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Wittels was a wunderkind who had the drive, the talent, and the career that so many—myself included—only dream of. He started out in the LA stand-up scene and made his name with acerbic one-liners like "Looking for a girl who hates to laugh" or brilliantly groan-worthy puns like "I hate smoking sections. Unless we're talking about The Mask with Jim Carrey, in which case the 'smoking' section is my favorite part!"Wittels cut his teeth as a writer on The Sarah Silverman Program before landing his staff writer and executive story editor position at Parks and Recreation. Wittels, along with his friend and colleague Chelsea Peretti, stealthily snuck in the all the far-too-hip-for-a-network-sitcom jokes that made P&R beloved among comedy nerds.Wheat Thins? Call me when they're Wheat THICKS! Gimme that wheat!
— Harris Wittels (@twittels)August 10, 2011
But Wittels was more than just a brilliant sitcom writer. He invented the term humblebrag, which captures the barely-disguised narcissism of most of what winds up on social media. Then there were his appearances on podcasts, particularly those on the Earwolf network—and it's when I think about the podcasts that his absence really hits.Almost starting to feel bad for Cosby. Did NO one wanna fuck this guy?
— Harris Wittels (@twittels)November 19, 2014
There should be a German word for when you don't like someone, but then you hear them open up on a podcast and you gain empathy for them.
— Harris Wittels (@twittels)November 13, 2014
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Can you be friends with someone you've never had a conversation with? That's the one-sided relationship I had with Wittels. I liked that he wasn't afraid to wear his personality or taste on his sleeve, and that he was confident enough to take shit from people who didn't share his loves. He was young—only 30!—he seemed to know himself, and I can't imagine not having his voice in my ear.Wittels unquestionably had decades of side-splitting work still in him. His death marks an incalculable loss for comedy, and he will be missed by more people than he could've ever imagined.Creak. Slam. Cry.Wittels is survived by his fucking hilarious jokes.Follow Justin Caffier on Twitter.If you aren't cutting my oatmeal with STEEL, then what the fuck are we doing here??
— Harris Wittels (@twittels)February 18, 2014