Kevin Bleyer, a speech writer for former President Barack Obama and a writer for The Daily Show, was killed in a fatal car crash on Sunday, October 25.
“Kevin spent his life finding the perfect words to make people laugh, think, and see the world a little differently,” Bleyer’s wife, Nella Vera, shared in a statement, per Deadline. “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.”
“I am devastated, heartbroken, shattered. I am joined in grief by his father and brother, sister-in-law, and niece and nephew. I have family and friends surrounding me with support and helping me through these unimaginable days, but my heart has a hole in it that will never be filled,” she added. “Hold those you love tight because ‘nothing here is promised, not one day.'”
Bleyer worked on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart from 2005 to 2013. During his tenure, Bleyer earned four Emmy Awards and a Writers Guild Award.
As a political comedy writer, Bleyer contributed heavily to Obama’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner speeches throughout his two terms in the White House.
“Kevin Bleyer was a writer’s writer,” Bleyer’s friend and screenwriter Danny Strong said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. “From his many years on The Daily Show to writing Obama’s WHCD speeches to his many books and his work on numerous scripted dramas, Kevin could literally do it all. His immense talent was only outmatched by his kind soul. I am in complete shock that he is gone and my sadness is overwhelming. I already miss him dearly.”
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