Over the weekend, Jonah Ray (Mystery Science Theater 3000, Hidden America with Jonah Ray) broke the news that his friend and creative partner Neil Mahoney (Freak Dance, Drunk History) passed away unexpectedly in his sleep at age 43, via Instagram. Many know Mahoney’s voice from Jonah Raydio, the music podcast he co-hosted with Ray and Cash Hartzell (Talking Dead).
On the podcast Mahoney would jest that his job as a television editor was to “construct drama for a living”, though he’s best known for constructing laughs on shows such as Key & Peele, Portlandia, Another Period and Drunk History. After Ray’s announcement, members of the comedy community, who had the pleasure of working with Mahoney and calling him a friend, began to aggregate stories and memories on social media using the hashtag #NeiledIt , an expression the editor often used on Jonah Raydio.
Born in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Working Not Working said of Mahoney’s upbringing: “it’s clear that Neil developed discipline, resourcefulness, and sense of humor early on that has kept him afloat then and now, and enabled him to build an impressive career.” Mahoney attended Emerson University, which eventually led him on his first voyage to the world of Los Angeles comedy. A senior at Emerson, Mahoney worked his first industry job as an intern on Mr. Show, according to his interview with Serial Optimist.
Director Lance Bangs (The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail) and comedian Scott Aukerman (Comedy Bang! Bang!) both cited Mr. Show as the first place they met Mahoney in their Instagram posts about their friend’s sudden passing. Bangs shared photo of Mahoney from those early days, saying that “Neil was a sharp, perceptive, deeply engaged person” (Instagram). “[Mahoney] built lasting friendships with people throughout the comedy, film, and music scenes,” Bangs added, noting how Mahoney’s talents as a compassionate friend went hand-in-hand with his talents behind-the-scenes on various comedy projects, via Instagram.
Much like Bangs, many people who worked with Mahoney praised his intuitive sensibility and talent for crafting an engaging stories. “Any project I worked on, if Neil was editing I breathed a literal sigh of relief” Emily V. Gordon (The Big Sick), who worked with Mahoney on projects such as The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, shared on Twitter “he just got it. Ridiculously good instincts and skills.” Actor Paul Sheer (The League, Black Monday) shared similar sentiments on Instagram: “I knew whatever he touched he’d make it exponentially better.” The Sklar brothers (The Sklar Brothers: What Are We Talking About) shared stories of Mahoney editing Back On Topps with them on Instagram and Peter Atencio (Key & Peele, The Twilight Zone) bemoaned the Television Academy’s missed opportunity to award Mahoney and Emmy for his work on Key & Peele on Twitter.
“Working on Key & Peele was pretty much the first time anyone in my family had heard of something that I’d done” Mahoney told Working Not Working in 2017 “I was proud to be nominated for an Emmy for the last season alongside Nick Monsour and Rich LaBrie, in no small part because somewhere my name will be next to theirs forever and I think they’re both really great editors.”
Atencio shared his awe of Mahoney while working on the Emmy-nominated program, saying “when we had sketches on Key & Peele that no one could crack we’d give it to Neil to edit and somehow he’d make it funny” (Twitter). “He was great writer because he only ever wanted to make himself laugh,” Atencio shared on Twitter.
“Comedy was always my goal, but not out of any deep need for attention, respect for the craft, or because I was some historian about stand ups” Mahoney shared his propensity toward comedy with Serial Optimist in 2012 “It came from simple association between laughter and enjoyment of life- I want to have a good time all the time, and when you’re having the best time, you’re laughing.” Mahoney’s storytelling translated on screen and, as performer Mark Gaglardi (Drunk History) put it on Twitter, “if you’ve laughed at TV in the last decade it was likely in part because of him.”
In the spirit of sharing Mahoney’s work, Dan Pasternak (Portlandia, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret) uploaded a Super Deluxe Sketch entitled “A Robbery Awry” that Mahoney both wrote and starred in on YouTube Sunday. “Here is one of the videos he made during my days at Super Deluxe,” Pasternak wrote in the video’s description “it was written by Neil and he stars in it with his dear friend and constant collaborator, Jonah Ray.”
When he wasn’t on a television production, Mahoney shared his talents and enjoyment of life with those around him. The majority of stories shared under the #NeiledIt hashtag over the weekend were of Mahoney’s impactful friendship and generosity of spirit.
Those who listened to Mahoney on Jonah Raydio could always catch a whiff of the editor’s charm and good-nature, as he diligently manned the soundboard all-the-while serving as the butt of Ray and Hartzell’s various jokes. The three co-hosts would razz on one another like brothers would, in fact Sara Benincasa (Well, This Isn’t Normal) wrote on Instagram that: “[Mahoney] loved his friends in such way that I sometimes forgot [Ray] and [Hartzell] were not his actual brothers.” Deanna Rooney (Mystery Science Theater 3000, Townies) shared photos and memories of Mahoney on Instagram as well, including ones of Mahoney, Ray and Hartzell recording the podcast together.
Aside from Ray and Hartzell, Mahoney was oftentimes associated with stand-up comedian Jen Kirkman (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Chelsea Lately) as the two were married from 2009 to 2011. On Twitter, Kirkman said that Mahoney was “one of the only truly good, decent, and kind people in a world of assholes such as myself.”
