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Phil Hartman was murdered 25 years ago next week

God, he was so good

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by Anonymousreply 89May 27, 2023 6:28 PM

That was a real shocker, people couldn't believe it. Such a sad & twisted story.

by Anonymousreply 1May 24, 2023 2:32 AM

I still get angry when I think of this loss.

by Anonymousreply 2May 24, 2023 2:40 AM

Never trust a woman who changes her name to Brynn

by Anonymousreply 3May 24, 2023 2:49 AM

Horrifying that this happened, but I never really found him funny.

by Anonymousreply 4May 24, 2023 2:49 AM

You don't, R2

by Anonymousreply 5May 24, 2023 2:50 AM

Such a waste, just unbelievably shocking and awful.

She could have taken herself out and left Phil to care for their children, but she had no conscience. She couldn't let him live and have their children to himself. It takes a real psychotic asshole to destroy your children's other parent to satisfy your hate.

by Anonymousreply 6May 24, 2023 2:53 AM

I was floored. Couldn't wrap my mind around it, like R1 said. Now that I'm older it feels even more horrible because I kind of CAN wrap my mind around it, and I understand the implications from how it must have impacted the kids and the neighborhood down to the details of what products had to be employed to get the blood and brain matter out of the carpet. A complete atrocity. Totally senseless.

by Anonymousreply 7May 24, 2023 2:55 AM

Brynn's brain chemistry must have been way off.

by Anonymousreply 8May 24, 2023 3:00 AM

Does anyone remember Andy Dick's involvement? He was somehow to blame, some thought.

by Anonymousreply 9May 24, 2023 3:00 AM

Tragic awful story

by Anonymousreply 10May 24, 2023 3:02 AM

It is said that Andy Dick got a then-sober Brynn back into cocaine at a Christmas party, thereby facilitating her downward spiral back into addiction.....

....and MURDER!

by Anonymousreply 11May 24, 2023 3:04 AM

It did sound like Phil was basically ignoring her, they said he could be weird like that. She was already crazy but he didn't help matters.

by Anonymousreply 12May 24, 2023 3:05 AM

I wonder why he ignored her. Was he going to leave her?

by Anonymousreply 13May 24, 2023 3:08 AM

What was her motive?

by Anonymousreply 14May 24, 2023 3:09 AM

He seemed to have some kind of attachment disorder that made him emotionally avoidant (which is a nightmare to love). And she seemed to be Clusters A, B, C, D and E.

His avoidance and her borderline need to be seen and doted on constantly created a molotov cocktail of heavy dysfunction.

by Anonymousreply 15May 24, 2023 3:09 AM

Yes r15 said it better

by Anonymousreply 16May 24, 2023 3:11 AM

Brynn wanted to be famous. She was jealous of Phils fame and universal belovedness. Secondly, she wanted attention. She wanted to be the center of his universe, but he had jobs, and they had kids. So she whined and pined and was constantly unsatisfied. And because Phil is an emotional avoidant, when she would throw a fit, he would pull away and take some space. And the more often Phil pulled away, the more neglected and ignored Brynn felt. And then the harder Brynn would tantrum, whine, scream, cry, cling, beg. Which would make Phil even more agitated and suffocated, and then he would want to get even more space. Even just emotional space, but often physical space too. And then of course at some point you are no longer ever having any normal conversations, or happy or even neutral moments together anymore. It's just full on constant chaos. Everyone is triggered, everyone is miserable, and there is no solution and it never ends.

by Anonymousreply 17May 24, 2023 3:14 AM

R17 Are you at MY house right now? Damn, so accurate

by Anonymousreply 18May 24, 2023 3:21 AM

Sounds like my boyfriend's parents. He does all kind of activities and is gone a lot. So the rare times he is home it seems like she is always asking him to do something which comes across as nagging. Which sends him running away more. At first I blamed his mother for being a harpy but then when I saw what was happening he is to blame too for being so avoidant.

by Anonymousreply 19May 24, 2023 3:24 AM

Brynn is one of the world’s most hated women of all time.

by Anonymousreply 20May 24, 2023 3:29 AM

Stunned and couldn't believe it. Especially as the details came out. So damned awful.

by Anonymousreply 21May 24, 2023 3:31 AM

[quote]Brynn wanted to be famous. She was jealous of Phils fame and universal belovedness. Secondly, she wanted attention.

She's actually in one of the SNL credit sequences; you see some blonde hair from the side/back taking up part of the frame and Phil talking.

I read somewhere that she actually wanted her FACE on camera during his credit moment and the director had to keep telling her to turn around. Can you imagine?

by Anonymousreply 22May 24, 2023 3:35 AM

In DL years that’s like a week.

by Anonymousreply 23May 24, 2023 3:36 AM

Phil, I wanna be in the show!! Boo hoo hoo.

by Anonymousreply 24May 24, 2023 3:39 AM

For real R22? Wow, I guess he just didn't see how messed up she was. Horrible. Kids in the house, too.

by Anonymousreply 25May 24, 2023 3:49 AM

Jan Hooks was in love with Phil. He should have married her.

by Anonymousreply 26May 24, 2023 4:15 AM

I thought his Simpsons characters were very funny.

