Frazer Harrison/Getty Images For AFIVery sad news for the Parks and Recreation family, less than a week before the beloved sitcom's final episode.
Harris Wittels, a writer and comedian who was also a longtime producer on the NBC series, was found dead Thursday at his home after a possible drug overdose, E! News confirms. He was 30.
His assistant found him at around 12 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department, which also noted that, while an overdose is suspected, that will still need to be determined officially by the coroner. The finished toxicology report will take six to eight weeks following an autopsy.
A law enforcement source told NBC News, meanwhile, that drug paraphernalia was found at Wittels' home and he had recently been in rehab.
Wittels, who was born in Houston and graduated from Emerson College in Boston, was most recently a co-executive producer on Parks and Rec after coming onboard as a producer in 2012. After breaking through as a consultant writer on the MTV Movie Awards, he wrote for Secret Girlfriend and The Sarah Silverman Program, both on Comedy Central, and logged writing and producing time on HBO's Eastbound & Down.
"He was my baby. I just keep thinking of superman flying backwards around the earth. I wish I could do that. I'm so mad at you Harris," Sarah Silverman tweeted in response. "You should knowthat Harris was brilliant beyond compare. That his imagination was without limit. That he loved comedy more than anything. That his heartwas big and he FELT hard. That he was someone who would reach out to tell you he was thinking of you for no particular reason. That he was honest even if it was gonna piss u off or make him look s---ty. He told the truth. Even when it was ugly. Even when he lied."
"RIP and thank you, Harris Wittels," Comedy Central also tweeted out.
He was also a frequent guest on IFC's Comedy Bang Bang, and the comedy world didn't waste any time in paying tribute to their fallen comrade on Twitter:
—Reporting by Holly Passalaqua