--- description: The 30-year-old was discovered by his assistant and police subsequently responded to a 911 call about a possible drug overdose. title: 'Parks and Recreation' Co-Producer Found Dead image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Parks and Rec_ Co-Producer Harris Wittels Has Died, Aged 30 by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 20, 2015 4:22 AM CUT by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 20, 2015 4:22 AM CUT Harris Wittels, a co-executive producer and writer on _Parks and Recreation_, was [found](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/parks-recreation-exec-producer-harris-775563 "undefined") dead in his home in Los Angeles on Thursday. The 30-year-old was discovered by his assistant around 12 p.m. on Thursday, and police subsequently responded to a 911 call about a possible drug overdose, writes the _Hollywood Reporter._ The cause of death has not yet been confirmed, however. In addition to writing and producing _Parks and Rec_, which airs its series finale next week, Wittels had a small on-screen role, playing an employee from the animal-control department. He also worked on series such as _Eastbound and Down_ and _The Sarah Silverman Program,_ was a stand-up comedian and is credited with coining the term “humblebrag,” meaning a boast disguised as modesty. Tributes to the young writer-comedian poured onto Twitter. > [](https://twitter.com/sethmeyers/status/568586883510480899) > [](https://twitter.com/billyeichner/status/568587994753568768) > [](https://twitter.com/ikebarinholtz/status/568587570193551360) \[[_THR_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/parks-recreation-exec-producer-harris-775563 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3716106/parks-and-recreation-coproducer-harris-wittels-dead/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3716106/parks-and-recreation-coproducer-harris-wittels-dead/"},"headline":"Parks and Rec Co-Producer Harris Wittels Has Died, Aged 30","datePublished":"2015-02-20T04:22:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:34:11.347Z","description":"The cause of death has not been confirmed, but police responded to a 911 call about a possible drug overdose","url":"https://time.com/3716106/parks-and-recreation-coproducer-harris-wittels-dead/","keywords":["Television","Death","obituary","Comedian","parks and recreation","Writer"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3716106/parks-and-recreation-coproducer-harris-wittels-dead/","name":"Parks and Rec Co-Producer Harris Wittels Has Died, Aged 30"}}]}] ```