Matthew Wright, a longtime executive producer of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, has died at the age of 52. He died on Thursday, October 30, in Los Angeles, and Ellen DeGeneres paid tribute to him in an emotional Instagram video on Monday, November 2.
What We Know
News of Wright’s death first spread through a fundraising page set up by his family, which said he died on October 30 while working remotely in Los Angeles. The family described the loss as an “unfathomable tragedy.” No cause of death has been made public, and the family has not shared further details.
The fundraiser was created to help cover the cost of bringing Wright home to his family in New York and paying for a funeral and memorial. According to TheWrap, he is survived by his husband, Justin, as well as his father, a sister and a niece.
The news was confirmed and reported over the weekend and on Monday by several outlets, including ABC News, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and TheWrap.
Background
Wright spent most of his career behind the scenes of one of daytime television’s biggest shows. He worked on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for 16 years, from 2006 until the talk show ended its run in 2022, and rose to become one of its executive producers. Over that period, the program was one of the most-watched and most-awarded shows in daytime TV, and its producers were responsible for everything from celebrity interviews to the viral games and giveaways that defined its brand.
When the show wrapped in 2022, Wright reflected on what it had meant to him in an Instagram post. He wrote that the job “changed my life” and that he had “fell in love thanks to this show,” a reference to his personal life that friends and colleagues have pointed to in their tributes this week.
For readers who want a fuller picture of the show he helped run and the woman at its center, our Ellen DeGeneres biography covers her career from stand-up comedy to two decades as a talk show host.
Reactions
DeGeneres shared a tearful video on Instagram on Monday remembering her former colleague. “He was an amazing guy,” she said, describing Wright as “the glue to our entire family” at the show. “Everyone loved him. I loved him,” she added.
Andy Lassner, another longtime executive producer of the show who now works on The Jennifer Hudson Show, posted his own tribute on Instagram on Sunday. Lassner said Wright had visited the set shortly before his death, during the taping of a Halloween episode, and called him “a brilliant producer and an even better human being.”
What’s Next
The family’s fundraiser remains open to help with the cost of bringing Wright home and organizing a funeral and a memorial. Details of any public memorial service have not been announced.
The loss comes as the daytime TV world continues to celebrate its own: just days ago, the industry gathered for the 2026 Daytime Emmys, where General Hospital and Kelly Clarkson won big. Fellow talk show legends such as Oprah Winfrey built their programs with similarly tight-knit production teams, the kind of behind-the-scenes family DeGeneres described in her tribute.
Sources
- ABC News – Ellen DeGeneres mourns death of longtime producer Matthew Wright
- TheWrap – Matthew Wright, ‘Ellen DeGeneres Show’ Executive Producer, Dies at 52
- The Hollywood Reporter – Former ‘Ellen’ Executive Producer Matthew Wright Dies
- Deadline – ‘Ellen DeGeneres Show’ EP Matthew Wright Dies