Parks and Rec Writer Harris Wittels Found Dead of Apparent Overdose
Harris Wittels, a comedian and writer on Parks and Recreation was found dead of an apparent drug overdose on Thursday night at his home in Los Angeles. He was 30 years old.
In addition to serving as a writer and producer on the NBC show, which has its series finale next Tuesday, Wittels was a frequent guest on the Comedy Bang Bang podcast and co-hosted the spin-off show Analyze Phish with Scott Aukerman.
Wittels’ biggest claim to fame may be the coining of the term “humblebrag” to describe the way people — often celebrities — complain about how amazing their lives are on Twitter. In 2012, he published the book, Humblebrag: The Art of False Modesty
In another podcast with Pete Holmes last November, Wittels opened up about his struggles of addiction and said he had checked himself into rehab for the second time this past year.
His fellow comedians have been paying tribute to him on Twitter:
Such heartbreaking news about Harris Wittels. A really funny guy.
— Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers) February 20, 2015
Harris Wittels wrote my first episode of Eastbound and Down and was a hilarious and fun guy to hang out with. I'm very sad today
— Ike Barinholtz (@ikebarinholtz) February 20, 2015
Don't know what to say. Harris Wittels was a fantastic writer I had the pleasure to work with at Parks and Rec. So so sad. RIP Harris.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) February 20, 2015
Fucking fuck!! Really? Funny little guy! RIP Harris Wittels.
— Brian Posehn (@thebrianposehn) February 20, 2015
Oh fuck no Harris Wittels is gone. God damn it.
— James Adomian (@JAdomian) February 20, 2015
RIP Harris Wittels.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) February 20, 2015
So sad. Such a cool funny guy…only 30 “@ComedyCentral: RIP and thank you, Harris Wittels.”
— Al Madrigal (@almadrigal) February 20, 2015
I am truly crushed to report that a brilliant comic mind, Harris Wittels, has passed away. This really fucking sucks. #RIPHarris
— Chris Hardwick (@nerdist) February 20, 2015
Very sad to learn about the death of Harris Wittels. He was extremely talented and, more importantly, a really nice person.
— Lauren Lapkus (@laurenlapkus) February 20, 2015
RIP and thank you, Harris Wittels.
— Comedy Central (@ComedyCentral) February 20, 2015
[Photo via screengrab]
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