Matt Mast

**Matthew Edward Mast** (November 6, 1987 – September 10, 2021) was an actor and comedian. He had a recurring role on the series "Friday Night Weekly" as Matt Henry's spiritual adviser, a fictionalized version of himself, in a segment called "Good Feelings with Matt Mast". He played the role of The Werewolf in *The Amateur Monster Movie*, a part he secured in the script-writing phase after winning director Jozef K. Richards over with his animal impersonations, an early comedy bit of Matt's first recorded with Jozef in 2005. He also performed stand-up comedy in the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin and was the host and creator of the "Art of the Mind" podcast. He was known for his deep tone of voice, exaggerated smile, ability to make his co-stars laugh and break character, and distinctly dry, hairpin turn sense of humor. Matt passed away in 2021 at the age of 33.

## Early Life

Matt Mast was born in 1987 in Durham, North Carolina and spent the first three years of his life in an orphanage. He would go on to be adopted by the Mast family, who worked at the orphanage. According to him, "the people who adopted me are actually white, not black ... [as an African American] in the early 90s, the 80s, that was almost unheard of," a perspective that he said gave him "a feel for both sides of the tracks." After that, the family moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where Mast lived until he was 13. They then relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, before moving to Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin where Mast began high school as a freshman and would reside for the remainder of his life.

Mast also lived in South Carolina for a period of time.

## High School and Formative Years

During his senior year of high school, Matt Mast became acquainted with Jozef K. Richards through mutual friend, Alex Trapp. Along with Bartosz Kulaga, Chelo Guardiola, Cody Becht, and Jacob Woelfel, the seven formed their own lunch table in the far corner of the cafeteria, where comedic riffs were a daily occurrence. Mast was most well-known among the circle of friends for his "triple threat animal impersonation" of a bird, a cat, and a walrus. These comedic riffs eventually lended themselves to inspire Jozef to write a musical comedy entitled, *Humble Income*, the story of four low income boarding house tenants (inspired by Trapp, Richards, Kulaga, and Mast) who rent from a bizarre landlord (inspired by Guardiola) and fight to keep the boarding house from being leveled for a corporate expansion project, headed by a character inspired by Russ Montney. This script would unite Trapp, Richards, Kulaga, Mast, and Guardiola in a particularly strong bond, determined to bring their ambitious script to life one day. A short documentary film was produced by Richards for the high school about *Humble Income* which featured an interview with Matt Mast and the only known recording of his triple threat animal impersonation.

A weekend in late 2007 in Chicago reunited the five principals of the *Humble Income* script in Richards' Southside apartment, where consumption of the then-legal-to-purchase-in-Wisconsin salvia divinorum would inspire the script that would go on to be Richards' second film, *The Wayward Sun*, and its fictionalized depiction of the plant as a drug called "genie powder." Notably, of the five, according to Richards, Mast was the only one of them capable of moving around the room under the influence of salvia divinorum. This was acknowledged by the group as Mast's ability to "break the fourth wall of salvia" and inspired aspects of the character Chaz, played by Richards.

## Entertainment Career

Matt Mast's first acting role came in 2009 when cast in the debut feature film of Jozef K. Richards and King's Tower Productions as The Werewolf in *The Amateur Monster Movie*, released in 2011. He filmed scenes for the short film "Blackberry Bliss", later retitled as "Bitter Berry Bliss", in 2006 and 2010, but the film was never completed.

In 2013, Mast began performing as a stand-up comedian in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His comedy routine was subsequently featured in the 2013 pilot episode of "Friday Night Weekly" where he was also featured in several other segments, including a "cinnamon challenge" with Matt Henry. After "Friday Night Weekly" adopted the format it would continue with for its full run from 2013 to 2015, Mast would appear as a fictionalized version of himself in which he was the "spiritual adviser" of one of the show's hosts, Matt Henry, first appearing in the fourth episode, "Meth Ado About Nothing". He would go on to perform the role in 8 episodes total, the most for any featured cast members other than Glen Popple as "Uncle Glen". Mast and Popple were the only featured cast members to appear in the series finale, "Phoning It In". In 2015, Mast appeared as "Pokérobics Trainer Lewis" in the first episode of "Poké Men & Women".

In 2020, Mast began producing and hosting a podcast entitled "Art of the Mind" released independently through SoundCloud. Guests included Rex Sikes, Melissa Etzler, and Jozef K. Richards.

## Personal Life

In 2020, Matt Mast married Jamie Nicole Hollins. Mast's friend and co-star, Chelo officiated their wedding.

His social media posts often centered on inspirational quotes, often from Christian and Biblical sources, and nostalgia for growing up in the 1990s.

## Death and Legacy

Matt Mast passed away on September 10, 2021. According to his family, the causes of death were "complications of lung injury which led to cardiac arrest." Mast had "respiratory issues and chronic illness related to his lungs" and "pneumonia and [a] fever" overtook his compromised immune system.

At the time of his death, Matt Mast was one of the most featured actors in the history of King's Tower Productions. Besides being the inspiration for the character, Mast Thorough, in Jozef's *Humble Income* script, Mast also inspired the character of Philip "Ol' Smacks" Shepard in the yet-released series "Black Earth Limits".

A lava lamp bearing a brand name of "Mast" is featured in the first children's book by Jozef K. Richards, *The Tocks on the Clock*, in reference to a bit on "Friday Night Weekly" where Mast misplaced his lava lamp on set and came looking for it in two episodes. This was already included in the book before Matt's passing.

## Filmography

 "Friday Night Weekly" | 2013
 "Friday Night Weekly" Pilot Episode
 *The Amateur Monster Movie* | 2011

## Sources

1. ↑ Hollins Mast, J.N. (2021, September 13). Obituaries: Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral & Cremation Services. Retrieved September 14, 2021 from https://www.schmidtandbartelt.com/obituaries/detail.aspx?id=15199.
2. ↑ Mast, Matt. "Friday Night Weekly" Pilot Episode." Interview by Jozef K. Richards. *YouTube*, uploaded by King's Tower Channel, 9 Aug. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drKjSws5cL0.
3. ↑ Hollins Mast, Jamie. Text message to Jozef K. Richards. 13 Sept. 2021.