Yesterday I received some shocking news. Harris Wittels died
last week at age 30. You might not know who he is but you probably know his
work. He wrote for Parks and Recreation, The Sarah Silverman Program, Eastbound
& Down among others. He coined the term “humblebrag” and wrote a book on it. He also
played in the band Don’t Stop Or We’ll Die. And he even wrote rude jokes for President
Barack Obama. Last year I was very unhappy, I relied a lot on my friends to
pull me through but I also medicated myself on copious amounts of podcasts. I
listened to at least 700 podcasts last year. Through the Comedy Bang Bang
podcast I discovered Harris Wittels and would crack up giggling uncontrollably
on the overground when I listened to his intentionally awful jokes like “I hate
smoking sections. Unless it’s Jim Carrey’s The Mask. Then the smoking
section is my favorite part!” I revisited Parks & Rec this year, I really love the show, especially Harris' episodes. I also loved the music of his band. They wrote a song which means
a lot to me, I would listen to it repeatedly before I went to New York, I even
wrote about it in my diary and it still affects me, I even had a dream about it
last month where I was in an assembly and the song played and I got everyone to
sing and dance along to it. It’s such a shock that he’s gone at such a young
age and managed to achieve so much in his career and touch me so deeply in such
a short space of time. I don't know what more to say other than I am very upset he's gone. I loved his writing, his music, his standup, his improv, his podcasts. Harris was going to be known worldwide as comedy legend but I will always think of him as one anyway.
He's seeing that New York sky line.
