It may be the job of Ellen DeGeneres to make people laugh on a daily basis, but the talk show host was sadly forced to turn serious on Thursday.
For the saddest of reasons:
Because her father passed away at the age of 92.
Ellen broke this news to her viewers in a moving tribute to her dad, Elliott, which followed a long talk with Oprah Winfrey about the fatal mudslides in their home town.
“In addition to what’s going on in Monetico, I lost my dad this week,” DeGeneres said, fighting back tears as she spoke.
“He was 92 years old. He had a good, long life. And he lived his life exactly how he wanted. He was Christian science his entire life. He never had medicine his whole life.
"He never went to a doctor. We never had a vaccination. We never had medicine growing up and he lived to be 92.”
Continued the comedian:
"He was very proud of me. He loved this show. He was a kind man, very accepting man.
"There was not one bone of judgment in his body. He was very funny … Before he passed away I got to talk to him, so I got to say goodbye to him.”
We don"t know the exact cause of death in this case.
But the man was 92 years old.
As you can see immediately above and below, Ellen also paid tribute to her father on Twitter yesterday.
"It wasn"t unexpected," Ellen added on Instagram.
"I was able to say goodbye. When I was a kid, my dad took us on one vacation to Warner Bros. Studios. He loved this business. He loved that I was in it.
"When he died, I saw this rainbow over the stage they named for me."
Previously, Ellen has said the following to Winfrey:
"So many times over the past 15 years, people have come up to me and say to me that when they"re going through a tough time this show gets them through it.
"Today, I need you because there"s a lot going on in my life right now."
Our thoughts are with Ellen"s family at this time.
Watch her tribute below:
