William Hasley, the biographer of Caitlyn Jenner, was discovered dead on a hiking trail in Los Angeles.
Quote from Oladosun Joshua Segun on June 10, 2026, 10:05 AM
A close friend of Caitlyn Jenner's has passed away. As per to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records that media outlets were able to examine, William Hasley, a ghostwriter for the Olympian's 1996 inspirational book Finding the Champion Within, passed away on June 6. He was seventy-eight.
The L.A. Fire Department informed the New York Post that Hasley was discovered close to Runyon Canyon. According to authorities, flying rescuers made a failed attempt to save him.
“LAFD Air Operations lowered rescuers to the patient,” in a statement to the newspaper on June 9, a LAFD representative stated, “and medical treatment was administered.”
At the spot, Hasley was declared deceased. As of right now, no cause of death has been disclosed.
Hasley was not just a prolific writer but also a scriptwriter for cartoons such as The Smurfs, Fat Albert, and the Cosby Kids. However, according to his website profile, it was his work on Fat Albert that led him to become engaged with the Special Olympics. As a former football player and cross-country athlete at Marshall University, he was especially thrilled about this involvement.
In 1984, he met Jenner while working on NBC's Star Salute to the U.S. Olympic Team. According to Hasley's bio, the two “became fast friends and Jenner commissioned [Hasley] to write a motivational book about his championship philosophy entitled, Finding the Champion Within for Simon & Schuster.”
Published in 1996, the book provided readers with a 10-step approach to start over.
After that, Hasley kept working as a ghostwriter, writing The Slight Edge for Jeff Olson and Passion, Profit & Power for Marshall Sylver.
In addition to writing books, he contributed to the television shows Swift Justice and The Young Riders in the 1990s. Additionally, he created a number of pilot shows, such as Brooklyn District for Universal and Borderline Heroes, which was sold to ABC.
As reported to his website, Hasley collaborated with Gerald Green and Oliver Stone as a writer on the movie Defiance while he was employed at Universal. Additionally, he was a writing instructor at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Hasley was formerly wed to Robin Riker, an actress from Bold and the Beautiful.

A close friend of Caitlyn Jenner's has passed away. As per to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records that media outlets were able to examine, William Hasley, a ghostwriter for the Olympian's 1996 inspirational book Finding the Champion Within, passed away on June 6. He was seventy-eight.
The L.A. Fire Department informed the New York Post that Hasley was discovered close to Runyon Canyon. According to authorities, flying rescuers made a failed attempt to save him.

“LAFD Air Operations lowered rescuers to the patient,” in a statement to the newspaper on June 9, a LAFD representative stated, “and medical treatment was administered.”
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At the spot, Hasley was declared deceased. As of right now, no cause of death has been disclosed.
Hasley was not just a prolific writer but also a scriptwriter for cartoons such as The Smurfs, Fat Albert, and the Cosby Kids. However, according to his website profile, it was his work on Fat Albert that led him to become engaged with the Special Olympics. As a former football player and cross-country athlete at Marshall University, he was especially thrilled about this involvement.

In 1984, he met Jenner while working on NBC's Star Salute to the U.S. Olympic Team. According to Hasley's bio, the two “became fast friends and Jenner commissioned [Hasley] to write a motivational book about his championship philosophy entitled, Finding the Champion Within for Simon & Schuster.”
Published in 1996, the book provided readers with a 10-step approach to start over.
After that, Hasley kept working as a ghostwriter, writing The Slight Edge for Jeff Olson and Passion, Profit & Power for Marshall Sylver.
In addition to writing books, he contributed to the television shows Swift Justice and The Young Riders in the 1990s. Additionally, he created a number of pilot shows, such as Brooklyn District for Universal and Borderline Heroes, which was sold to ABC.

As reported to his website, Hasley collaborated with Gerald Green and Oliver Stone as a writer on the movie Defiance while he was employed at Universal. Additionally, he was a writing instructor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Hasley was formerly wed to Robin Riker, an actress from Bold and the Beautiful.
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