Harris Wittels, co-executive producer and writer for the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation, has died of a possible drug overdose just days before the show’s final episode airs.
The Los Angeles Police Department said that Wittels was found at home at around noon on Thursday by his assistant, the LA Times reports. He was 30.
Wittels co-produced, wrote and occasionally starred in the Amy Poehler-fronted NBC show set in the parks department of the fictional Indiana town of Pawnee. His guest spot as a stoned pest control man became a recurring skit.
He also produced and wrote for The Sarah Silverman Program, Eastbound and Down and Secret Girlfriend, and regularly appeared on the Comedy Bang Bang podcast, but had been honest about his struggles with addiction and stints in rehab.
Friends and colleagues including Seth Meyers and the team behind comedy website Funny or Die paid tribute to Wittels on Twitter.
Harris Wittels was an incredibly funny person who has left us way too soon. He will be missed. pic.twitter.com/XtLjCw3BLs
— Funny Or Die (@funnyordie) February 20, 2015
Such heartbreaking news about Harris Wittels. A really funny guy.
— Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers) February 20, 2015
Wittels’ is said to have coined the term #humblebrag, the hashtag applied to blatant examples of false modesty, which bred the popular Twitter account @humblebrag.
He was due to perform with his band Don’t Stop or We’ll Die at UCB Sunset on 28 February. Parks and Recreation will air its final episode in the US on Tuesday.
