The cause of death for longtime "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" executive producer Matthew Wright has been revealed.
Wright, who often appeared on camera with its host, died on Oct. 30 at age 52 from cardiopulmonary arrest, or cardiac arrest, according to a death certificate obtained by People magazine.
The certificate also listed hypertension (high blood pressure) as an underlying cause and obstructive sleep apnea and Class II obesity as contributing factors, the outlet reported.
USA TODAY has reached out to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner for comment.
Ellen DeGeneres paid tribute to Wright in a video shared to Instagram on Nov. 2 and donated $5,000 to his GoFundMe fundraiser. She shared that
the two were planning to start another project together before his sudden death.
"He was an amazing guy. He was funny. God, he made me laugh," she said. "He would surprise me with things that he did all the time. He was smart. He was kind…everyone loved him."
Ellen pictures Matthew Wright and Stephen 'tWitch' Boss dancing
DeGeneres called Wright "the glue to our entire family" at the show. She offered her condolences to his husband, Justin, and spoke of Wright's friendship with the late Stephen "tWitch" Boss, who died aged 40 in 2022. She pictured the two together again, "dancing and laughing."
The tribute then cut to a montage of memorable clips of his onscreen features on the beloved show.
The Leman family is raising money to bring Wright home to New York for his funeral and to hold a memorial in Los Angeles. Any money left over will go into a trust for his niece, Sami, the organizers wrote.
"His husband, father, sister and niece are in New York, desperate to be reunited for a proper goodbye. We're asking for all of his friends, who Matt loved so fully, to help the family at this time," reads the fundraiser description. "As many of you know, Matt & Justin were both laid off this summer. And the unexpected costs of getting Matt home, a funeral and a memorial are impossible for the family to bear."
The fundraiser's organizers remembered Wright ordering an extra appetizer for everyone at the table to share.
"And when you're at dinner and see a sunset, know that Matt is looking down, loving you, but wildly disappointed in what you ordered," they wrote.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cause of death revealed for Ellen DeGeneres' beloved producer who died at 52
