Barry Blaustein, a comedy writer who helped define Eddie Murphy’s most memorable “Saturday Night Live” characters and went on to pen several hit films with the star, died on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. He was 71.
Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts announced his death. The screenwriting professor had been fighting Parkinson’s disease since his 2017 diagnosis and learned last month he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Collaboration With Murphy Defined Both Careers
In 1980, Blaustein and writing partner David Sheffield joined “Saturday Night Live” for its sixth season, arriving at the same time as a young cast member named Eddie Murphy. What followed was an immediate creative chemistry that would span four decades. The writing duo crafted Murphy’s most iconic sketch characters, including Gumby, Buckwheat, Mr. Robinson, Velvet Jones and James Brown’s Celebrity Hot Tub, working exclusively with the rising star.
Their Mr. Robinson parody of Fred Rogers eventually prompted an office visit from the children’s show host himself. “Mr. Rogers actually came up to the offices one day,” Blaustein told NPR’s Terry Gross in a 2000 interview. “He basically said, ‘You’ve had your fun, now stop doing the sketches.’ We were tired of doing them anyway.”
The Murphy partnership extended far beyond Studio 8H. Blaustein and Sheffield wrote “Coming to America” in 1988, creating 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. More than 30 years after the original, they reunited to write “Coming 2 America” in 2021.
Wrestling Documentary Became Personal Triumph
Despite his success with mainstream comedies, Blaustein considered “Beyond the Mat,” his 1999 wrestling documentary, the favorite thing he had ever done. The film examined the harsh realities behind professional wrestling through the lives of Mick Foley, Terry Funk and Jake “The Snake” Roberts, earning widespread critical respect. Blaustein explained that he could make the documentary because he had accrued such goodwill with Imagine Entertainment partners Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Michael Rosenberg, and was so passionate about the subject matter.
He later directed “The Ringer” in 2005, starring Johnny Knoxville and Katherine Heigl, and “Peep World” in 2010, an ensemble feature he shot in 21 days for about $1 million.
From Hollywood to the Classroom
In 2012, Blaustein began teaching screenwriting at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, launching a second career as a professor. He approached education with the same passion that marked his Hollywood years, earning a reputation as a mentor who viewed students as partners rather than pupils.
“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.
Stephen Galloway, the dean of Dodge College, praised both his talent and character. “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.
Following his Parkinson’s diagnosis, Blaustein became an advocate for the Parkinson’s Foundation, speaking openly about his condition to help others facing the disease. Colleagues and students noted that his humor and generosity never wavered despite declining health.
From Long Island to Lasting Legacy
Born Barry Wayne Blaustein on September 10, 1954, he grew up on Long Island, New York, graduating from W.T. Clarke High School before attending New York University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. An NBC News internship in New York provided his entry into the entertainment industry.
Tributes from comedians, former students and longtime collaborators have flooded in since the announcement of his death, reflecting a career built on elevating other performers and mentoring future writers.