Phil Hartman: Seasons 12-19

Phil Hartman

Before SNL

Phil Hartman was born on September 24, 1948 in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Over the course of his childhood, Hartman’s family moved from Ontario to Connecticut, and then later to California where he attended Westchester High School. After graduating from high school, Hartman enrolled at Santa Monica College and later at California State University, Northridge, where he majored in graphic design. Although he achieved success during his short time as a graphic designer (Fun Fact: He designed a logo for the band Crosby, Stills & Nash), Hartman decided to join the LA-based comedy group, The Groundlings in 1975.

While working as a member of The Groundlings, Hartman helped fellow cast member, Paul Reubens develop his signature character, Pee-wee Herman. Hartman would then go on to co-write the script for the 1985 film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, and in 1986 starred in the television series Pee-wee’s Playhouse. Later that year, Hartman’s friend, Jon Lovitz, encouraged SNL producer Lorne Michaels to add Hartman to the show’s cast. Impressed with Hartman’s repertoire, Lorne decided to hire Hartman as an actor and writer for the show’s upcoming season 12.

 


Studio 8H

Hartman found success on SNL almost immediately with his ability to produce countless, spot-on, celebrity impressions. One of Hartman’s most famous impressions was of former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Clinton McDonalds Video

During his time at SNL, Hartman was also heavily involved in a number of animated comedies that made use of his ability to personify vain characters with especially large egos (Fun Fact: Hartman’s voice appeared in 52 episodes of The Simpsons). This style of character acting carried over to his SNL work, most notably in the form of his impression of television personality Phil Donahue.

Donahue: Exploited Women Video

In 1994, Hartman decided to leave SNL after eight seasons with the show. Hartman’s departure was considered a large blow to the show’s stability by its cast and crew who collectively referred to Hartman as “the Glue” due to his friendliness and how easy it was to work with him.

 

Outside Work

Hartman’s first major success after leaving SNL was the 1995 primetime sitcom NewsRadio in which he played egocentric news anchor, Bill McNeil.

Hartman also starred as a narcissistic villain in two 1996 films, Sgt. Bilko with Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd, as well as Jingle All the Way with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Death

For several years, Hartman and his wife, Brynn Omdahl Hartman, had been having marital problems due to Omdahl’s alcohol and drug addictions. During the evening of May 27, 1998, Hartman and Omdahl had a heated argument that ended with Hartman telling Omdahl that he would leave her if she didn’t seek help for her addictions. Later that night at 3am, Omdahl entered the bedroom they shared together and fatally shot Hartman three times with a .38 caliber handgun before later committing suicide; police autopsies of Omdahl’s body showed that she was intoxicated and on cocaine at the time of the murder. Hartman’s close friend, Jon Lovitz later claimed that Hartman’s NewsRadio co-star, Andy Dick was indirectly responsible for the death of both Hartman and Omdahl (If you want to read about how Lovitz beat the shit out of Andy Dick, click here).

 

Opinion

Before writing this, I personally didn’t know much about the life of Phil Hartman. What was particularly astonishing to me was that Hartman was born in 1948 making him older than SNL legends John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray. Had Hartman found his calling for comedy earlier and been a part of the original cast of SNL in 1975 instead of a former graphic designer just joining The Groundlings, he could have done so much for comedy as whole. I can only imagine what films like Animal House, Caddyshack, and Ghostbusters would have been like if a young Phil Hartman had been among their casts.

Hartman Sassy

2 thoughts on “Phil Hartman: Seasons 12-19

  1. Julianne Elizabeth Arcamone

    I have seen Phil Hartman in other shows and movies like the ones you have mentioned but I am shocked that I didn’t know he was on SNL. It makes sense- he was hilarious. I didn’t know either how he died; it’s a very tragic way to lose someone who was such a contribution to the comedic world.

  2. jem5990

    I honestly love reading your blog every week because I always learn something new. The videos add such an important piece to the blog as well, the entire thing wouldn’t be the same without it.

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