Authorities have identified the hiker who suffered a fatal medical emergency in Runyon Canyon as 78-year-old screenwriter William Hasley, who helped Caitlyn Jenner write a motivational book.
. He was also a friend of Caitlyn Jenner and helped write the former athlete’s motivational book “Finding the Champion Within,” according to hisMore than two dozen personnel with the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a report of a hiker in grave medical condition off Nichols Canyon Road near Hollywood Boulevard shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday.
A helicopter was used to reach the patient and allow paramedics to provide urgent medical care. They were unable to save him, and he was declared dead shortly after, according to the LAFD. Hasley hailed from Pittsburgh, Penn. , and played university football before venturing to Hollywood to pursue his dreams as a writer.
He wrote on 37 episodes of “The Smurfs” in the late 1980s and early ’90s as well as several episodes of “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids,” according to IMDB. His TV writing credits also included “Swift Justice,” “Ghost Stories,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Young Riders” and “Highway to Heaven.
”He was able to channel his love of sports while working with NBC on the network’s project “Star Salute to the U.S. Olympic Team,” where he met Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner, according to his The pair became friends, and Hasley went on to help write a book about Jenner’s philosophy on overcoming adversity in sports and life. He was commissioned to ghostwrite several other motivational books including “Passion, Profit, & Power” for hypnotist Marshall Sylver and “The Slight Edge” for self-help expert Jeff Olson.
Hasley loved sharing his passion for writing with students at UCLA and described the process of writing as akin to assembling a puzzle, where one tries many different combinations of pieces before finding the perfect fit, according to his “I personally believe that when you know your characters well enough they will start dictating their actions,” he wrote.
“When that happens writing becomes a euphoric experience. ” In addition to teaching and writing he enjoyed golfing, horseback riding, fighting City Hall over an environmental issue, volunteering in soup kitchens and speaking to youth organizations, according to his bio.they had seen him earlier Saturday carrying groceries home.
“It’s very sad he had to die all alone like that,” the neighbor said. Clara Harter is a breaking news reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she covered politics and education for the L.A. Daily News.
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Screenwriting Instructor and Author Hasley Dies at 78 While Hiking Near Runyon CanyonHasley, a former college athlete and UCLA screenwriting instructor, tragically died on June 6 while hiking near Runyon Canyon Park in Los Angeles. He was 78. LAFD personnel responded but he was pronounced dead at the scene. No cause of death has been released.
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Caitlyn Jenner's Friend and Biographer William Hasley Dies After Collapsing on LA's Runyon CanyonWilliam Hasley, 78, was identified as the hiker who collapsed and died on LA's Runyon Canyon on Saturday. Hasley was a friend and biographer of Caitlyn Jenner and wrote her 1996 self-help book Finding the Champion Within. This is the second tragedy in less than a year to strike Jenner, following the death of her confidante and manager Sophia Hutchins in July 2025.
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