One day before her 86th birthday, Andy Richter’s mom, Gloria Swanson, died “peacefully after spending the weekend in hospice care,” the comedian and 2025 “Dancing With the Stars” fan-favorite announced on July 28, 2026.
Richter, 59, known best as Conan O’Brien’s sidekick on his late-night shows, shared the sad news in an Instagram post hours after his mom’s death and was immediately flooded with love by fellow celebrities and fans.
Andy Richter Says His Mom Had a ‘Catastrophic Fall’ Days Before Her Death
In Richter’s July 28 post, he shared that his mom had “suffered a catastrophic fall earlier in the week, and had a stroke early Friday morning. She hung on for four unlikely days, but she has always been stubborn. More than one nurse told us she had ‘a strong heart.'”
“I awoke Friday morning to a sibling group text and was on a flight later that afternoon,” Richter wrote. “I arrived at my mom’s room after midnight. She opened her eyes and acknowledged me, but wasn’t able to speak. I am confident that she knew I was there.”
Richter’s mom was “surrounded” by so many family and friends while she was in hospice, he told his followers, that they had to go searching for more chairs.
“We laughed a lot,” he said of the final days spent in her room. “Held a heated timed word search competition. Watched a lot of MeTV. My sister destroyed her back doing a complicated paint-by-number project that she refused to abandon. My brother overheard someone who passed by my mom’s room say ‘that’s where the noisy people are.'”
“We cried a lot, and then laughed some more,” he continued. “We let our mom/grandma/aunt know how much she was loved and how much she would be missed. It was a beautiful, special time with the people I love most and I’m so glad and happy that I got to be there for all of it.”
Richter shared that his mom “was a small woman but a big presence. She loved loud and hard, and as my sister said, taught us all how to love and be loved. She was a kitchen designer, a job that she fell into when her husband’s struggling plumbing business needed to diversify. She had a knack for design (and for sales, if you didn’t mind hearing the truth), and rose to be a much sought after and widely respected professional. She worked hard to support her four kids.”
“But her greatest success was creating a group of beautiful, talented, noisy people,” he acknowledged. “Amazing people. People who are so lucky to have had her, and who are so blessed to have each other. She put a lot of love into the world, and it has only grown and grown. I will miss her, but I am glad she is at peace.”
Famous Friends & Fans Are Flooding Andy Richter With Love
Richter was flooded with messages of love and support from famous friends, including fellow comedian Amy Sedaris, who wrote, “Oh no Andy I am so so sorry”
Fellow season 34 DWTS contestant Danielle Fishel commented, “May her memory be a blessing ❤️❤️”
DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba chimed in, “Dear Andy…. I’m so sorry for your loss. sending you so much love. 🕊️ ❤️”
Hilaria Baldwin, who’s married to Alec Baldwin, shared, “Sending so much love 🤍🕊️”
Stand-up comedian Caitlin Reilly wrote, “So sorry Andy. Your sweet Mom. It sounds like she had a beautiful departure surrounded by your wonderful family. Sending all the love your way. ❤️❤️❤️”
Within hours of his posting, nearly 20,000 fans had liked Richter’s post and hundreds had also left their condolences in the comment section, including one who wrote, “I’m so sorry for the loss of you mom — may her memory be a blessing that brings you peace and comfort during your time of grief 🕊️”