I think he was intelligent, but like a lot of intelligent rich guys, he picked a bleached blonde bimbo. A jealous, homicidal bimbo.

Basically, she was a trophy wife. I don't think she was even that good-looking. Phil was probably a nerd in high school and this was his idea of a prom queen.

by Anonymousreply 27May 24, 2023 4:23 AM

Comedians are complicated. His big grin always seemed entirely put on to me.

by Anonymousreply 28May 24, 2023 7:28 AM

No lie, I cried like a baby when I heard he had died. He was special.

by Anonymousreply 29May 24, 2023 7:31 AM

[quote] I read somewhere that she actually wanted her FACE on camera during his credit moment and the director had to keep telling her to turn around. Can you imagine?

I think I read they had to do at least 6 takes because she wouldn’t stop turning her head and smiling at the camera. You can see her earring still swinging from having to turn her head away again. I think the director got exasperated and snapped at her.

Her family blamed the anti-depressant Prozac (even though she was doing a shit ton of coke) for why she lost it and I think they got a settlement. I hope it at least went to the kids.

by Anonymousreply 30May 24, 2023 8:24 AM

[quote] Never trust a woman who changes her name to Brynn

Or to SLIM PALEY

by Anonymousreply 31May 24, 2023 9:23 AM

Don't date or marry a crazy person. They don't get better, only worse. RIP Phil.

by Anonymousreply 32May 24, 2023 10:24 AM

“Don’t put your dick in crazy”

Amen

by Anonymousreply 33May 24, 2023 11:14 AM

Jan Hooks and Phil Hartman would have been THE coolest couple on earth. I believe they had strong feelings for each other. His death must have devastated her.

by Anonymousreply 34May 24, 2023 1:28 PM

[quote] No lie, I cried like a baby when I heard he had died

R29 Please tell me this is not true. You did not know this person.

by Anonymousreply 35May 24, 2023 10:56 PM

Something that stood out to me in the news coverage after his death was learning that Brynn fired their housekeeper because she laughed at one of Phil’s jokes. What a tragedy that he was married to such a pathologically insecure and controlling person.

by Anonymousreply 36May 24, 2023 11:24 PM

Is Phil doing Blackface in OP' video link?

by Anonymousreply 37May 24, 2023 11:34 PM

He had the face of an asshole

by Anonymousreply 38May 24, 2023 11:36 PM

Some of Phil’s bloopers.

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by Anonymousreply 39May 25, 2023 12:01 AM

I am sorry OP but this caveman sketch is simply not funny.

by Anonymousreply 40May 25, 2023 12:06 AM

R40 Agreed, but why are you sorry?

by Anonymousreply 41May 25, 2023 12:10 AM

Because OP loves him so much.

by Anonymousreply 42May 25, 2023 12:20 AM

Here's a recap

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by Anonymousreply 43May 25, 2023 1:10 AM

Phil & Brynn's house was just a few houses up the block from my childhood home. My parents sold our house about 10 years prior to the Hartmans' arrival, but I distinctly remember that house being built in 1981 (on a two-acre property that had been subdivided into multiple lots after the owner died)...and it held very bad memories for me.

While the house (designed by Robert Byrd & son) was under construction, I found my family's beloved Schnauzer-Poodle mix dead, next to the construction site one afternoon. We'd gotten him as a puppy, when I was a toddler. Not sure if he was struck by a car, and then hollowed-out by coyotes....or if he was just killed & hollowed by coyotes....but it was fucking grisly.

I was 14 years old, on roller skates (I'd put on my skates to go look for him, instead of riding my bike)...and I had a COMPLETE FUCKING MELTDOWN on the side of the street. Fell to my knees screaming & crying, "NO!!!!" & his name . A few construction workers ran over and pulled me to my feet, in effort to console me & get me away from him. The foreman then "rolled" me home, as I sobbed, and came inside with me while I called my parents.

I only tell this story to say...I always felt there was just some BAD fucking "Juju" around that house. Yes, it was very personal with the death of my dog... but also...Robert Byrd, and Cielo Drive.

by Anonymousreply 44May 25, 2023 2:29 AM

[quote] A few construction workers ran over and pulled me to my feet

I was sure hoping this story would take a positive turn at that point

by Anonymousreply 45May 25, 2023 2:31 AM

[quote] He had the face of an asshole

His demeanor was that of a self-involved, callous, maybe even sociopathic person. I gave him the benefit of the doubt that it was acting, but was it?

by Anonymousreply 46May 25, 2023 2:33 AM

MARY on R44's story. And yeah, I thought the story was headed in a different direction when the construction workers showed up.

