Honors Late Producer Matthew Wright in Video
Wright, who served as an executive producer for 16 years, died Oct. 30 in Los Angeles just days after visiting a former colleague on set.
By Sarah Montgomery ·
Matthew Wright, a longtime executive producer for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, died at age 52 on Oct. 30. His death occurred while he was working remotely in Los Angeles, according to a fundraising page established to aid his family.
The cause of death has not been released. The fundraiser’s organizer described the passing as an “unfathomable tragedy.” ABC News contacted the organizer for further comment but had not received a response as of this report.
DeGeneres shared a tribute video on Instagram on Monday. In the clip, she recalled Wright’s humor and kindness, noting that he frequently surprised her with his actions. She stated, “He was an amazing guy. He was funny. God, he made me laugh. He would surprise me with things that he did all the time. He was smart. He was kind.” She added that his loss was shocking and called him the glue to the show’s family.
Andy Lassner, another executive producer, posted his own tribute on Sunday. Lassner now works as an executive producer on The Jennifer Hudson Show. He revealed that Wright visited him on set during the taping of the show’s Halloween episode on Thursday. Lassner included photos of the two together in his post. He wrote, “These photos were taken Thursday, while we were taping our Halloween show. Matt came by to visit. A few hours later, he was gone.”
Lassner expressed grief for Wright’s husband, Justin, and their shared friends. He noted that he was lucky to work beside Wright for many years and considered him a close friend. Lassner reflected that they should have had more time with him before his death.
Wright produced content for The Ellen DeGeneres Show from 2006 to 2022, per his IMDb profile. When the daytime talk show concluded in 2022, he shared a post reflecting on his 16 years of employment. He described the experience as a period of making best friends and meeting heroes. He thanked the show for taking a chance on him and changing his life.
The next scheduled episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show is not currently airing, as the program ended its run in 2022. The show remains a staple of the network’s archive.
