Phil Hartman And The Night He Was Killed By His Wife
- May 23, 2025
- 7 min read
It's hard to imagine a man so gifted at delivering joy being consumed by such a grim ending. Phil Hartman wasn't just another comic in the lineup. He was the glue of Saturday Night Live, the golden voice behind Troy McClure, and the everyman with a wicked twist in sitcoms like NewsRadio. And yet, despite a career laced with humour, fame, and respect, Hartman's life came to a haunting and violent end in 1998, killed while he slept by the person who shared his home and family life.
The Face Everyone Knew, The Man Few Did
Born in Ontario, Canada, and raised in the U.S. from the age of ten, Hartman found his path through graphic design before stumbling into comedy with The Groundlings. He made his mark writing and performing for Paul Reubens' Pee-wee's Playhouse, voicing beloved characters on The Simpsons, and ultimately becoming a fixture on Saturday Night Live through the late 1980s and early '90s.
By the mid-1990s, he was comfortably ensconced in mainstream American television as Bill McNeal on NBC's NewsRadio. Viewers admired his ability to portray pompous, self-deluded characters without tipping into cruelty. Off-screen, Hartman was regarded as gentle, helpful, and devoted, especially to his two children.
A Private Struggle
Though Phil Hartman often spoke with warmth about his family, those close to him knew his marriage to Brynn Omdahl, his third, was not without considerable strain. Brynn, a former model and aspiring actress, had met Hartman on a blind date in 1986. By all accounts, the early days of their relationship were full of promise. They married the following year and had two children together. But beneath the surface of their domestic life in Encino, California, a much darker reality was unfolding.
Brynn struggled with deep insecurity and a sense of stagnation in her personal ambitions. As Hartman's career flourished, with his voice featured in The Simpsons, his face recognised from NewsRadio, and his name widely respected in comedy, Brynn's own career faltered. She found it difficult to escape the shadow of her husband's success. The month before her death, Brynn turned 40. Friends said it hit her hard, feeding anxieties about ageing and her stalled career that had been building for years.
There were further complications. Brynn developed a dependency on alcohol and prescription medication, and her mood could shift rapidly. Phil, ever the peacemaker, is said to have made numerous attempts to help her get back on track. He supported her efforts to land acting roles and even suggested she enter rehabilitation. She did, more than once, but her relapses became more frequent over time.
Friends later described a household that oscillated between calm and chaos. Comedian Jan Hooks, a close friend and former Saturday Night Live castmate, was reportedly the subject of Brynn's jealousy. Brynn is believed to have written unsent letters accusing Hooks of being too close to her husband, even though their relationship was professional and platonic.
Jon Lovitz, another friend and SNL alumnus, later confirmed that Phil had spoken to him about the growing emotional turbulence at home, including occasions where he had taken the children away to safety during one of Brynn's outbursts.
Despite mounting concerns, Phil was reluctant to divorce. He adored his children and appeared determined to preserve the family structure for their sake. Friends said he maintained a stoic front, rarely complaining publicly, but the toll was evident in private conversations with those closest to him.
The Party That Changed Everything
At the Hartmans' Christmas party in December 1997, a single moment set the final chain of events in motion. Fellow comedian Andy Dick, a guest at the party, gave Brynn cocaine after she asked if he had any. Brynn had been sober for a decade. The relapse sent her spiralling almost immediately.
When Phil found out, he made his position clear: if she used again, he would take the children and leave. It was a line he'd never drawn so explicitly before. Brynn checked into rehab shortly afterwards but discharged herself after only a few days, saying she missed the kids. She never got clean.
Andy Dick has disputed his role in what followed, telling the ABC newsmagazine 20/20 that he didn't know Brynn had a history of addiction and that she was already in relapse by the time of the party. Jon Lovitz didn't accept that. When he was hired to replace Hartman on NewsRadio after Phil's death and found himself working alongside Dick on set, he told him directly: 'I wouldn't be here now if you hadn't given Brynn that cocaine.' The feud between the two men would simmer for years. In 2007, a drunk Andy Dick turned up at a restaurant Lovitz co-owned and told him he'd put the 'Phil Hartman hex' on him and that he was next to die. Lovitz physically attacked him, slamming his head into the bar. He later said he had no regrets.
