Ellen DeGeneres’ brother, Vance DeGeneres, is among the long list of stars coming to his sister’s defense amid allegations of a toxic work environment on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, but who exactly is DeGeneres’ brother. While DeGeneres has no doubt made a name for herself in the entertainment industry, her brother is no different.
According to a 2018 Cheat Sheet article on Vance, just like his sister, he an actor and comedian, as well as a musician, film producer, and screenwriter, who got his start in the entertainment industry in the ’70s when he began hosting a radio show, New Wave New Orleans. At around the same time, Vance, who had spent two years in the Marine Corps, began performing with a new-wave band named The Cold. While Vance continued his musical career, going on to play in several other groups, including the House of Schock with Gina Schock Cowboy Mouth, he also expanded his presence to TV.
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In the ’70s, Vance originated “Mr. Hands,” a man seen only as a pair of hands on The Mr. Bill Show, appearing in the short films Mr. Bill Goes to Washington and Oh Noooooo! It’s Mr. Bill’s 20th Anniversary. Vance also expanded to writing and producing, becoming a staff writer on NBC’s Eerie, Indiana in 1991 and co-creating a pilot script for ABC called Lost Angeles in 1993. He went on to gain further experience experiencing with his work on both Ellen and The Rat. He is also credited for writing special material for the Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards and Academy Awards.
According to CheatSheet, Vance’s career gained steam after he was named co-president of Steve Carell’s Carousel Productions at Warner Bros. for six years. During that time, he helped develop many movies, including Crazy, Stupid, Love and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, for which he acted as an executive producer. Currently, Vance has a television development deal at Telepictures Productions, a division of Warner Bros. Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, he launched the online series Rick Springfield & Vance DeGeneres Present the Miniseries: the 60 Second Guide to Songwriting with a Partner with Rick Springfield.
Despite that long list of credits, DeGeneres’ name has been splashed across headlines for far different reasons as of late. On Aug. 4, DeGeneres came to his sister’s defense after WarnerMedia launched an investigation into her talk show following several concerning allegations from current and former employees that came forward. Vance that his sister “has been and continues to be a bright light in a dark world,” and, in a separate statement shared to Facebook, added that his sister is being “viciously attacked.”
