Key points
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Kevin Bleyer died at 54 on Sunday, Oct. 25.
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His wife said that he died in a car accident.
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Bleyer won four Emmys for his work on The Daily Show.
Kevin Bleyer, the comedy writer best known for his work on The Daily Show, has died.
The screenwriter’s wife, Nella Vera, wrote a Facebook post sharing the heartbreaking news that Bleyer died in a car accident at 54 on Sunday.
“The last eleven years have had their ups and downs, as life does, but above all, they have been filled with immense love, laughter, dogs, and travel,” wrote Vera, who began dating Bleyer in 2015 and married him in 2025. “I was in awe of his intellect, dazzled by his wit, amazed by his fearlessness and spirit of adventure, besotted by his loving heart, and smitten by his beautiful blue eyes.”
She continued, “I feel incredibly lucky to have shared the past decade with such a brilliant, complicated, funny, stubborn, and wonderful man. He had many public accomplishments and awards throughout his long and successful career, but to me, he was my soulmate, my partner in crime, and the one who made life so much more fun.”
Born in Bethesda, Md., Bleyer grew up in the Seattle area and played a supporting role in the Gene Hackman drama Twice in a Lifetime in 1985. He attended Stanford University and began his TV career writing for Bill Maher’s Politically Incorrect, which ran from 1996 to 2002.
Bleyer wrote for the Bravo sitcom Significant Others and Dennis Miller’s self-titled CNBC show before joining The Daily Show‘s writing staff in 2005. He worked on the Jon Stewart–hosted version of the show until 2013, earning four Emmys in 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2012. He also wrote for Disney+’s The Right Stuff and Fox’s Sleepy Hollow.
The writer also helped pen remarks for President Obama at various points throughout his career, most notably at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinners. He also worked as a speechwriter for Bill de Blasio during his tenure as the mayor of New York City.
Bleyer penned multiple books, including 2012’s Me the People: One Man’s Selfless Quest to Rewrite the Constitution of the United States of America, as well as How to Sweet-Talk a Shark, which was co-written with former US Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson.
He also helped develop Studio 7 while living in Kyrgyzstan in 2013, touted on his website as “the first political satire news show in all of Central Asia.”
Bleyer is survived by his wife, Nella; his father, Archie; his brother, Keith; his sister-in-law, Kelly; his niece, Lauren; and his nephew, Evan.
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Vera encouraged donations in Bleyer’s memory to Alzheimer’s Association New York City Chapter or the ASPCA.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
