Stephen “tWitch” Boss — best known for being the DJ on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, a judge and contestant on So You Think You Can Dance and for his fun Instagram dance videos with wife Allison Holker Boss — has died by suicide at age 40.
Holker Boss, 34, said “I am certain there won’t be a day that goes by that we won’t honor his memory. We ask for privacy during this difficult time for myself and especially for our three children.”
Holker Boss concluded her statement with a message to her husband, saying, “Stephen, we love you, we miss you, and I will always save the last dance for you.”
The outlet said Holker Boss went to an unspecified LAPD station to report that Boss had left home without his car, which had her worried. Shortly after, police were called to a hotel near the couple’s house where he was found deceased. The L.A. County Coroner later confirmed Boss died by suicide at a hotel. The case is closed.
DeGeneres, who brought on Boss as the talk show’s resident DJ in 2014, a job he had for the remainder of the show’s run, posted a tribute on social media. The “heartbroken” DeGeneres called him “pure love and light” and said she “loved him with all my heart.”
Boss, who hailed from Montgomery, Ala., studied dance performance at Southern Union State Community College in his home state as well as Chapman University in California. The hip-hop dancer and choreographer first found stardom competing on So You Think You Can Dance’s fourth season in 2008, being named the runner-up. One of his dances, with contestant Katee Shean and choreographed by Mia Michaels, was nominated for an Emmy for Choreography in 2009. He returned to the show for further performances and was one of the SYTYCD All-Stars in several seasons. Earlier this year, Boss joined the judging panel for Season 17.
In 2014, he was first featured as a guest DJ on DeGeneres’s talk show. She introduced him by calling him her “favorite dancer.” It soon became a permanent role with Boss staying on the show until it ended in May.
The couple also recently celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary. On Dec.
They last appeared together at a public event on Dec. 5. They attended the Critics Choice Association’s 5th Annual Celebration of Black Cinema & Television at Fairmont Century Plaza and posed for a series of portraits together.
