David St. John, an executive producer on such reality TV programs as America's Next Top Model, I Am Jazz and The Ts Madison Experience, has died. He was 56.
St. John died Dec. 19 of pancreatic cancer at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, UTA announced.
From 2015-20, St. John served as executive producer for four seasons of TLC's I Am Jazz, which centered on Florida transgender teen Jazz Jennings and received a GLAAD Media Award for outstanding reality program in 2016.
"David was more than just the executive producer of I Am Jazz -- he was family, and we loved him deeply," the Jennings family said in a statement. "In our most challenging moments, he lifted our spirits with his warmth, reassured us that everything would be OK and gave us the strength to share our family's journey.
"His kindness, infectious laughter and unwavering belief in our story will forever be woven into the heart and legacy of I Am Jazz and remain a cherished part of our lives."
In 2021, St. John exec produced We TV's The Ts Madison Experience, revolving around the transgender TV personality, and his final project, the 2025 TLC series Jay & Pamela, follows an engaged couple born with osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease).
St. John began his career at MTV, where he rose from assistant to story producer on the 2002-03 series Taildaters. After a stint as a creative consultant for America's Next Top Model from 2005-06, he co-executive produced more than 100 episodes of Tyra Banks' UPN-CW show from 2007-11.
Fifteen years ago, St. John underwent two craniotomies at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to remove tumors, then volunteered to meet with patients preparing for similar brain surgeries to offer them comfort, humor and reassurance.
Survivors include his husband, Scott; sisters Corrine and Rachel; mother Lynn; and Kirsten and Karen, whom he considered his sisters. Details about memorial services are forthcoming.
"To be in David St. John's orbit meant that you were witness to an astonishingly bright light ... all the time," Drew Tappon, head of unscripted development, programming & specials at OWN, wrote in a statement. "He made everything better. And he made YOU feel better. Simply put, he just made us all better."