R.I.P. Trevor Moore, co-founder of The Whitest Kids U' Know

Trevor Moore has died. As the co-founder of sketch comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U’ Know—and, subsequently, one of the stars, and the head writer, of the troupe’s television show on Fuse and IFC—Moore helped pioneer the world of online comedy at the turn of the century, leveraging the power of the internet and social media to carve out a niche for the group. Per Variety, he died last night as the result of an accident. Moore was 41.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Moore got into entertainment early, hosting his own public access show, The Trevor Moore Show, when he was still just a teenager. After meeting Sam Brown and Zach Cregger at New York’s School Of Visual Arts, the trio founded The Whitest Kids U’ Know as a college comedy troupe, eventually filling out the roster with Timmy Williams and Darren Trumeter. The troupe then parlayed a win for Best Sketch Group at HBO’s U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in 2006 into a TV deal, eventually landing The Whitest Kids U’ Know at Fuse (and later IFC, after concerns that the show’s content might be too extreme for the former network). The series ran for five seasons on the networks, diving deep into absurdist sketch comedy, and producing some of the earliest viral sketch content to land on the internet. Meanwhile, Cregger and Moore also wrote, directed, and starred in a Playboy-themed comedy film, Miss March.

After the Kids series ended, Moore continued to work as a writer and producer in the world of comedy, often in conjunction with Comedy Central, which produced the special High In Church, Trev-A-Thon, and the musical comedy film The Story Of Our Times. (Which features, among other things, Moore performing a lengthy ballad that attempts to apply mythological grandeur to the rise of Kim Kardashian.) Meanwhile, he broke into kids’ entertainment as well, creating two series—Walk The Prank, and the improvisational Just Roll With It—for Disney.

Most recently, Moore briefly produced and starred in an absurdist talk series, The Trevor Moore Show, for Comedy Central. He also continued his collaborations with the other members of The Whitest Kids U’ Know, streaming regularly with a variety of regular shows on Twitch. Cregger and Brown issued a statement about his death today:

Early this morning, we learned that we lost our brother, our collaborator and the driving force behind WKUK. He was our best friend, and we speak for all of us in saying that the loss of Trevor is unimaginable. We are heartbroken and our grief pales in comparison to the loss felt by his wife and son. On behalf of WKUK, we ask for privacy during our time of profound grief, and strength for his family who are dealing with the impossible thought of living life without him. Our hope is that friends, fellow artists, and fans that loved him will not focus on his death, but will remember the countless moments of laughter he gave them.