Harris Wittels

A writer, producer and stand-up, multi-talented Harris Wittels was an instrumental figure behind some of the greatest American TV comedies of the 21st century. A film/video production graduate of Emerson College, Wittels was discovered by Sarah Silverman, who invited him to write for her eponymous Comedy Central show, a role which led to similar gigs on several MTV Award ceremonies. Wittels also showcased his skills as a performer on the likes of "Comedy Bang! Bang!" (IFC, 2012- ) and various hit podcasts, but it was behind the scenes where he began to shoot up the comedy ranks. After helping to develop innovative dating satire "Secret Girlfriend" (Comedy Central, 2009), Wittels landed an executive story editor job on the second season of "Parks and Recreation" (NBC, 2009-15) and was promoted to co-producer for its third and executive producer for its fourth. Wittels also appeared on the show as dim-witted animal controller Harris, and served as writer/producer on a number of "Eastbound and Down" (HBO, 2009-13) episodes. But his highly promising career was tragically cut short in 2015 when he died of a suspected drug overdose, aged just 30.