ABC News Special "The Last Days of Phil Hartman" Airs Sept. 19th

[JamesG]

"Comic Genius" Phil Hartman's Last Days Examined in ABC News Special
by Lauren Huff
Sept. 11, 2019


It’s been more than 20 years since actor and comedy icon Phil Hartman, best known for his roles on "The Simpsons" and "NewsRadio" and his impersonation of Bill Clinton on "Saturday Night Live", was murdered by his wife, Brynn.

Now, ABC News is taking a look at the life, legacy, and tragic death of the actor with the two-hour special "The Last Days of Phil Hartman" airing Thursday, Sept. 19 at 9 p.m. ET.




The special will feature an exclusive interview with Brynn’s brother Gregory Omdahl, exclusive home videos of the Hartman family, and a never-before-seen interview with the actor.

“In my old age,” Hartman, who was a few months shy of his 50th birthday when he was killed, says during one clip, “I’ve come to realize just how precious everything is. I mean, anything can happen in this world.”




Hartman’s SNL costar Julia Sweeney, "NewsRadio" costars Vicki Lewis and Andy Dick, "The Simpsons" executive producer Al Jean, and more also sit down for the special, as well as the first officers on the scene and close family friends.

“There’s never going to anybody that can fill his shoes,” says Dick, who later admits to sharing cocaine with Brynn while at a holiday party, not realizing the extent of her problem.

https://ew.com/tv/2019/09/11/abc-new...-phil-hartman/

[Chocolate Moose]

Looking forward.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by JamesG

"Comic Genius" Phil Hartman's Last Days Examined in ABC News Special
by Lauren Huff
Sept. 11, 2019


It’s been more than 20 years since actor and comedy icon Phil Hartman, best known for his roles on "The Simpsons" and "NewsRadio" and his impersonation of Bill Clinton on "Saturday Night Live", was murdered by his wife, Brynn.

Now, ABC News is taking a look at the life, legacy, and tragic death of the actor with the two-hour special "The Last Days of Phil Hartman" airing Thursday, Sept. 19 at 9 p.m. ET.




The special will feature an exclusive interview with Brynn’s brother Gregory Omdahl, exclusive home videos of the Hartman family, and a never-before-seen interview with the actor.

“In my old age,” Hartman, who was a few months shy of his 50th birthday when he was killed, says during one clip, “I’ve come to realize just how precious everything is. I mean, anything can happen in this world.”




Hartman’s SNL costar Julia Sweeney, "NewsRadio" costars Vicki Lewis and Andy Dick, "The Simpsons" executive producer Al Jean, and more also sit down for the special, as well as the first officers on the scene and close family friends.

“There’s never going to anybody that can fill his shoes,” says Dick, who later admits to sharing cocaine with Brynn while at a holiday party, not realizing the extent of her problem.

https://ew.com/tv/2019/09/11/abc-new...-phil-hartman/

I'm not entirely comfortable about the aspect of Andy Dick being featured considering the allegedly happened between him and Jon Lovitz.

July 17, 2007 – IT was fight night at an L.A. comedy club last week when Jon Lovitz roughed up Andy Dick over the murder of their “Saturday Night Live” colleague, Phil Hartman.

Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada, who witnessed the assault, said, “Jon picked Andy up by the head and smashed him into the bar four or five times, and blood started pouring out of his nose.” Lovitz told Page Six, “All the comedians are glad I did it because this guy is a [bleep]hole.”

Lovitz and Dick have been at loggerheads since a 1997 Christmas party at Hartman’s house, five months before his troubled wife Brynn flipped out, fatally shooting Hartman, then killing herself. “Andy was doing cocaine, and he gave Brynn some after she had been sober for 10 years. Phil was furious about it - and then five months later he’s dead,” said Lovitz, adding that when he filled in on Hartman’s “Newsradio” sitcom, "I told Andy, ‘I wouldn’t be here now if you hadn’t given Brynn that cocaine.’ "

Last year, Lovitz related, a drunken Dick strolled up to his table at Ago in West Hollywood, rudely downed his guests’ peach liqueur drinks, and “looked at me and said, ‘I put the “Phil Hartman hex” on you - you’re the next one to die.’ I said, ‘What did you say?’ and he repeated it. I wanted to punch his face in, but I don’t hit women.”

