Respected TV producer and RTÉ veteran Masterson dies aged 73

Former television producer Larry Masterson has died aged 73.

One of the most respected producers in Irish television, Mr Masterson was best known for his work with RTÉ. He was an executive producer on shows including The Late Late Show and the Saturday Night Show. He died peacefully on Sunday surrounded by his family in Dublin’s Blackrock Hospice.

Mr Masterson grew up in inner-city Dublin in the area of Gardiner Street and Mountjoy Square. His father was a carpenter and his mother a cleaner.

He attended school at St Declan’s in Cabra and would go on to study at UCD. During his time as a student in the 1970s, he was among the group who set up the Simon Community in Ireland. He later became director of social services in Drogheda, Co Louth.

Time on-screen as a panellist on a number of RTÉ shows led Mr Masterson to move into a career in media. Initially an RTÉ employee, he went on to establish MD Productions alongside Seamus Deasy and Mike Murphy.

Away from RTÉ, his work was featured on the likes of TG4, Channel 4 and the Discovery Channel. He eventually retired as executive producer of The Late Late Show in 2017.

A death notice for Mr Masterson read: “Beloved husband of Hazel and devoted father of Kerri and Tara. He will be sadly missed by his wife, daughters, sons-in-law Alin and Conor, grandsons Spencer, Ryan and Dylan, sisters Anne and Patricia, brother-in-law Roy, nieces, nephews, extended family and friends.”

Mr Masterson’s remains will repose from 5pm to 7pm tomorrow in Carnegies Funeral Home in Monkstown. A funeral mass will be held on Thursday, at 10am in the Victorian Chapel, Mount Jerome in Harold’s Cross.