The Talk executive producer Heather Gray has died at age 50. Her cause of death hasn’t been specified, but CBS brass have told employees in a company-wide message that Gray died from “an unforgiving disease.”

According to Deadline, CBS’s president and CEO, CBS Studios’ David Staph, and CBS Network president Kelly Khal with CBS Network executives Thom Sherman, Amy Reisenbach and Laurie Seidman signed a joint letter addressing Gray’s career and death, writing how Gray was an “inspiration” to everyone.

“On behalf of all of us at CBS, we want to extend our deep condolences to you for the painful loss of our beloved Heather,” they wrote. “She was an inspiration to us all, living and thriving while bravely battling an unforgiving disease. She showed us what true courage looks like.”

According to Deadline, Gray became part of The Talk team halfway through the first season as supervising producer and was quickly promoted to co-executive producer in 2011. She earned two Daytime Emmy Awards for her work producing the show between 2016 and 2018 and also earned an NAACP Image Award in 2016. Gray became an executive producer in 2019.

“Heather has been the heart and soul of The Talk from day one. Her brilliance as an innovative producer was only outmatched by her huge smile and infectious laugh,” the letter continued. “She was an admired, beloved mama bear of your family and a leader that all looked up to. Her contributions to the success of the show are immeasurable, but more importantly, she was a boss that proved you can lead with kindness, caring and friendship. Heather was everyone’s friend, everyone’s champion, everyone’s favorite person on the set. We will miss her terribly.”

Heather Gray

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