Saturday Night Live director Matt Villines has died of cancer at age 39, PEOPLE confirms.

Villines and his directing partner Oz Rodriguez, best known as the duo Matt & Oz, were responsible for SNL's hilarious pre-taped sketches like "The Jay Z Story", "Sad Mouse" and "Monster Pals."

Before getting his start at SNL in 2012, Villines attended film school in Los Angeles before going onto create hit videos for Funny or Die.

In 2014 he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, which began in his kidney.



Villines' friend and fellow director Mike O'Brien posted a photo on Instagram Sunday confirming the heartbreaking news.

"On our left there is my good friend Matt Villines (of 'directed by Matt & Oz') lining up a shot for the SNL short, Monster Pals. I'm extremely sad to say he passed away last night," he wrote.

"He was one of my favorite people. He taught me a ton about filmmaking and even more about being kind even when you're stressed or frustrated or sick. I'm going to post a handful of photos of him this week and I hope those of you who knew him will do the same."