Matthew Hoyt (October 13, 1975 – August 14, 2021) was an American

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

voice actor Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

, and

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

best known for music videos of the bands Pinback, The Blackheart Procession, Goblin Cock and co-owning the

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

restaurant and bar Starlite.

Life and career

Hoyt went to Valhalla High School. He graduated from

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

with an English degree before earning a Master's degree in film from

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

. Hoyt began directing music videos and short films after college. His work as an independent director led to work in advertising as a voice actor. As a musician, Matt played guitar and sang for the San Diego band Papillon. He was also the lead singer of Turkey Mallet featuring guitarist Dustin Boyer. Hoyt booked and promoted live music for the all-ages concert venue The Soul Kitchen in

El Cajon, California El Cajon ( , ; Spanish language, Spanish: El Cajón, lit. 'the box') is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajon, Rancho El Cajón, which was named for the ...

from 1994 to 1996. He co-owned the

restaurant and bar Starlite with Tim Mays and Steve Poltz and developed ''Talk Talk'', an all green green-screen absurdist television show with Jason Sherry that was taped in front of a live studio audience.

Voice acting

Hoyt's voice acting career began unexpectedly, when he pretended to be a Japanese game show host to accompany sound design his friends had composed for a national advertising campaign. Subsequently, his voice-over work has appeared in several television spots, radio commercials and video games. His client list included Sony PlayStation,

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

, Wahoo's Fish Taco, Honey Baked Ham, as well as others.

Comedy and performance

Hoyt appeared as fictional British naturalist Alister Cranberry with the band Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects as an opening act for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks in Solana Beach, CA in the summer of 2005. He recited fictional anecdotes from the life of Alister and sang along with the band. He was subsequently pelted with wet napkins from angry audience members. Hoyt remained in character and politely thanked the angry mob in typical British fashion. He also portrayed the fictional radio talk-show host Devon Williams. The Devon Williams Show featured Hoyt interviewing various historical and non-historical figures in an improvisational format. As Devon, Hoyt frequently cut his guests short with music and commercials.

Film and video

Hoyt developed the episodic comedy ''Antarctic...huh?''. An early draft screened at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego as part of the ''Here Not There'' series. In 2004, Hoyt collaborated with the band The Blackheart Procession to direct ''The Tropics of Love'', a 70-minute visual accompaniment DVD for the band's full-length record ''

Amore del Tropico ''Amore del Tropico'' is the fourth studio album by the American indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the ...

''.

Death

Hoyt died in San Diego on August 14, 2021, at the age of 45. It was announced that October 13, 2021 would be The Matt Hoyt Day.

References

External links

*
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoyt, Matt 1975 births 2021 deaths American directors Musicians from San Diego San Francisco State University alumni San Diego State University alumni 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers Writers from San Diego American music video directors Male actors from San Diego American male voice actors Filmmakers from California American restaurateurs