Phil Hartman was born Philip Edward Hartmann on September 24, 1948 in Brantford Ontario
Canada. His parents were Doris Marguerite and Rupert Hartmann. When Phil was ten his
family moved to the United States. After high school he studied art at Santa Monica City
College. Hartman married Gretchen Lewis in 1970, but the marriage didn’t last long.
In 1972 Hartman returned to school studying graphic arts at California State University.
He started his own graphic art business creating more than 40 album covers for bands including
the logo for Crosby, Stills and Nash. He made his first tv appearance on The Dating Game.
In 1975 he attended comedy classes run by the improv comedy group The Groundlings.
After several years of training, paying his way by redesigning the group's logo and merchandise,
Hartman formally joined the cast of The Groundlings and by 1979 had become one of the show's stars.
At The Groundlings, Hartman met Paul Reubens, often contributing with writing comedic material.
Together they created the character Pee-wee Herman and developed The Pee-wee Herman
Show, a live stage performance which also aired on HBO in 1981. Hartman played Captain
Carl on The Pee-wee Herman Show and returned in the role for the children's show Pee-wee's
Playhouse. Reubens and Hartman made cameos in the 1980 film Cheech & Chong's Next Movie.
He married real estate agent Lisa Strain in 1982, and their marriage lasted three years.
He co-wrote the script of the 1985 feature film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and had a small
role as a reporter in the film. After a creative disagreement with Reubens, Hartman left the
Pee-Wee Herman project to pursue other roles. Hartman performed a number of animation voice-over
roles. These included appearances on The Smurfs, Challenge of the GoBots, The 13
Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, and voicing characters Henry Mitchell and George Wilson on Dennis
the Menace. In 1986 Hartman appeared in the films Jumpin'
Jack Flash and Three Amigos. He also became a member of the cast of Saturday Night Live. In
his eight seasons with the show Hartman became known for his impressions, and performed as
over 70 different characters. Hartman's original SNL characters include Eugene, the Anal Retentive Chef and Unfrozen
Caveman Lawyer. His impressions included Frank Sinatra, Ronald Reagan, Ed McMahon, Barbara
Bush, Charlton Heston, Phil Donahue, and his most famous Bill Clinton.
Hartman won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program for SNL in
1989, sharing the award with the show's other writers. Phil left the show in 1994.
Hartman provided the voices for numerous characters on the Fox animated series The
Simpsons, appearing in 52 episodes. Hartman became one of the stars of the NBC sitcom NewsRadio in
1995, portraying radio news anchor Bill McNeal. Although the show was critically acclaimed,
it was never a ratings hit and cancellation was a regular threat.
Hartman married former model and aspiring actress Brynn Omdahl in November 1987 and
they had two children. The marriage had difficulties—Brynn was reported to be jealous of Phil’s success
and was often verbally and physically abusive, even sending a letter to Hartman's ex-wife,
threatening to "rip her eyes out" if she spoke to Hartman again. Hartman considered retiring
to save the marriage. Hartman tried to get Brynn acting roles, but
she became progressively more reliant on drugs and alcohol, entering rehab several times.
On multiple occasions, Hartman had to remove their children from the household to stay
with friends or family because of Brynn's outbursts.
On May 27, 1998, Brynn and Phil had an argument, after which Phil went to bed. Sadly sometime
before 3:00 a.m. on May 28, 1998, Brynn entered the bedroom and under the influence
of drugs and alcohol fatally shot him three times, once between the eyes, in the throat
and in the upper chest. He was only 49 years old.
Brynn drove to the home of a friend and confessed to the killing. Initially he did not believe
her until they drove to her house. Upon seeing Hartman's body, He called 9-1-1 at 6:20
a.m. When Police arrived Brynn had locked herself in the bedroom. Shortly after, she
took her own life by shooting herself. Phil Hartman was cremated and his ashes
were scattered over Santa Catalina Island.