Overview

• His family announced on Instagram that he died early Sept. 26 at 1:30 a.m. CT, saying he passed peacefully surrounded by relatives.
• The post detailed his final days with calls and FaceTime goodbyes, favorite movies and stories, and handprints kept as mementos.
• Ellen DeGeneres posted a video calling him a "very special" guest and said "I will miss him," sharing a montage of their appearances.
• Born with a congenital heart defect, he underwent 12 surgeries by age 9 and received a heart transplant at 10, later developing cancers.
• By June 2025, doctors said bladder cancer had spread to his pelvis, spine, abdomen, chest and neck with a three- to four-month prognosis, and his mother publicly thanked DeGeneres for her support.