Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthdate
1948-09-24
Day of Death
1998-05-28
Place of Birth
Brantford, Ontario, Canada
Phil Hartman
Biography
Philip Edward Hartman (né Hartmann; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States when he was ten years old. After graduating from California State University, Northridge with a degree in graphic arts, he designed album covers for bands including Poco and America. In 1975, Hartman joined the comedy group the Groundlings, where he helped Paul Reubens develop his character Pee-wee Herman. Hartman co-wrote the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances as Captain Carl on Reubens' show Pee-wee's Playhouse. In 1986, Hartman joined the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) as a cast member, and stayed for eight seasons until 1994. Nicknamed "Glue" for his ability to hold the show together and help other cast members, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for his SNL work in 1989. He also starred as Bill McNeal in the sitcom NewsRadio, voiced Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure on The Simpsons, and appeared in supporting roles in the films Houseguest, Sgt. Bilko, Jingle All the Way, and Small Soldiers. After two divorces, Hartman married Brynn Omdahl in 1987, with whom he had two children. However, their marriage was troubled due to his busy work schedule and her drug and alcohol abuse. In 1998, while Hartman was sleeping in his bed, Omdahl shot and killed him, and later killed herself. In the weeks following his murder, Hartman was celebrated in a wave of tributes. Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Hartman was "the last person you'd expect to read about in lurid headlines in your morning paper... a decidedly regular guy, beloved by everyone he worked with". He was posthumously inducted into the Canada and Hollywood Walks of Fame in 2012 and 2014.
Filmography (56)
The Last Days of Phil Hartman
2019
The Women of SNL
2010
Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation
2007
Comedy Club Shoot-out: Vol. 1
2006
Saturday Night Live in the '80s: Lost and Found
2005
The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror
2003
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Farley
2003
101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment
2003The Continental: Anticipation
2001
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Dana Carvey
1999
The Simpsons: Too Hot For TV
1999
Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night
1998
Small Soldiers
1998
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Phil Hartman
1998
