Matt Villines Dies; Saturday Night Live Director Was 39

Matt Villines, a comedy director most famous for his work on Saturday Night Live, has after a battle with cancer.

He was 39 years old.

Known as one-half of the directing duo Matt & Oz (along with Osmany Rodriguez), Villines was responsible for directing some of the best pre-taped sketches in the post–Lonely Island era of the famous NBC sketch show.

These included “(Do It In My) Twin Bed,” “Sad Mouse,” and “A Thanksgiving Miracle.”

Villines moved from Oklahoma to Los Angeles many years ago and met Rodriguez at film school.

The pair shot footage for an early version of SuperDeluxe.com and shared videos on Funny Or Die, prior to being offered jobs there.

They joined Saturday Night Live in 2012.

On Monday, SNL co-head writer Bryan Tucker revealed in a Facebook message that Villines passed away “after a long battle with cancer.”

Tucker added in part:

“Matt was not only an excellent director. He was a warm, kind guy who got an enormous amount done without ever raising his voice.”

In addition to their work on SNL, Villines and Rodriguez have also directed an episode of Fox’s The Last Man on Earth. 

View Slideshow: Celebrities Who Passed Away in 2016: Gone, But Not Forgotten

In the wake of his death, several Saturday Night Live cast members and crew shared moving tributes on social media.

“He was one of my favorite people. He taught me a ton about filmmaking and even more about being kind even when you’re stressed or frustrated or sick,” wrote SNL writer Mike O’Brien, who worked with Villines on “Sad Mouse” and “The Jay Z Story.”

“Was lucky enough to get to work with Matt Villines at SNL and I am going to miss him deeply. Wonderful guy,” Moynihan wrote.

Chewbacca Mom is Trying to "Heal the World"

There is no right or wrong way to respond to a tragedy.

Last week, five police officers were shot to death by a sniper in Dallas, as this unstable and misguided individual took innocent lives in protest of the recent string of African-American deaths at the hands of white cops.

Specifically, he was responding to the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.

In response, Drake has penned an open letter to his followers…

… Beyonce has called on members of the community to step up…

… and even Tyga has expressed shock, sadness and outrage on Instagram.

Now, it"s time for Chewbacca Mom to speak out.

Actually, it"s time for Chewbacca Mom to sing out.

Also known by her real name of Candace Payne, Chewbacca Mom rose to viral fame last month after she purchased a Chewbacca mask at Target and got REALLY excited over it in the car.

Here. See for yourself:

A Texas resident, Payne says the following to open her latest Facebook video:

“I’m actually not that far away from Dallas. I’m about 30 minutes from where the shootings happened the other night.”

She continued:

"I’m thousands of miles, hundreds of miles away from really identifying with every single ounce of pain that I know is being felt by the whole world right now. Literally the whole world.

"I really don’t know what else to say other than I’ve been spreading joy and I’ve been hoping to do that, but I found myself that last couple of days being silent because I’ve been so sad and so hurt by what’s going on and I wanted to just share with you my own arrangement of a song that I came across that has really meant something amazing to me."

From there, Payne did her best impression of Michael Jackson.

She covered the MJ classic "Heal the World."

And she did a pretty great job with it!

Look and listen for yourself now:

Taylor Swift: Tom Hiddleston Would Make a Great Dad!

By now, you’ve probably heard that Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston are dating.

After all, the couple has done everything short of taking out a full-page ad in the New York Times to ensure that the whole world knows they’re not only together, but whizzing by all the usual relationship milestones at breakneck speed.

Taylor’s Fourth of July party was basically an excuse for the singer to post couple-y photos to her social media pages.

Insiders say Swift is convinced she’s found “the one” – but they also said that about her last 75 relationships.

Whether they’re putting words in her mouth or she’s really just that quick to fall in love is unclear.

Whatever the case, Taylor and Tom’s moony-eyed, PDA-heavy photos are offering plenty of grist for the rumor mill these days. 

View Slideshow: Tom Hiddleston: 8 Things to Know About Taylor Swift’s New Bae

Last week saw reports that Swift and Hiddleston are living together (after just a few weeks of dating), and now the inevitable marriage and family chatter has officially commenced.

“This is the kind of a man she would want to marry,” a source recently told E! News about Taylor’s love for Tom.

“She has said he would make a great dad. They have talked about what they want in the future and kids are something that they would both like down the line.

“They have very real and serious conversations about life.” 

Hopefully those “real and serious” convos occasionally touch on the fact that Taylor was totally dating someone else like last month.

We’re guessing that’s not a favorite topic in the Swiddleston household.

View Slideshow: 14 Famous Dudes Who Have Dated Taylor Swift

Christina Grimmie: Tori Kelly Remembers Late Friend With Moving Song

On June 10th, her life was cut short.

A month later, Christina Grimmie is still mourned by the music industry.

Over the weekend, singer Tory Kelly uploaded "Blink of An Eye," an acoustic song to Youtube dedicated to her friend.

"Can"t help but think who you would be if you just had the chance to turn 23…" Kelly sings.

"It"s 2 a.m., I still don"t believe you"re gone.

"And the world keeps spinning on.

Kelly posted a message below the video, explaining the significance of putting pen to paper in honor of her friend.

"this song was written for christina grimmie after she passed away tragically," Kelly wrote.

"i needed to write this song. thank you to my good friend, zac poor, who was brave enough to take on the challenge of writing it with me.

"my heart was & is still so heavy when i think of her not being with us. however, i am still comforted knowing that i"ll get to see her again someday in heaven. my prayers go out to her family & loved ones.

"even though this song had specific meaning, more recently i"m overwhelmed at the pain & the brokenness in the world today, & so this is really just me grieving. at all of it.

"life is so short. thanks for listening, i love you guys."

Grimmie was shot to death by rabid fan, Kevin James Loilbl after an Orlando concert.  The former Voice contestant was signing autographs when Loibl approached her and opened fired.

Grimmie"s brother Marcus tackled Loibl to the ground after (he then turned the gun on himself).  

Grimmie died from gunshot wounds after being rushed to the hospital.

Last week, Marcus and his parents thanked the public for their outpouring of support in the wake of Grimmie"s death.

"As we have always known, Christina"s life was so very special, not only to us, but to everyone she touched with her joyful heart, beautiful voice and love for life and the Lord," the family said in a statement.

"Words cannot express what the many memorials, donations and tributes shared by Christina"s fans and those in the media and entertainment industry mean to us. She will live on in our hearts forever."

Give the song below a listen.