Family Feud producer Kristin Bjorklund dead at 67: Emmy-winner passed away from sepsis
Kristin Bjorklund, best known for her work on the game show Family Feud, has died on Sunday, at the age of 67.
The Emmy-winner and co-executive producer, who worked on the show for more than 40 years, passed away in Phoenix after battling sepsis following a kidney transplant.
Her Family Feud co-executive producer Brian Hawley shared a tribute to Bjorklund on his Instagram writing that she had been on the kidney transplant list ‘for years.’
‘We were all so excited for her; finally the moment she’d been waiting for. Even though the transplant went as planned, she got an aggressive infection from the incision that she just couldn’t fight off,’ he explained.
During her many years on the show she collaborated with hosts Richard Dawson, Ray Combs, Louie Anderson and Steve Harvey.
Sad news: Kristin Bjorklund, best known for her work on the game show Family Feud, has died on Sunday, at the age of 67
Health problems: The Emmy-winner and co-executive producer, who worked on the show for more than 40 years, passed away in Phoenix after battling sepsis following a kidney transplant
Family feud: She was a co-executive producer of Family Feud from 2003 to 2023 and of Celebrity Family Feud from 2015 to 2020
Bjorklund was born in Mineola, New York on July 8, 1955.
She began her career at game show producer Goodson-Todman Productions after graduating from Dartmouth college.
She then started working for Family Feud in 1982, beginning as a production assistant for the show and its spinoff All-Star Family Feud, and later as an associate producer.
She was a co-executive producer of Family Feud from 2003 to 2023 and of Celebrity Family Feud from 2015 to 2020.
She received a Daytime Emmy Award in 2019 when Family Feud won for Outstanding Game Show.
Bjorklund also appeared on Classic Concentration, as well as Card Sharks, and The Price Is Right
She is survived by nephew Erik Bjorklund and niece Annika Bjorklund.
Hawley started out his touching tribute writing: ‘Kristin Bjorklund was my coworker, my buddy, my sister from another mister. She could be feisty, strong-willed and oh-so-anal, but she had a fun, raunchy sense of humor and there was nothing better than hearing her laugh.’
Kidney transplant: Her Family Feud co-executive producer Brian Hawley shared a tribute to Bjorklund on his Instagram writing that she had been on the kidney transplant list ‘for years’
Infection: ‘Even though the transplant went as planned, she got an aggressive infection from the incision that she just couldn’t fight off,’ he explained
Collaborations: During her many years on the show she collaborated with hosts Richard Dawson, Ray Combs, Louie Anderson and Steve Harvey (pictured on the right)
‘When my life was a mess or my house was falling apart, I called Kristin. Without Kristin’s friendship, my first few years working in Atlanta wouldn’t have been tolerable,’ he added.
He went on to say: ‘We went to dinners, we explored the city and she even came out to party at the gay bars with me once in a while.’
‘Although she had to work from home the past few years, she still kept me company over the phone down here. We’d text all day and then we’d call each other on my long drive home a few times a week just to make each other laugh.’
‘Last Thursday I debated whether to bother her because it had been a long day, but I’m so glad I decided to call. That would be our last conversation and I’ll always cherish it.’
He then described her journey of getting onto he transplant list.
‘Kristin had been on the kidney transplant list for years and she would end up getting the call to go in the next morning. We texted while she was on her way and as trivial as it was, she couldn’t help but give me instructions on how to organize her Fast Money games when I got to work.’
He later shared that her surgery went well but she ended up getting an infection that she simply couldn’t fight off.
The start: She started working for Family Feud in 1982, beginning as a production assistant for the show and its spinoff, All-Star Family Feud, and later as an associate producer; Family Feud still from 1984