Parks and Rec Exec Found Dead From Apparent Overdose
Harris Wittels, a writer, executive producer and apparent inventor of the term "humblebrag," was reportedly found dead in his California home Thursday. According to TMZ, police are treating it as an overdose.
According to law enforcement sources ... Wittels was pronounced dead around 1 PM. We're told the 30-year-old was found lying on his couch ... and there was drug paraphernalia in the house. There were no signs of trauma to his body.
Wittels spoke openly about his battles with drug addiction. He'd gone to rehab twice.
"I'm still trying to figure out how to really just like, value my life," Wittels said in a November podcast interview. "I've done drugs recreationally since I was like, 12. And it's always been fun and it's always been my identity, hey, the drug guy."
Wittels, a Phish fan, stand-up comedian, and writer for Parks and The Sarah Silverman Program, gained notoriety with his Humblebrag Twitter account, which he parlayed into a book deal.
He eventually became a producer on Parks and produced several episodes of Eastbound & Down.
But despite a 2012 production deal with NBC, Wittels was never able to get his own show off the ground. (We engaged in a brief angry back-and-forth on the subject with Wittels in 2013.) He recently completed his first short film and made a guest appearance on last week's episode of Parks.
