William Hasley, the Hollywood screenwriter who ghostwrote Caitlyn Jenner's 1996 self-help book and was once married to television actress Robin Riker, was found dead near Los Angeles's Runyon Canyon hiking trail Saturday evening. He was 78 years old.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said Hasley was discovered in an area near the popular canyon at about 7:05 p.m. LAFD Air Operations lowered rescuers to him, and medical treatment was administered, but responders could not save him. Officials pronounced Hasley dead at the scene, the New York Post reported.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office has not released a cause of death and is deferring any official determination. Temperatures in the Los Angeles area were cool that evening, in the mid-to-low 60s, ruling out the kind of extreme heat that has claimed hikers on Southern California trails in recent summers. Beyond that, the circumstances remain largely unexplained.
Hasley lived near Runyon Canyon, and a neighbor told the Post they had seen him just hours before the discovery.
"I just saw him on Saturday carrying groceries. It's very sad he had to die all alone like that."
That brief account is, so far, one of the few windows into Hasley's final day. No witnesses to his hike have been identified publicly, and no official explanation has been offered for what led to his collapse or death on the trail.
The case joins a string of recent incidents in which prominent or publicly connected individuals have been found dead under circumstances that remain under investigation.
Hasley spent decades working in Hollywood's writing ranks. He wrote screenplays for Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers, and 20th Century Fox, among other studios. But his most widely known credit came not on screen but on the printed page.
In 1996, Jenner, then still known publicly by a different name, published "Finding the Champion Within" through Simon & Schuster. The self-help book laid out a 10-step program aimed at helping readers "reboot" their lives. Hasley penned it.
On his personal biography page at williamhasley.com, Hasley described how the collaboration came together. He said he and Jenner became "fast friends" while he was working on an Olympics-related project. Jenner then commissioned him to write the book. The California Post reached out to representatives for Jenner and UCLA for comment but did not report receiving a response.
Beyond screenwriting and ghostwriting, Hasley taught the craft. His UCLA Extension instructor page described a course designed to help aspiring writers "develop your own distinct style into a concise and creative screenplay for today's ever-changing marketplace." He was, by all available accounts, a working writer who stayed active in the industry well into his later years.
His biography painted a picture of a man with interests that ranged well beyond the studio lot. It described him as an environmentalist who fought "City Hall over an environmental issue," volunteered at soup kitchens, spoke to youth organizations, and played in celebrity golf tournaments and the Showbiz Softball League. He also rode horses with what his bio called "the infamous Hole in the Wall Gang."
Hasley was the former husband of actress Robin Riker, who became a star on the Showtime sitcom "Brothers" in the 1980s, playing Kelly Hall. Riker went on to become a television regular for the next decade. Her most recent notable credit was on "The Bold and the Beautiful," where she played Beth Logan.
No public statement from Riker regarding Hasley's death has been reported. The timeline of their marriage and divorce was not detailed in available reporting.
In recent months, several cases involving individuals found dead far from home or under unclear circumstances have drawn public attention and underscored the difficult waiting period families endure before official determinations are made.
The most pressing question, what killed William Hasley, has no public answer. The Medical Examiner's decision to defer an official determination leaves open a range of possibilities, from a medical event to an accident on the trail. No foul play has been reported or suggested by any official source.
The exact location where Hasley was found near Runyon Canyon has not been specified. Nor has any agency publicly confirmed which office formally identified him as the hiker discovered Saturday evening.
Runyon Canyon is one of Los Angeles's most heavily trafficked urban hiking areas, drawing tourists and locals alike to its steep trails and views of the Hollywood Hills. That a 78-year-old man could die there, alone, on a mild evening, and not be found until responders arrived underscores how solitary even the most popular trails can be after the crowds thin out.
The LAFD's account was clinical. An LAFD spokesperson stated that "LAFD Air Operations lowered rescuers to the patient, and medical treatment was administered." The air rescue team tried to save him. They failed. He was pronounced dead where he lay.
Hasley's death comes during a period when sudden deaths of notable figures have generated intense public interest and, in some cases, prolonged investigative timelines. Whether Hasley's case will follow a similar path depends on what the Medical Examiner ultimately concludes.
Hollywood ghostwriters occupy an unusual place in the entertainment ecosystem. They do the work. Someone else gets the cover credit. Hasley built a career on that bargain, writing for major studios, putting Jenner's name on a bestseller, teaching the next generation at UCLA, and apparently never chasing the spotlight for himself.
His biography page suggests a man who filled his time with causes and community, soup kitchens, environmental advocacy, youth mentoring. The kind of life that doesn't generate tabloid headlines until it ends on a hiking trail.
The passing of public figures, from former federal officials to behind-the-scenes Hollywood professionals, often prompts a brief moment of public reckoning with what those individuals contributed and what questions they leave behind. For Hasley, the contribution is documented in studio credits and a Simon & Schuster catalog entry. The questions belong to the Medical Examiner now.
A man who spent his career giving voice to other people's stories deserves, at minimum, a clear answer about how his own story ended.