Heather Gray, the Emmy Award-winning executive producer of CBS series The Talk, has died.
The cause of death is unknown, but a letter alerting the staff and crew behind Sunday’s show revealed she had succumbed to an “unforgivable disease” after a brave fight. The letter was signed by George Cheeks (President and CEO of CBS), David Stapf (President, CBS Studios), Kelly Kahl (President, CBS Network Entertainment), Thom Sherman (Senior EVP, Programming CBS Network Entertainment), Amy Reisenbach (EVP Current Programs, CBS Network Entertainment) and Laurie Seidman (SVP, Daytime Programs, CBS Network Entertainment).
Gray joined The Talk mid-season as Senior Supervising Producer and was promoted to Co-Executive Producer in August 2011. In August 2019 she was named Executive Producer. She received two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Talk Show Entertainment (2016 and 2018). and an NAACP Image Award (2016). Prior to The Talk, Gray was a development producer at Endemol USA from 2010-2011 and a supervising producer for The Tyra Banks Show from 2006-2010, where she received her first two Daytime Emmy Awards.
Read the letter below in full.
Dear Talk family,
On behalf of all of us at CBS, we would like to offer our deepest condolences for the loss of our beloved Heather. She was an inspiration to all of us, alive and thriving while bravely battling an unforgiving illness. She showed us what true courage looks like.
Heather has been the heart and soul of The Talk from day one. Her brilliance as an innovative producer was matched only by her big smile and infectious laugh. She was an admired, beloved mother bear of her family and a leader everyone looked up to. Her contribution to the show’s success is immeasurable, but more importantly, she was a boss who proved that you can lead with kindness, caring and friendship. Heather was everyone’s friend, everyone’s champion, everyone’s favorite person on set. We will miss her terribly.
We recognize and share the pain and shock you are feeling at this moment and the sorrow you will feel in the days to come. As the show begins its hiatus on August 1st (Monday), we don’t want you to mourn and grieve alone. The set will be open, and Human Resources will provide staff and grief counseling in person and by phone. The HR department will also be there. We understand how difficult this will be for all of you and want you all to know that we are here for you.