Kevin Bleyer, an Emmy-winning writer on "The Daily Show" who previously wrote speeches for former President Barack Obama, died in a fatal car crash over the weekend. He was 54.
The Maryland native died Oct. 25 while driving on a rural road in Millrift, Pennsylvania, where he had a home, his family confirmed on Facebook Oct. 27. No one else was injured in the crash.
"Kevin spent his life finding the perfect words to make people laugh, think and see the world a little differently," his wife Bella said in the statement. "I was lucky enough to know the humor, curiosity, mischief and tenderness behind those words — and to be loved by a man who made my own world more joyful, more adventurous and infinitely more beautiful."
USA TODAY reached out to Bleyer's
representative for comment.
Bleyer was born in Bethesda, Maryland, raised in Seattle, and attended Stanford University in California. For the past 20 years, he considered New York City home, though he also had a home in Millrift, Pennsylvania.
He began his career working as playwright Anna Deavere Smith's dramaturg and assistant at New York’s Public Theater and Broadway’s Cort Theatre. He later moved to London, where he worked for journalist David Brancaccio at the London Bureau of Public Radio International business affairs program, Marketplace.
Kevin Bleyer worked under Bill Maher before his job with Jon Stewart
Bleyer launched his late-night writing career in 2000 when he joined Bill Maher's talk show "Politically Incorrect" and stayed until ABC canceled it in 2002. His next gig was at Dennis Miller's CNBC self-titled political talk show, which aired for 16 months until May 2005.
He found a stable career in industry as a staff writer at Comedy Central with Jon Stewart’s "The Daily Show" in 2005. He won four Emmy Awards for his writing on the talk show and was nominated eight times. His work on the show also earned him a WGA award in 2010 and a Peabody in 2015.
During his nine-year tenure on " The Daily Show," he wrote for the Oscars in 2006 and 2008 when Stewart hosted.
His other roles include being a writer and producer on NBC's "Today" show, a supervising producer for MSNBC’s "Ronan Farrow Daily," writing a weekly column for The Daily Beast and serving as a recurring voice for The Onion Radio News.
Kevin Bleyer wrote for Obama, Bill de Blasio
Bleyer's career also took him into politics, writing for Obama's addresses at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinners. He later went on to serve as deputy chief speechwriter for former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who served from 2014 to 2021.
He also worked overseas, living in Kyrgyzstan in 2013 when he executive produced the first political satire news show in Central Asia titled "Studio 7."
When he returned to the United States, he cofounded Pilot Media Initiatives alongside writer Dillon Case. The production organization helped start civics-minded media programs in democratically challenged countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Jordan, and Estonia.
"Whether working with the U.S. State Department in Central Asia to bring political satire programming to that part of the world or delivering biting and poignant takes on 'The Daily Show' and many other programs, Kevin did just that," producer Llewellyn Wells said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "He left the world a better place than he found it. The heavens are shining brighter today, the earth lost an angel."
He also wrote for scripted television, including "The Right Stuff" on Disney+, "Sleepy Hollow" on Fox and "Significant Others" on Bravo.
He is survived by his wife, Nella; his father, Archie; his brother, Keith; his sister-in-law, Kelly; his nephew, Evan; and his niece, Lauren. His representative said donations in Bleyer's memory can be made to the New York City chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association or to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kevin Bleyer, Emmy-winning 'Daily Show' writer, dies after car crash
