Andy Lassner


Andy Lassner is an American television producer. He has been the executive producer of The Ellen DeGeneres Show since 2003, and is featured in many segments in the show. His career as a producer began in the mid 1990s, including The Jane Whitney Show, The Richard Bey Show, The List, and The Rosie O'Donnell Show. Lassner has won 18 Daytime Emmy Awards.

Early life

Andy Lassner was born to Jewish parents in Bogotá, Colombia. His mother, Danièle G Lassner, was a foreign language expert. His father, Jules Lassner, was a captain in the United States Marine Corps. Jules was born in New York City to Ukrainian parents. His parents moved to Bogotá after their marriage for his father's job at Seagram. They lived there for 9 years during which, they founded a Talmud Torah Hebrew school, shtiebel, before returning to New York City. Lassner was raised in New York City and was a New York Rangers fan. He has one brother.

Career

Lassner started his career in the mid 1990s as a line producer for The Jane Whitney Show. In the boom of talk shows in the 90s, he later produced The Richard Bey Show as well as The Carnie Wilson Show. In 2001, Lassner was the co-executive producer of The List. He began working at The Rosie O'Donnell Show in 2002. Lassner began working at The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2003. He is the main role in the segment Average Andy... where he plays an average person contrasting with experts in their fields. Another recurring segment features host Ellen DeGeneres sending Lassner with a celebrity to haunted houses every Halloween; this is due to him being easily frightened.

Personal life

Lassner is married to Lorie and has three children. He has a daughter and two sons who were born in 2006. They reside in Los Angeles. Lassner is Jewish and is a fan of the Los Angeles Kings, where he has season tickets. He is friends with Anže Kopitar, hosting him on the Ellen Show to raise donations for Breast cancer awareness month. He supports gay rights in the US. In 2017, Lassner was critical of Donald Trump's "America First" policy.
Lassner has struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction in his past. He became sober for six years, until, while working on The Rosie O'Donnell show, he took a case of free listerine home with him and began drinking it to get drunk. He soon relapsed into other forms of addiction. He entered rehab a number of times in 1999 and has been clean ever since.

Awards

Lassner has won 18 Daytime Emmy Awards. for the Ellen DeGeneres show.