tWitch Was the Perfect Partner
The dancer and mainstay of 'Ellen' died by suicide Tuesday
TMZ is reporting that Stephen “tWitch” Boss, the dancer turned daytime television personality, died by suicide on Tuesday at the age of 40.
TWitch is best known for being the DJ on the Ellen Degeneres Show, starting in a guest role in 2014 before taking a permanent role until its end this year. Often the best part of Ellen, he was one of the few people who brought out Degeneres’s joyful side. He was a natural sidekick, always down to look silly for whatever bit they were doing, but rarely the butt of the joke. It was obvious that Degeneres had real love for him, as evidenced by their touching moment in the show’s final week.
“He’s never going to be out of my life, he’s always a part of my life,” Degeneres said while fighting back tears. During her final episodes, it often seemed as though the comedian couldn’t wait for the show to be over, but he was someone who brought out an uncharacteristic vulnerability and sweetness in her.
In addition to his many years on Ellen, tWitch was perhaps the only dancer who really broke through after his 2008 stint on So You Think You Can Dance. He came in second and returned to the show as an All Star several times. Most people remember him for his jaw-dropping dance with Alex Wong, set to Lil Jon’s “Outta Your Mind.”
This dance made him a star — it’s how he eventually met Degeneres — but only skims the surface of what an incredible showman he was. On his own season, he danced in one of the show’s most notable numbers, a contemporary dance to Duffy’s “Mercy.”
There was also the time where he took on Russian folk dancing and, to no one’s surprise, nailed it.
What his work on both SYTYCD and Ellen showed time and time again was that tWitch was an excellent partner. He had no trouble giving someone else the spotlight, even if his god given charm meant that he would wind up stealing the show anyway. He was just that good.
