Caitlyn Jenner's longtime friend, ghostwriter, and screenwriter William Halsey was found dead last Saturday.
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Halsey, 78, has been identified as the hiker whose body was discovered near Runyon Canyon in Los Angeles.
Emergency responders were called to the area at approximately 7:05 p.m., but despite rescue efforts, Halsey could not be saved.
Hiker Found Dead Near Runyon Canyon
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department said that "air operations lowered rescuers to the patient," allowing medical personnel to begin treatment.
Unfortunately, officials pronounced Halsey dead at the scene.
The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear. While the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has confirmed his identity, a cause of death has not yet been determined.
According to the New York Post, temperatures in the area were relatively mild. It ranged from the low to mid-60s at the time of the incident.
A neighbor who lived near Halsey's home close to Runyon Canyon spoke to the outlet and expressed sadness over the circumstances.
"I just saw him on Saturday carrying groceries," the neighbor said. "It's very sad he had to die all alone like that."
Investigators have not released any additional details as the case remains under review.
Veteran Writer Enjoyed Long Hollywood Career
Halsey was the former husband of actress Robin Riker and served as the ghostwriter for Caitlyn Jenner's 1996 book, Finding the Champion Within, published by Simon & Schuster.
In his own memoir, Halsey wrote about his friendship with Jenner. He explained that the pair became "fast friends" while working together on an Olympics-related project.
Their relationship later deepened when Jenner asked him to help write the book.
Throughout his career, Halsey accumulated numerous television writing credits, including Swift Justice, Ghost Stories, Murder, She Wrote, Kung Fu, Young Riders, and Highway to Heaven.
According to his IMDb profile, he also wrote 37 episodes of The Smurfs during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Beyond television, Halsey wrote screenplays for major studios including Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox.
He also taught screenwriting at UCLA, helping mentor aspiring writers entering the industry.
Originally from Pittsburgh, Halsey played college football before relocating to Hollywood, where he built a successful and respected career as a writer.