When the two ran into each other at the Laugh Factory last Wednesday, "I wanted him to say he was sorry for the ‘Phil Hartman hex,’ " Lovitz told us. "First he says, ‘I don’t remember saying that.’ Then he leans in and says, ‘You know why I said it? Because you said I killed Phil Hartman.’ Which I never said. Then he asked me to be in his new movie.

“I grabbed him by the shirt and leaned him over and said, ‘I don’t want to be in your movie! I don’t want to be in your life!’ I pushed him against the rail. Then I pushed him again really hard. A security guard broke it up. I’m not proud of it . . . but he’s a disgusting human being.” Dick’s rep said he had no comment.

Dick’s weirdness has been well documented. Last year, he licked the faces of Farrah Fawcett, Carrie Fisher and Patton Oswalt, then groped and bit the hand of Post reporter Mandy Stadtmiller at a comedy-festival taping.

[Chocolate Moose]

For a long time, I absolutely despised Andy Dick for his role in this. I read someplace - maybe it was even here - that Brynn would have gotten cocaine elsewhere, if it wasn't from him. That lessened my hate for him, at least enough that I can tolerate him again.

[TMC]

Phil Hartman's brother-in-law breaks his silence 20 years after the star's murder | Daily Mail Online

Phil Hartman's brother-in-law breaks his silence 20 years after his sister shot the comedian in the head then killed herself in cocaine-fueled murder suicide

• Phil Hartman was murdered by his wife Brynn at their L.A. home in May 1998
  She shot him three times then killed herself in a murder suicide in their bedroom
  They had been married for 11 years and had two children; Sean and Birgen
  Hartman was a beloved writer on Saturday Night Live and also did voice-overs on The Simpsons
  He appeared in movies with Steve Martin and had a booming comedy career
  Brynn had moved to L.A. to become an actress but her work never took off
  She battled cocaine addiction and was also taking anti-depressants
  On the night of their deaths, she had been out for drinks, taken cocaine and had taken the prescription anti-depressant Zoloft
  Her brother Greg Omdahl spoke for the first time publicly about their deaths in The Last Days of Phil Hartman
  The show airs on ABC on Thursday, September 19 at 9pm ET

Phil Hartman's brother-in-law has spoken for the first time publicly about his death at the hands of his sister in an interview 20 years after she shot the comedian and then killed herself in their home.

Hartman, who was a beloved member of Saturday Night Live and also worked on The Simpsons, was killed by his third wife Brynn in their home in 1998.

She shot him in the head and then killed herself after returning home drunk, high on cocaine and with the antidepressant Zoloft in her system.

Her brother Greg Omdahl later sued Pfizer, which made the antidepressant, claiming it cast her out of her right mind.

As part of The Last Days of Phil Hartman, an ABC special about the couple's deaths, he spoke for the first time about them and how it felt like a 'gut punch' finding out what had happened.

'I've lost a sister, that was such a wonderful person, and a brother in law that was wonderful. It was very hard.

'It was like getting punched in the gut because I knew my sister would never murder anyone.

'It was such a hard thing to face,' Greg said.

Hartman and Brynn married in 1987. They began dating not long after his second divorce.

He was a rising star, having worked with The Groundlings and on shows like Captain Carl and The Pee Wee Herman Show.

In 1986, he got his break with SNl which he joined as a writer and producer.

Brynn, whose real name was Vicki Jo, had moved to Los Angeles after growing up in a small town in Minnesota.

She was tall, blonde and had aspirations of becoming an actress or model. She appeared in a few swimsuit campaigns but her on-screen career never took-off.

Brynn developed a crippling cocaine habit and, despite cracks appearing early in their intense relationship, the pair got married. But as Phil's star rose, Brynn became increasingly jealous.

'She had a problem with cocaine. She did too much cocaine... I talked her into going through treatment,' her brother recalled as part of the ABC special.

Despite their problems, they welcomed two children; Sean and Birgen.

Brynn was a loving mother to the children, her brother said.

'When I watched the old home videos of Brynn and Phil and their kids, it really brought home what loving parents they were...and what a great mother she was,' he said.

