A ‘Completely Devastated’ Sherri Shepherd Shares Recent Texts From Late View Boss Bill Geddie

Sherri Shepherd paid tribute over the weekend to her former View boss Bill Geddie, who died July 20 of coronary-related factors. He was 68.

Shepherd, who served as a View co-host from 2007 to 2014 before launching her own eponymous talk show last fall, said on Instagram Saturday that Geddie’s passing left her “completely devastated,” adding, “Bill took a chance and cast me — a standup comic with no talk show experience. His instinct told him that people would relate to a Black female, single mom with a Special Needs child who had not one inch of political knowledge but was just a real person.

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“I spoke with him frequently throughout the Season 1 of Sherri, seeking advice and encouragement,” Shepherd continued, before sharing a series of personal texts Geddie sent her in the past year amid Sherri‘s launch.

In one text (see below), Geddie urged Shepherd. “Don’t be overwhelmed by this moment that you stop doing the things that got you here. Be smart, but not too careful. Your fans already know who you are. Keep giving of yourself to them.”

In a separate exchange from February, Geddie — responding to an unspecified query from Shepherd — wrote, “I don’t have the answer for you specifically, but I know the answer generally: Fans have to talk about your show, tabloids have to write about you, people have to feel like they are missing something if they don’t tune in. It’s that simple. And it’s that tough.”

Shepherd concluded her post by calling Geddie “a mentor, a great leader and a wonderful friend.”

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