A comedy writer whose fingerprints are all over Eddie Murphy’s most iconic work — from “Saturday Night Live” sketches to a string of hit films spanning four decades — has died. Barry Blaustein passed away Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at age 71.
Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, where Blaustein taught screenwriting beginning in 2012, announced his death. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017 and learned last month he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer, according to reports.
A Partnership That Reshaped Late Night
Barry Wayne Blaustein was born Sept. 10, 1954, and raised on Long Island, New York. He attended W.T. Clarke High School and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University. An internship at NBC News in New York provided his entry into the entertainment world.
Blaustein and his writing partner David Sheffield joined “Saturday Night Live” in 1980 for the show’s sixth season, arriving the same year a young Eddie Murphy became a cast member. The pairing proved transformative for both the writers and the performer. Writing exclusively for Murphy, they created an unforgettable lineup of characters: Gumby, Buckwheat, Mr. Robinson, Velvet Jones and James Brown’s Celebrity Hot Tub.
Their Mr. Robinson sketches, which parodied children’s television host Fred Rogers, eventually prompted a visit from Rogers himself to the “SNL” offices.
“He basically said, ‘You’ve had your fun, now stop doing the sketches.’ We were tired of doing them anyway,” Blaustein told NPR’s Terry Gross in a 2000 interview.
From Studio 8H to the Big Screen
That creative chemistry carried over to Hollywood. Blaustein and Sheffield wrote “Coming to America” in 1988, which became one of Murphy’s most beloved films. They followed with “Boomerang” in 1992, “The Nutty Professor” in 1996 and “Nutty Professor II: The Klumps” in 2000, cementing their place as central voices in mainstream comedy for nearly two decades. More than 30 years after the original, they returned to script “Coming 2 America” in 2021.
As a director, Blaustein helmed the 2005 comedy “The Ringer,” starring Johnny Knoxville and Katherine Heigl, and the 2010 ensemble film “Peep World,” which he shot in 21 days for approximately $1 million.
The Wrestling Film That Became His Favorite
Despite his success with blockbuster comedies, Blaustein frequently cited “Beyond the Mat,” his 1999 documentary about professional wrestling, as the work he treasured most. The film tracked wrestlers Mick Foley, Terry Funk and Jake “The Snake” Roberts, exposing the physical punishment and personal sacrifices demanded by their profession. It has since become regarded as one of the genre’s most important documentaries.
He was able to make the film because of his strong relationship with Imagine Entertainment partners Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Michael Rosenberg, along with his deep passion for the material. He had accrued such goodwill with them that they supported the project.
A Second Act in the Classroom
In 2012, Blaustein embarked on a teaching career at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, bringing the same passion he had shown during his “SNL” years. Colleagues and students recalled a professor who approached screenwriting with seriousness while treating students as equals in the creative process.
“I find teaching students really inspiring, and I hope to make them better writers, because I know they make me a better writer,” Blaustein said.
Following his Parkinson’s diagnosis, he became an advocate for the Parkinson’s Foundation, speaking candidly about his condition and working to educate others facing the disease. Those close to him noted that even as his condition worsened, he maintained his characteristic warmth and wit.
Stephen Galloway, the dean of Dodge College, reflected on Blaustein’s legacy and resilience.
“Barry understood what made comedy function better than anyone I know. He knew that it includes darkness as well as light. And yet it was the light that filled his last years. Even as he declined with Parkinson’s, he showed a positivity that always stunned me. He’ll be remembered as a wonderful writer, but an even more wonderful human being,” Galloway said in a statement.
Tributes from comedians, former students and longtime colleagues have flooded in since the announcement of his death, reflecting a career dedicated to elevating others — whether a young comic at 30 Rock or screenwriting students who learned from him decades later.
