- published: 20 Feb 2015
- views: 65612
Harris Lee Wittels (April 20, 1984 – February 19, 2015) was an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known for having been a writer for The Sarah Silverman Program, a writer and executive producer for Parks and Recreation, and a recurring guest on Comedy Bang! Bang!
Wittels was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the son of Dr. Ellison Wittels and Maureen (née Davidson) Wittels, and raised in Houston, Texas. Wittels described his father as "the funniest dude alive". He had one older sister, voiceover actress Stephanie Wittels. He was Jewish, and had his bar mitzvah at Temple Emanu-El, across the street from Rice University.
Wittels attended High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston. In 2006, he graduated from Emerson College, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, with a degree in television and video production.
After performing stand-up comedy in Los Angeles, Wittels met Sarah Silverman and became a writer on The Sarah Silverman Program in 2007. He also wrote for the 2007 and 2008 MTV Movie Awards. When The Sarah Silverman Program ended in 2010, Wittels became a staff writer and executive story editor for Parks and Recreation during the show's second season, then later co-producer during the third season and executive producer during the fourth. His writing credits included the episodes "Media Blitz", "94 Meetings" and "Dave Returns". He also appeared on the show as Harris, a dim-witted animal control employee. Wittels also wrote for the programs Secret Girlfriend and Eastbound and Down.
Jonah Ray Rodrigues (born August 3, 1982) is an American actor, comedian and writer from Los Angeles. He is one of the three hosts of The Nerdist Podcast and the co-host of Comedy Central's The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail. In November 2015, it was announced that Joel Hodgson had selected Ray to be the new host of the revival of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Originally from Kailua, Hawaii on the island of Oahu, Ray played in local Hawaii rock / punk bands and later moved to Los Angeles. Once there he first pursued opportunities in punk rock, but later started to focus on writing and performing comedy.
Ray started his TV career as a writer's assistant for The Andy Milonakis Show, as well as working as a writer and performer on Showtime's sketch comedy pilot "The Offensive Show". He is also a frequent sketch and stand-up performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles and has made appearances on programs such as Saul of the Molemen, Crossballs, The Sarah Silverman Program, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! He also hosted "Joe Genius", an online program about humor and homegrown science, on Revision3. Previously, he worked as a writer and occasional voice actor on Current TV's program SuperNews!. He previously wrote for Web Soup on the G4 network, and then The Soup on E!. He left The Soup in 2012.
Harris Wittels opens up about his addiction problems on episode 236 of You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes. To hear the latest episodes of the podcast subscribe here http://www.nerdist.com/podcast_channel/you-made-it-weird-channel/
Rest in peace Harris Wittels. Stand-up set from the New Faces showcase at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival 2008 in Montreal Check out more of Harris' work here: http://www.reddit.com/r/Earwolf/comments/2wi2gy/the_best_of_harris_wittels/ If you can, consider donating so that other kids can get scholarships at his high school: https://hspvafriends.wufoo.com/forms/the-harris-wittels-fund/ All proceeds from the sale of these Earwolf t-shirts will also be donated to that fund: http://store.earwolf.com/store/apparel/4163/cbb-harris-wittels-in-memoriam http://store.earwolf.com/store/apparel/4168/cbb-harris-wittels-wifi (I am not affiliated with Earwolf, just a fan)
Getting Doug with High broadcast live from Largo in Los Angeles with guests Eric André , Rory Scovel, Harris Wittels, Jonah Ray, and Steve Agee. SUBSCRIBE to Doug's channel here: http://bit.ly/1anmdMe Connect with Video Podcast Network Online: Visit The VPN Website: http://full.sc/Xo5lyt Follow Video Podcast Network on Twitter: http://full.sc/ZMVp5X Like Video Podcast Network on Facebook: http://full.sc/Xo5aTP Check Out Friends of Video Podcast Network: Jash: http://full.sc/ZMVvdO Adam Carolla: http://full.sc/Xo5r9l Earwolf: http://full.sc/ZMVCGm Stock Footage Provided by Pond5: http://www.pond5.com About Video Podcast Network: Video Podcast Network is a next generation collective of the best comedy podcasts around; broadcasting live weekly. VIDEO PODCAST NETWORK (or VPN) will feat...
Combined from the NOT Farts and Procreation 4 episode of the Comedy Bang Bang podcast. Scott Aukerman says a few words about Harris, and at the end, plays a bunch of his best of clips. I have taken the liberty and added some photos of Harris as a slideshow over those clips. Harris was a great guy, and I made this video with the hope that I could share with some of my friends so they can be introduced to him. Hopefully, you can do the same. We'll miss you Harris. The episode in it's entireity can be found on here: http://www.earwolf.com/episode/not-farts-procreation-4/ The Song used at the end was "Tweezer" by Phish - http://phish.com/
To commemorate a year since Harris passed, here's a look back at when he hosted the 5th annual Crunchies awards in January 2012. Consider a donation to the Harris Wittels Fund, which awards scholarships at his high school: https://hspvafriends.wufoo.com/forms/the-harris-wittels-fund/ (I'm not affiliated, just a fan!)
Howard and Kulap welcome Harris Wittels to the show. SUBSCRIBE to Video Podcast Network: http://full.sc/13hbvUg Connect with Video Podcast Network Online: Visit The VPN Website: http://full.sc/Xo5lyt Follow Video Podcast Network on Twitter: http://full.sc/ZMVp5X Like Video Podcast Network on Facebook: http://full.sc/Xo5aTP Check Out Friends of Video Podcast Network: Jash: http://full.sc/ZMVvdO Adam Carolla: http://full.sc/Xo5r9l Earwolf: http://full.sc/ZMVCGm Big 3 Live: http://full.sc/ZN7wjC Stock Footage Provided by Pond5: http://www.pond5.com About Video Podcast Network: Video Podcast Network is a next generation collective of the best comedy podcasts around; broadcasting live weekly. VIDEO PODCAST NETWORK (or VPN) will feature exclusive and fully produced visual podcasts from a...
The Married, Single, and Divorced Ladies grill screenwriter/producer/comedian Harris Wittels (Parks & Recreation, Eastbound & Down, The Sarah Silverman Program) on what scares him off when it comes to women. Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/msdladies Ellie Knaus (Married) http://www.twitter.com/ellieinla Crystal Angel (Single) http://www.twitter.com/Iamcrystalangel Deanna Russo (Divorced) http://www.twitter.com/deannarusso Harris Wittels: @twittels And check out his book "Humblebrag: The Art of False Modesty": http://www.amazon.com/Humblebrag-The-Art-False-Modesty/dp/1455514187/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid;=1355417059&sr;=8-1&keywords;=humblebrag+the+art+of+false+modesty See you next week!
From episode 156 of Comedy Bang Bang. Features host Scott Aukerman, Harris Wittels, Zach Galifianakis, Nick Kroll as Chupacabra, & Annie Clark (St. Vincent).