It has been confirmed by his family, that the 28-year-old, writer, actor and comedian Jak Knight has died at 28 years old. Prior to the date of his death, Knight stayed very active in the entertainment industry. He had just wrapped the filming of “First Female Director,” a film created by fellow comedian, Chelsea Peretti.
He continued to act as the voiceover star of the animated series “Big Mouth” and has been appearing in the Peacock series “Bust Down” since March of 2022. From 2019 to 2020, he wrote for the popular ABC television show, “Black-ish.” The news of the death of this young, accomplished Black creative shocked his fans and colleagues, as many took to social media to express their sadness and condolences.
As reported by People magazine, “The writer, actor and comedian was found on a Los Angeles Calif. embankment Thursday suffering from a gunshot wound, according to a coroner’s report obtained by PEOPLE Monday. The 28-year-old’s cause of death has been ruled a suicide by the coroner.”
“Knight’s loved ones ask that their privacy please be respected during this extremely difficult time,” said his agency rep, who announced the actor’s passing.
Knight was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award for his contributions to the HBO talk formatted series “Pause with Sam Jay.” Knight’s considerable body of work is a testament to his talent and comedic savvy. On stage he opened for Dave Chappelle, an inspiration of Knight’s and shared stages with Eric Andre, Joel McHale, Moshe Kasher and others.
The actor and comedian’s career was taking off quickly and his light shone brightly in Hollywood. One will never know how far he could have gone in his career before being cut so short. But it is clear that Knight was well on his way to greatness.