Death certificate lists cause of death for Ellen producer Matthew Wright

Matthew Wright, a longtime executive producer of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, died of cardiopulmonary arrest, which means his heart and breathing stopped. Deadline reported on November 7 that his death certificate lists this as the cause. He was 52.

Wright died on Friday, October 30, in Los Angeles. His family said he died suddenly but peacefully in his sleep while working remotely from home. An executive producer is the senior person who oversees how a show is made, from its ideas to its final cut.

The death certificate also names hypertension, or high blood pressure, as the underlying cause. It lists obstructive sleep apnea, a condition where breathing repeatedly pauses during sleep, and class II obesity as contributing conditions.

Wright spent 16 years as an executive producer on the Ellen show. On air, he was known for a recurring segment called Strong Opinions with Matt. His television career started earlier, in 2002, when he produced SoapNet's Soap Talk, which ran until 2006. He also produced the 2009 special Ellen's Bigger, Longer & Uncut, and worked as a producer on episodes of Ellen's Game of Games from 2017 to 2018.

Friends and colleagues have spoken publicly since his death. People reported that Ellen DeGeneres shared a video remembering him. Singer and actress Jennifer Hudson also mourned him publicly, as the Los Angeles Times reported.

A GoFundMe page was set up to help his family after his death. The page was updated on November 5 with a statement about how he died. Donations are being collected through that page for his family.

For anyone who watched the show over the years, Wright was one of the many people working behind the camera, shaping what viewers saw each afternoon. His family and the people he worked with are now left to mark a loss that came without warning.