Longtime Ellen Producer Matthew Wright Dies at 52

Matthew Wright, longtime executive producer of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, died Oct. 30 at age 52 while working remotely in Los Angeles. No cause of death was publicly disclosed. He held the role for 16 years until the show ended in 2022. Andy Lassner saw Wright alive the day before when Wright visited The Jennifer Hudson Show’s Halloween set; hours later he was gone. Lassner wrote they were all in shock, calling Wright a brilliant producer and even better human being who flew nearly every weekend to care for his mother. On Nov. 2 DeGeneres posted a tearful Instagram video: he was funny, smart, kind, everyone loved him, the glue to the Ellen Show family. She said they had been set to start a project together and “we lost a good guy.” Loni Love posted condolences. Wright’s own 2022 farewell had credited the show with friendships, experiences and love. A GoFundMe titled Support the Wright Family & Justin During an Impossible Time noted Matt and Justin were both laid off this summer and said his husband, father, sister and niece are in New York desperate to be reunited for a proper goodbye. It stood at $30,531 of $50,000 on Nov. 2, leftovers to a trust for niece Sami.