On This Date in "Newsradio" History: Phil Hartman was Murdered

[Brian Damage]

May 28th 1998 - Phil Hartman was shot to death at his home by his wife, Brynn, who then killed herself

[Adamantium]

I still remember coming home from school and my sister telling me the news. I was in denial at first thinking "No, not that Phil Hartman, lol. It's funny how the mind works when it hears news it doesn't want to.

[catlover79]

I so remember that day...it was just about a week and a half before I graduated high school. My mom and I were sitting in the car in the school parking lot waiting for my sister when the news came on over the radio. So, so sad.

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Adamantium

I still remember coming home from school and my sister telling me the news. I was in denial at first thinking "No, not that Phil Hartman, lol. It's funny how the mind works when it hears news it doesn't want to.

Not to mention the fact that Jon Lovitz still blames Andy Dick for the deaths - I guess Andy had reintroduced Brynn to drugs (knowing she had an addictive personality). It was all downhill from there.

[Adamantium]

Originally Posted by catlover79

Not to mention the fact that Jon Lovitz still blames Andy Dick for the deaths - I guess Andy had reintroduced Brynn to drugs (knowing she had an addictive personality). It was all downhill from there.

Yeah, I remember hearing that news for the first time too, but Brynn had to be responsible for her own actions.

I'm on a diet, but when someone offers me a doughnut I can say no. Not eat the doughnut and then blame the person who gave it to me for me gaining some weight.

Finally ten years later, I'm okay with Lovitz being in the final season. When it was new, I kept thinking they could have gotten someone better. I guess as time goes by, you just accept what you got and quit thinking about how things should have gone.

[Marvo301]

Phil's death was so shocking at the time. A great talent was taken from us far too soon.

[Chocolate Moose]

Time will march on, but we will not be healed.

[Vahan]

Here's something I'd like to bring up:

Adamantium, you mentioned a while back that during filming of the first season of Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Hartman got into a fight with his once best friend Paul Reubens. After that, the two never spoke to each other again.

However, common knowledge seems to indicate that Saturday Night Live was what kept him busy from being in PWPH's other seasons. Also, don't forget that Hartman defended Reubens during his 1991 sex scandal, and Reubens felt bad about Hartman's death as well.

[Adamantium]

Originally Posted by tvholic1987

Here's something I'd like to bring up:

Adamantium, you mentioned a while back that during filming of the first season of Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Hartman got into a fight with his once best friend Paul Reubens. After that, the two never spoke to each other again.

However, common knowledge seems to indicate that Saturday Night Live was what kept him busy from being in PWPH's other seasons. Also, don't forget that Hartman defended Reubens during his 1991 sex scandal, and Reubens felt bad about Hartman's death as well.

I was going by Phil's words in a Howard Stern interview I saw years ago. Plus, I've also read that elsewhere online, though I can't back that up with a link, because I don't remember where. Just throughout my years online I had read that. Hartman was a great guy, so I'm happy (and not too surprised) to hear that he defended Reubens and if I remember correctly, he wished him well in the Stern interview. But maintaining his position to not work with Reubens again. I think Hartman's main beef with Reubens was that Paul was all nice to you when he needed you, but then could turn around and be a jerk after he got what he wanted. Which, I guess could indicate that Phil left Pee-wee's Playhouse for SNL and Paul was a jerk to him afterwards, so Phil realized what kind of a guy Paul was. I hate to say that because I love Pee-wee Herman, and Paul seems so nice in interviews.

[whipwarrior]

I remember that day, also. I was going to lunch with my grandpa when the news came over the radio. It was stunning, surreal, like the whole world suddenly seemed to contract. I really couldn't believe it. Like most people, I was surprised that NewsRadio was continued for another season, but as I sat watching the credits roll after the season finale on May 4, 1999, I wept because I knew in my heart that the show was truly over.

In the year that followed Hartman's death, fans wrote stories in an outpouring of grief. They can be read at the NewsRadio FanFic Archive: http://newsradiofanfic.angelfire.com/tribute.htm

On the tribute page is the text of an e-mail I received years ago from Phil's make-up lady on SNL. Her words make it clear that Phil does indeed live on, which is a comfort to us, his fans, who love and miss him.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Adamantium

I was going by Phil's words in a Howard Stern interview I saw years ago. Plus, I've also read that elsewhere online, though I can't back that up with a link, because I don't remember where. Just throughout my years online I had read that. Hartman was a great guy, so I'm happy (and not too surprised) to hear that he defended Reubens and if I remember correctly, he wished him well in the Stern interview. But maintaining his position to not work with Reubens again. I think Hartman's main beef with Reubens was that Paul was all nice to you when he needed you, but then could turn around and be a jerk after he got what he wanted. Which, I guess could indicate that Phil left Pee-wee's Playhouse for SNL and Paul was a jerk to him afterwards, so Phil realized what kind of a guy Paul was. I hate to say that because I love Pee-wee Herman, and Paul seems so nice in interviews.

Like everyone else who worked with Paul Reubens on The Pee-wee Herman Show, he got burned by Reubens. Unlike many of the collaborators, though, he had a passive nature and only got really annoyed when he co-wrote Pee-wee's Big Adventure (he came up with the plot) and Reubens took credit for it. Someone who was in the writing room describes Reubens saying "I can't wait until this is really big and I can work with people like Spielberg!", which was apparently Phil's last straw.

[DJM77]

Originally Posted by TMC

Like everyone else who worked with Paul Reubens on The Pee-wee Herman Show, he got burned by Reubens. Unlike many of the collaborators, though, he had a passive nature and only got really annoyed when he co-wrote Pee-wee's Big Adventure (he came up with the plot) and Reubens took credit for it. Someone who was in the writing room describes Reubens saying "I can't wait until this is really big and I can work with people like Spielberg!", which was apparently Phil's last straw.

I have no idea when Paul Reubens allegedly said that, but Phil Hartman went on to appear in a few episodes of Pee-wee's Playhouse, which didn't even premiere until over a year after Pee-wee's Big Adventure was released.