A top executive who worked on “Sherri” and “The “Wendy Williams Show” has been found dead amid a financial investigation of Sherri Shepherd’s talk show.
Matt Uzzle was found dead in his Piermont, New York, on Tuesday, Feb. 13, from what police say appears to be suicide, “Page Six” reports. Uzzle, who served as executive-in-charge at Shepherd’s daytime talk show, was under investigation at the time of his death.
With a
primary role of managing production and overseeing the budget at “Sherri,” Uzzle came under scrutiny following recent complaints involving issues with petty cash and the rent for the show’s Chelsea studio in NYC that had not been paid since September 2023.The show’s parent company, Debmar-Mercury, became aware and launched an investigation.
“There was real concern among staff that the show was getting shut down. Debmar had to step in,” a source revealed.
When confronted about the show’s financial status, Uzzle claimed he “needed a couple of days to get his paperwork together.” After not hearing from him, police conducted a welfare check and found him dead inside his home.
Uzzle reportedly lived in a Piermont penthouse valued at $782,000. He was a 2016 daytime Emmy nominee for his work on “The Wendy Williams Show,” and also had credits on “The Montel Williams Show” and “Maury.”
Debmar-Mercury has since released a statement that avoided any details about Uzzle’s death.
“We have retained [law firm] Morgan Lewis to help us investigate the matter and, pending the outcome of that investigation, we’ll have no further comment,” wrote Debmar-Mercury.
The “Sherri” show inherited Uzzle from Wendy Williams’ former talk show after replacing “The Wendy Williams Show” in 2022. Shepherd’s show is filmed in the same studio as Williams’ former show, using a reconfigured set. Much of Williams’ crew followed Shepherd to the new production.
On Feb. 15, Shepherd included an on-air “in memoriam” tribute to Uzzle.
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