The Night of May 27, 1998
The final act of this private tragedy unfolded on an otherwise ordinary Wednesday. On the evening of 27 May 1998, Brynn met up with her friend Christine Zander, a writer and producer, for dinner at Buca di Beppo, an Italian restaurant in Encino. By Zander's account, Brynn seemed in good spirits. They shared drinks and conversation, and nothing appeared out of the ordinary.
But once home, tensions reportedly reignited. According to later investigations, Brynn and Phil argued, possibly about her ongoing drug use, before he went to bed. It was a familiar pattern. This time the outcome would be final.
Sometime before 3:00 a.m. on 28 May, Brynn entered the bedroom while Phil was asleep. She was carrying a .38 calibre Smith & Wesson revolver, one of two guns she'd bought years earlier because she felt unsafe at home when Phil was away working. She fired three shots: one struck him between the eyes, another in the throat, and a third in the upper chest. He died instantly. There were no signs of a struggle.
In the aftermath, Brynn left the house and drove to her friend Ron Douglas's home. Distressed and disoriented, she told him what had happened. At first Douglas didn't believe her, assuming it was an exaggerated claim made under the influence. But she persisted, and they eventually returned to the Hartman home in separate cars. There, Douglas discovered Phil's body and immediately called the police at 6:20 a.m.
By the time the LAPD arrived, Brynn had locked herself in the bedroom. Officers secured the home and removed the couple's two young children, who had been asleep elsewhere in the house. Nine-year-old Sean fled the front door as police arrived. As officers carried six-year-old Birgen to safety, a final shot rang out from the bedroom. Brynn had taken her own life using the second firearm, a Charter Arms Undercover revolver. She was 40 years old. Phil Hartman was 49.
The toxicology report released shortly afterwards confirmed what friends had feared. Brynn had a blood alcohol level of .12 percent, along with cocaine and the antidepressant Zoloft in her system at the time of the murder-suicide. The LAPD attributed the tragedy to 'domestic discord.' For those close to the couple, it felt like the inevitable endpoint of a marriage long in crisis.
The Aftermath
In the wake of the murder, Brynn's brother Gregory Omdahl filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Pfizer, the manufacturer of Zoloft, and against the psychiatrist who had prescribed it, arguing that the drug had contributed to Brynn's behaviour. The case was settled out of court with no admission of liability.
Phil Hartman's two children, then aged nine and six, were taken in by Brynn's sister Katharine and her husband Mike Wright. They were raised in the Midwest, away from the media spotlight. Hartman's estate, worth over a million dollars, was left in trust for them to receive in stages as they reached adulthood.
Hartman and Brynn were cremated and their ashes scattered in Emerald Bay off Santa Catalina Island, one of Phil's favourite places. A memorial plaque bearing both their names was placed in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, where Brynn had been born.
Fallout and Legacy
Hartman's sudden death sent shockwaves through the entertainment world. Production halted across several of his projects. NewsRadio restructured its fifth season to open with a tribute episode, Bill Moves On, which aired the day before what would have been Hartman's 50th birthday. On The Simpsons, rather than recast his characters, the producers retired them altogether. Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz have not appeared since.
He had been on the cusp of even more. He was in line to voice Zapp Brannigan on Futurama, a role written specifically for him, and was planning to star in a new independent film. SNL castmates later speculated that had he lived, he would have taken on major roles in prestige television. The depth of his loss was not just emotional but creative.
In the years since, Hartman has become something of a cult figure, not only for his unmistakable voice and knack for satire, but as a symbol of the disconnect between public personas and private suffering. Warm, dedicated, and endlessly versatile, Phil Hartman left behind a legacy that remains tinged with tragedy. As comedian and Simpsons co-star Nancy Cartwright put it: 'He had such a casual, no-nonsense way about him. He knew how to look you in the eye, and he knew the power of being able to lay back and let somebody else be funny.' Today, it's not just his jokes we remember. It's the man who, despite all the laughter, left too soon.