Messages about Mahoney’s steadfast nature as a friend permeated the #NeiledIt hashtag over the weekend. Writer Julia Prescott (Townies, The Simpsons) called Mahoney “everyone’s friend” on Twitter and artist Dave Kloc referred to him as “the nicest guy in Los Angeles” on Instagram. “Neil was the guy you met when you moved to LA, who made you feel like you were right at home,” Rhea Butcher (Adam Ruins Everything, Good Trouble) concurred with Kloc, via Twitter.
Due to Mahoney’s work within the comedy community, many Los Angeles-area comedians had stories to contribute to the #NeiledIt thread. Steve Agee (New Girl, Superstore) said “Neil is one of those people that I don’t remember meeting, he’s just always been there. Always awesome” (Twitter). This beloved reputation that Agee spoke of, transcended the confines of the comedy community. Musicians, who likewise had the chance to work with Mahoney, such as Har Mar Superstar, Ted Leo and Tony Thaxton expressed their love for the editor on social media over the weekend as well.
Television director Cat Solen’s (The Shivering Truth, Take My Wife) simple story about Mahoney gifting her a Jolly Rancher seemed to exemplify the characteristics everyone admired in him as friend. “That was the thing about Neil,” Solen referred to the small act of sharing on her Instagram “he always had something to give. And no matter how small it was, his gifts always felt meaningful.” “I held onto the Jolly Rancher for few days looking at it occasionally and thinking how lovely it was that he gave it to me,” Solen continued on Instagram “finally when I ate it, I swear to you, it was the best goddamned Jolly Rancher I’ve ever had.” Solen concluded that, despite all his innumerable talents, Mahoney was “the most talented at friendship”, via Instagram. This sentiment of Solen’s was echoed again and again by those lucky enough to call Mahoney a friend.
According to Gordon, Mahoney was “the best party guest”, an element of his friendship that many others mentioned on the #NeiledIt hashtag, via Instagram. Kulap Vilaysack (Bajillion Dollar Properties) shared snap of Mahoney at her 21st birthday at Moonlight Rollerway on Instagram, Paul F. Tompkins (BoJack Horseman, Best Week Ever) told the story of Thanksgiving party in which Mahoney proved the best at rocking an impromptu bow-tie on Twitter and both Nanjiani and Georgia Hardstark (My Favorite Murder) spoke of Mahoney’s understated ability to show up first at any party. “You could always count on Neil to show up early to your party,” Hardstark shared on Instagram “which as someone with anxiety that no one would show up to my party, and in town where everyone shows up 2 hours late, I always appreciated about him.” On Instagram, Alexis Hanawalt (Hot Date, Chelsea) shared a memory of Mahoney exclaiming “this is the greatest day of my life” during Hanawalt’s wedding, which he said was a personal highlight of the celebration.
One particular party that stood out to Mahoney’s friends was artist Kloc’s Letterkenny-themed birthday party. “I keep thinking of our very dumb, very fun Letterkenny “Super Soft” birthday party for [Kloc]” Lauren Fonville, a mutual friend of Kloc and Mahoney, shared on Instagram. Ray cited Mahoney’s love of the Canadian sitcom in multiple posts about the editor’s passing, via Instagram. His passion for the show was repeated by others, such as Benincasa who said “he recounted endless episodes of Letterkenny to me no matter how often I told him I had never seen the show” (Instagram).
Even while making beloved comedy series come to life behind-the-scenes, Mahoney remained a fan of the format in his free time. Aside from enjoying Canadian-exported sitcoms, Mahoney curated unique hobbies such as whittling, a pastime many friends mentioned in their tributes to Mahoney. A cousin of Mahoney’s, Erin V. Mahoney, shared one of his recent whittling projects on Instagram, saying that “this Christmas he carved dala horses—traditional Swedish figures—for his beloved sister Meg and cousin, Daisy.”
Comedian Matt Besser (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Upright Citizen’s Brigade) shared his surprise in discovering that Mahoney participated in tagging and street art when he was younger. “It blew my mind when he told me back in the day he had been a tagger/really into the art of graffiti,” Besser said on Twitter “that’s brave art.” Nick Weidenfeld (Trigger Warning with Killer Mike, Children’s Hospital), who likewise shared a party-related memory about Mahoney on Twitter, referred to their days tagging together by saying “we wrote about graffiti together in Maryland and worked on tv shows in California” (Twitter).
As stories flooded social media, Hartzell thanked everyone for sharing their memories and encouraged them to keep doing so, via Twitter. Perusing a constant interest in writing and expanding into the realms of directing and producing over the years, Mahoney’s work on screen was only beginning. However, as Hartzell implied, it’s the stories of Mahoney’s unparalleled friendship for which he’ll forever be remembered.
Mahoney concluded his 2017 Working Not Working interview by saying: “thanks for your interest in my life.” It’s clear, from the outpouring of love and disbelief over social media this weekend, that the interest in Mahoney’s life was vast and the impact of his loss will be felt deeply by those it touched.