R.I.P.: STEPHEN “TWITCH” BOSS, R.I.P.

1

STEPHEN “TWITCH” BOSS, R.I.P.

It’s taken me a day to process the tragic news that great dancer, TV series dance judge, DJ, and all-around celebrity, Stephen “tWitch” Boss, has not only died at only forty years of age, but it was by suicide. Throughout the day, new pains kept hitting me about the situation. My heart is breaking for his poor wife, Allison, as I’m sure all of ours are. He’s been her everything for over a decade now.

Stephen “tWitch” Boss.

Stephen “tWitch” Boss.

And I also feel awful for tWitch himself. I can’t imagine the pain he had to have been in to be able to do this to his beloved family, especially at Christmas time.

The information the investigation has given out so far is that he called a near-by motel early Monday morning, to make sure they had a room, packed a small bag, and walked the fifteen minutes to that location. He checked in with his real name, and the personnel said he appeared normal and under no stress.

So, all of that means he planned his suicide, and could not talk himself out of doing it for all that time as he walked over there. Or once he got there, either. So far, we don’t know when in those twenty-four hours, (before he was discovered,) that he pulled the trigger, but there was time to stop himself.

Just a couple of days earlier, I was reading an article stating that tWitch and his almost-equally-famous and loving wife, dancer Allison Holker, want more children, and I was so happy for them, especially for Allison. Years before she met tWitch, she had been a very promising young dancer, and then her career got a bit derailed when she had her first child with someone she has never named publicly. (She’s thrilled that she has her daughter; I’m just guessing that the timing was not great for her fledgling dancing career back then.)

The Bosses doing one of their famous dance videos in front of their Christmas tree just two days before the tragedy. (It's blurry because I took it off the video.)

The Bosses doing one of their famous dance videos in front of their Christmas tree just two days before the tragedy. (It’s blurry because I took it off the video.)

And then, a few years later, in 2010, she and tWitch got together after being dance associates for a little while. And they’ve been together ever since.

Everything had always seemed perfect for them. They’re both insanely talented dancers, they had a fairytale wedding, he adopted her daughter, Allison became a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars, tWitch got his major gig as the DJ on Ellen Degeneres’ daytime talk show, and the couple had two more children together. And they do fun dance videos all the time! So reading that happy article the other day, which included that it was their nine-year wedding anniversary, made my heart sing for them. It’s been the perfect love story.

And then I woke up yesterday morning, just two days later, to the devastating and beyond shocking news that tWitch had killed himself. It hit home even more than simply a “celebrity death” because, in addition to being fans who’ve followed his whole career, I had met him once, and Mr. X knew him for awhile.

Here are my two little personal stories about those times:

Stephen “tWitch” Boss became a pretty famous dancer due to his appearances on So You Think You Can Dance, where he had been the runner-up in 2008, a couple of years after Mr. X had started krump dancing. So “tWitch” and “Oldz Kool,” (Mr. X’s krump moniker,) occasionally saw each other at their weekly casual dance sessions, although they had never met.

One of tWitch's best and most famous dances ever on So You Think You Can Dance, with Alex Wong.

One of tWitch’s best and most famous dances ever on So You Think You Can Dance, with Alex Wong.

Then, in 2011, Mr. X and I were watching the very short-lived TV series, Live To Dance, and on comes a group named…“Twitch!” I immediately became defensive for the real tWitch. I was really upset that anyone else was allowed to use the same title, even though they were a group and tWitch is a single dancer, and he spells his name with that signature capital W instead of the first letter T. But it just wasn’t right.

So the next time Mr. X and tWitch were both at the same krump session, Mr. X started walking over to him as he was about to leave, to give him a message from me about that situation. As tWitch saw him approach, he gave him a big greeting of, “Oldz Kool!” So, because of their mutual familiarity, my very shy guy told him, “My girlfriend would be very upset with me if I didn’t tell you that she’s furious that that group on Live To Dance is allowed to use your name!” tWitch laughed and said that it’s okay, and he’s fine with it, but he appreciated my concern. After that, the two of them always acknowledged each other at their krump sessions.

Allison Holker and tWitch presenting a World Choreography Award the night I met them. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Allison Holker and tWitch presenting a World Choreography Award the night I met them. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Then, in 2017, I was at the World Choreography Awards in Beverly Hills.  After intermission, I found myself walking back into the theater right behind tWitch and Allison, who were presenters that night. I rarely talk to famous strangers, but I said hi to tWitch, introducing myself as “Lady Oldz Kool,” (which is how the girlfriends or wives of krump dancers are known.) He perked right up, and told me, “I love that guy! Is he here?” When I answered in the negative, he replied, “Well, tell him I said hi,” which I was more than happy to do, of course. I’m grateful now that I’ll always have that little memory.

As Mr. X pointed-out to me today, tWitch was “on top of the world” for several years now. He had his beautiful family, he’s one of the most famous and successful dancers ever, (especially coming from the hip-hop genre,) and this year, not only did he become a judge on his alma mater show, So You Think You Can Dance, but he replaced creator and producer, Nigel Lythgoe, as the head judge! I’m sure they were going to keep him for next season, as well.

Allison and tWitch, just a month ago on a TV show.

Allison and tWitch, just a month ago on a TV show.

So that he would take his own life now is inexplicable. And puzzling. Especially to us, the public. It just shows that you never know what anyone else is going through. So please always be aware of that.

As the tragedy of tWitch’s passing has begun to sink in, I feel worse and worse over the world losing this incredibly talented man. He was truly beloved in show business, and by fans, and it appears by all who came in contact with him. The guy seemed to have a perennial smile on his face, and that happiness is what he brought to the world, as well.

My heart sincerely goes out to tWitch’s entire family. I’m so worried for them because this having happened at Christmas time compounds the pain. I pray that his children are young enough to grow-up with not too many scars over it.

My deepest condolences go out to Allison, their children, and the entire Boss family. Stephen will be their angel forever after.

R.I.P., Stephen “tWitch” Boss.

Share.

1 Comment

  1. Barbara Stewart on

    Although I would be saddened about similar news about anyone, even this Oldz Not-so-cool nerd saw the joy tWitch brought to audiences on Ellen’s game show, which we used to laugh ourselves silly watching. Our deepest condolences to his beautiful family and his friends. What a sad loss to the world.

    Please, especially at this time of year, reach out to people who are alone or whom you know suffer from depression. And most of all, be kind. You really never know what’s going on in someone’s head.

Leave A Reply