Harris Wittels, “Parks And Rec” Co-Executive Producer, Inventor Of Humblebrag, Found Dead
UPDATE: According to the Daily Mail, Harris died of an apparent overdose and police found drug paraphernalia next to him.
Harris Wittels, a co-executive producer and writer on “Parks and Recreation” was found dead at his home. He was 30. Harris was also a stand up comedian and had made appearances on “Parks and Rec” as Pawnee Animal Control employee Harris. His latest appearance on the sitcom was last week.
According to Entertainment Weekly, police suspect an overdose in his death, which comes less than a week away from the “Parks and Recreation” series finale on Tuesday, February 24th.
Harris’ other TV credits included working as a writer-producer on HBO’s “Eastbound and Down”. He wrote several episodes of “The Sarah Silverman Program” and appeared on “Comedy Bang! Bang!”
His greatest internet accomplishment may be as the person who came up with the term “Humblebrag”. He started it as a Twitter feed and it grew from there in a book that Harris put out in 2012 called “Humblebrag: The Art of False Modesty”. He described “Humblebrag” as “a specific type of bragging which masks the brag in a faux-humble guise.”
There were no further details from the LAPD about Harris Wittels’ death, but there was an outpouring of condolences for him on Twitter.
RIP Harris. You were great.
— John Mulaney (@mulaney) February 20, 2015
I don't want dead friends' numbers on my phone and dead friends' faces in my feed. But you rarely get what you want. #RIPHarrisWittels
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) February 20, 2015
God Damnit. #RIPHarrisWittels
— Will Arnett™ (@arnettwill) February 20, 2015
Such heartbreaking news about Harris Wittels. A really funny guy.
— Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers) 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
Harris Wittels rip. He was a beloved son of the comedy world
— matt walsh (@mrmattwalsh) February 20, 2015
Such a nice guy. RIP @Twittels. Please go to his Twitter feed and retweet one that makes you laugh. Won't be hard to find.
— Doug Benson, proud to have known Brody Stevens (@DougBenson) February 20, 2015
So sad to hear of the passing of Harris Wittels. Such a talent. Such a loss.#HarrisWittels
— Kevin Nealon (@kevin_nealon) 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
Harris Wittels was a brilliant writer and comedian. You never know what people are going through. Let's take care of each other when we can.
— Fortune Feimster (@fortunefunny) February 20, 2015
https://twitter.com/RonFunches/status/568587059184549888
