Harris Wittels, a writer and executive producer for Parks and Recreation, died at his home Thursday afternoon of an apparent drug overdose. He was 30.
Wittels was pronounced dead around 1 p.m. after he was found unresponsive lying on his coach, law enforcement sources told TMZ. Drug paraphernalia was discovered in the home. No foul play is suspected, as there were no signs of trauma to his body.
Over the years, Wittels had spoken openly about his addiction to heroin and had gone to rehab twice. “I just really stopped caring about my life,” Wittels said on the podcast “You Made It Weird” in November. “I just really started to think, well, if I’m only here for 80 years, then who cares if I spend it high or not?”
“Out of a billion years, 80 or 50 or 30 years is nothing. It’s all the same,” Wittels continued. “I’m still trying to figure out how to really value my life. I don’t have a wife or kids or anything, so there’s no one truly depending on me.”
Thursday evening, after learning of Wittels death, Amy Poehler, who worked with him on Parks and Recreation, was honored at Variety’s second annual unite4humanity event. Addressing the loss, Poehler said, “Today, I lost a friend. I lost a dear, young friend in my life who was struggling with addiction. I’m sharing it with you because life and death live so close together, and we walk that fine line everyday. When things happen in our lives, we turn to the people that we love…and we lean on people, in a hope that we will ease our pain.”
“So, I don’t really feel like telling any jokes,” Poehler added. “I’m kind of sad, and it’s really great to be here tonight and listen to all of you, and listen to the great work that you do and be reminded why we live in this bizarre planet called ‘Hollywood.’ It’s very strange.”
In addition to Parks and Recreation, which will air its season finale next week, Wittels produced and wrote for Eastbound and Down and The Sarah Silverman Program. He’s also known for bringing the term “humblebrag” into the mainstream.
Wittel’s passing led to an outpouring of tributes on Twitter from his friends in the industry:
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