Top 'Sherri' Executive Found Dead From Suspected Suicide After Investigation Into Missing Cash and Unpaid Studio Rent: Report
A top executive from the popular daytime talk show Sherri was found dead from a suspected suicide this month.
A top executive from the popular daytime talk show Sherri was found dead from a suspected suicide this month, RadarOnline.com can report. The top exec’s death came amid an investigation into missing money from the show and unpaid studio rent.
In a shocking and heartbreaking development to come more than one year after Sherri Shepherd’s show Sherri launched in September 2022, it was revealed that Matt Uzzle, 50, was found dead at his New York home on February 13.
Matt Uzzle, 50, was found dead at his New York home on February 13.
Uzzle previously managed The Wendy Williams Show and continued as an executive overseeing production when Shepherd took over the syndicated slot with Sherri in 2022.
According to Page Six, the show’s parent company – Debmar-Mercury – recently launched an investigation into Uzzle's management of the show's budget after discovering unpaid rent at New York's Chelsea Studios since September 2023.
Uzzle's main responsibility at Sherri was reportedly to manage production and budgetary matters.
There were said to be recent complaints about issues with petty cash across various departments. Those complaints reportedly raised concerns among staff about the show's potential shutdown which in turn prompted intervention from Debmar-Mercury.
Uzzle previously managed The Wendy Williams Show and continued as an executive overseeing production when Shepherd took over the syndicated slot with Sherri in 2022.
“There was real concern among staff that the show was getting shut down,” a Sherri insider said on Wednesday. “Debmar had to step in.”
Uzzle reportedly requested “a couple of days to get his paperwork together” after being confronted about the budget problems earlier this year.
However, after he failed to communicate with anyone from Sherri for several days, police found him deceased during a welfare check at his home in Piermont, New York.
While authorities refrained from commenting on the case further due to the ongoing investigation into Uzzle’s death, at least one source told Page Six that Uzzle died from an apparent suicide.
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At least one source claimed that Uzzle died from a suspected suicide.
Debmar-Mercury also announced that it recently retained a law firm to help with an internal investigation into the Sherri exec’s sudden death.
“We have retained Morgan Lewis to help us investigate the matter and, pending the outcome of that investigation, we’ll have no further comment,” a rep for the parent company said this week.
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Shepherd honored Uzzle's memory on air in a touching tribute during the February 15 episode of Sherri.
Uzzle, who was nominated for a daytime Emmy in 2016 for his work on The Wendy Williams Show, also reportedly contributed to popular productions like The Montel Williams Show and Maury.
Shepherd's show "Sherri" took over for "The Wendy Williams Show" in September 2022.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Uzzle’s death from a suspected suicide this month came more than one year after Sherri premiered in September 2022 as a successor to The Wendy Williams Show.
Shepherd had regularly filled in for Wendy Williams during Williams’s absence in the final season of The Wendy Williams Show due to health issues, and the decision to officially replace Williams with Shepherd created much-reported tension between the two hosts.
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