However friends noticed worrying traits in her behavior.

Among them was Phil's second wife, Lisa, who sent them a card to congratulate them on the birth of their first child.

She said she got a letter back from Brynn 'that was hair-curling, fury, rage and [a] death threat'.

'The gist of it was, "Don't ever f*****g get near me or my family or I will hurt you. I never want to hear from you…never, ever, ever come near us or you will really be sorry,"' she said.

Phil became more famous and they stuck together but their marital problems began spilling over into his work.

His make-up artist on SNL, Norman Bryn, recalls one incident where she heard them having a fight in his dressing room.

She confronted him afterwards, he said.

'I said, "Phil, what's the matter?" And he said in a comedy Phil Hartman voice, "Well, Norm, looks like the wife's gonna divorce me this time,"' Bryn said.

In 1994, he left SNL to turn his hand to film and join NewsRadio. Brynn, meanwhile, had still not properly launched her career and was becoming increasingly insecure.

'Brynn had low self-esteem. She worried about looking older, getting older.

'The month before they died, Brynn turned 40… For many women, a 40th birthday is a big line in the sand. An emotional event,' their friend Dawna Kaufmann said.

Her brother said she suffered from anxiety but that he thought her mental health was improving.

'They had seen a counselor and both of them said that really helped and [that] they’re trying to improve for their spouse.

'I mean, they cared that much about each other,' he said.

Andy Dick, who worked with Hartman on NewsRadio, revealed that at a Christmas party in 1997, he gave them cocaine, unaware that she had been struggling with an addiction to it.

He maintains that she had already relapsed but revealed in the episode that it caused friction between cast-mates later, when the severity of Bryn's problems became clear.

On May 28, 1998, the night of their deaths, Brynn had gone out with a female friend for drinks.

She then drove to a former lover's house, where she complained about her husband and drank beer.

The lover, Ron Douglas, later told police that she left his home at 12.45am.

Three hours later, she reappeared at his door, claiming to have 'killed Phil'.

He did not believe her, he said, until he saw a gun fall out of her purse. Douglas said he then drove with her, in separate cars, back to the home. He had taken the gun from her and put it in his trunk and did not think that she had anymore.

When he got to the house - where the couple's children were - he found Phil in their bedroom lying on the bed. He had been shot three times including once on the forehead.

Douglas left the room to call 911. Once he was out of it, Brynn locked herself in. She then shot herself on the bed before police arrived.

She had put the gun to her mouth before pulling the trigger.

The couple's children, who are now both adults, were removed from the home. They went to live in the Midwest with Brynn's sister Cathy.

Her brother sued Pfizer for wrongful death, claiming the Zoloft was to blame for her killing Phil and then herself.

'I did file a lawsuit against Pfizer… alleging that the use of Zoloft caused my sister to not to know what she was doing, and she shot her husband.

'And when she came out of that, she shot herself,' he said.

Pfizer settled the lawsuit for $100,000. It is still on the market as a prescription anti-depressant.

The special also contains a never-before-seen interview he gave before his death where he spoke about the fragility of life.

'I think in my old age, I've come to realize just how precious everything is and I try to value the many blessings that have been bestowed upon me.

'But there's also this sense of vulnerability if fortune took a turn for the worse, and that you live with the awareness that anything could happen in this world,' he said.

The interview was the same year he was killed.

The Last Days of Phil Hartman airs on ABC on Thursday, September 19 at 9pm ET.

She could never handle the fact that her career didn’t pan out and he was the one that had the spotlight. She felt like his connections and being well-respected should’ve secured her opportunities.

He tried to save their marriage and make her happy but she was never going to be more than “Mrs. Phil Hartman” and that, along with her drug addiction, put an enormous strain on everything. She should have expected to succeed or fail on her own merits, not use him to piggyback her into a career. She chose not to have a backup plan in case her acting career, that millions fail at, didn't pan out.

He was lying next to a ticking time bomb every night. And Brynn's brother is really in denial if he thinks she was a good mother. Good moms do not do cocaine and shot the father of their children over not having a career of their own. And anyone with common sense knows that you don’t mix drugs and alcohol with antidepressants—especially with some cocaine.