Ben Best, 'Eastbound and Down' Creator, Dead at 46

Writer and actor Ben Best, who co-created the hilarious HBO comedy Eastbound and Down with Danny McBride and Jody Hill, died on Sunday. Best also co-wrote the cult 2006 comedy The Foot Fist Way with McBride and Hill. Best was 46.

Rough House Pictures, the production company run by Hill and McBride, announced the sad news on Sunday, reports Deadline. Best met Hill and McBride at the University of North Carolina School of Arts. "It's with heavy hearts we say goodbye to our good buddy Ben Best. We lost him the day before he would have turned 47. A hell of a friend and a creative force," the company wrote on its Instagram page. "He inspired us and made us laugh. Charming and hilarious. Gone way too soon. We love and miss you."

Best also took supporting roles in his collaborations with McBride and Hill. He played martial arts enthusiast Chuck "The Truck" Wallace in The Foot Fist Way, which starred McBride as a tae kwon do instructor and was directed by Hill. Best also had small roles in Superbad, What Happens in Vegas, Observe and Report and Land of the Lost. He plated Clegg in eight Eastbound and Down episodes.

Eastbound and Down debuted on HBO in 2009 and ran four seasons. McBride starred as Kenny Powers, a former big-league pitcher who reluctantly goes back to his North Carolina hometown and takes a job as a high school gym teacher while desperately trying to get back on top. Best's Clegg was a party buddy of Powers' who never grew up. The series is available to stream on HBO Max. Best also worked with McBride on the script for the 2011 comedy Your Highness, directed by David Gordon Green and starring McBride, James Franco and Natalie Portman.

"Aw man I loved him as Chuck The Truck. Man, a one of a kind. Rest in Peace," one fan wrote on Instagram. "Dude was so funny in [Eastbound]. Rip," another commented. "This is so heartbreaking, what an immense loss, I'm deeply sorry to all who loved him," another Instagram user wrote.