by Anonymousreply 47May 25, 2023 2:33 AM

Lorne Michaels comparison of Phil Hartman to Dan Akroid may be telling in more ways than talent and success. Akroid has some sort of serious personality disorder. I wonder if Phil did also.

by Anonymousreply 48May 25, 2023 2:34 AM

Dan Akroyd is autistic, R48.

by Anonymousreply 49May 25, 2023 2:37 AM

Where are Phil's kids now? Hopefully they were able to have a decent life in spite of the horrific deaths.

by Anonymousreply 50May 25, 2023 2:44 AM

Just curious, OP. Why did you post this *today*, instead of next week? Wouldn't it have carried more weight -- as a thread title -- "Phil Hartman was murdered 25 years ago, TODAY!"

by Anonymousreply 51May 25, 2023 2:54 AM

R50 They were raised by Brynn's sister, I believe. I assume they turned out fine and have good lives. I saw what was supposedly a photo of his adult daughter looking beautiful, thanking Lorne Michaels for keeping Philp's memory alive.

by Anonymousreply 52May 25, 2023 2:59 AM

Kathy Griffin has said very kind things about him whenever she mentions him.

by Anonymousreply 53May 25, 2023 4:39 AM

R35 No, didn’t know him. Hartman & that late 80s SNL cast were fixtures in my life at that time, I guess.

by Anonymousreply 54May 25, 2023 7:49 AM

I cried, R54. too. He and Jan Hooks were my favorites...and were as, you say, fixtures for a period of my life with my roommates. We set the VCR every Saturday night while we were out at parties, or a bar, and then would wobble home at 2 am to watch SNL. We'd usually watch it again on Sunday, because it was just so funny....and certain phrases would be repeated & mimicked throughout the week....

THIS one....

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by Anonymousreply 55May 25, 2023 8:26 AM

He may have been remote in romantic relationships, but his friends, particularly the women, adored him. People can be like that, not handling intimate relationships as easily as friendships.

Brynn was a terrible choice for a wife, in that case. He would have done better with another introvert.

by Anonymousreply 56May 25, 2023 9:52 AM

Why do crazies like Brynn never date one another? It would solve a lot of relationship problems for the rest of humanity.

by Anonymousreply 57May 25, 2023 10:33 AM

[quote]Brynn was a terrible choice for a wife, in that case.

She was a terrible choice for anybody, in any case. She was a murdering psychopath.

by Anonymousreply 58May 25, 2023 10:45 AM

r44: "I was 14 years old, on roller skates (I'd put on my skates to go look for him, instead of riding my bike)...and I had a COMPLETE FUCKING MELTDOWN on the side of the street. Fell to my knees screaming & crying, "NO!!!!" & his name ."

I want to see the video of this.

by Anonymousreply 59May 25, 2023 10:47 AM

Here's a really good breakdown of Phil's rise to fame, his time with Bryn and the problems in their relationship. I'll post the main body of the article here to follow.

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by Anonymousreply 60May 25, 2023 2:17 PM

Hartman dabbled in other areas before finding his passion for comedy. According to Mike Thomas, who wrote the biography, You Might Remember Me: The Life and Times of Phil Hartman, he started out as a roadie for a band called Rockin’ Foo. Around this time, Hartman met Gretchen Lewis, who became his first wife in 1970.

Steve Small, his lawyer and close friend told Barbara Walters on 20/20 that “Phil fell in love easily but wasn’t very skilled at continuing a relationship.” By 1972, they were already divorced. By the mid-‘70s, Hartmann was no longer a roadie. He started working for his brother’s talent management agency. Using his graphic arts skills from college, he designed classic rock album covers.

He did the cover art for America’s album, History: America’s Greatest Hits, as well as the simple line drawing of a horse on Poco’s Legend album. While it was a fun job to tackle, Hartman wanted to branch out of what he called his “very introverted lifestyle.” It’s a good thing he did because it led him to launch his comedy career.

by Anonymousreply 61May 25, 2023 2:18 PM

[cont.] In 1975, he went to a show by the Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings, which was the kind of group that would invite its audience members onto the stage. Hartman, attempting to be more extroverted, volunteered. “I never saw an audience member come up with that kind of excitement and energy…it was like a hurricane hit that stage, and I mean in a good way,” said Tracy Newman, a founding member of The Groundlings.

The improv group thought Hartman was a natural and chose to invite him to join the ensemble, as well as take classes there. Things were going well; he was spending his days in the group and making people laugh. In 1982, he met and married his second wife, Lisa Jarvis. Jarvis said on 20/20: “My sense of Phil was that he was really two people.”

“He was the guy who wanted to draw and write and think and create and come up with ideas. He was the actor and entertainer, and then he was the recluse.” When Jarvis would watch him perform with The Groundlings, he “was Phil being truly Phil,” she said. “You know, as time goes by, you understand that his personas are his protection, and they are his personality.”

It only took a year of marriage, though, for Jarvis to realize that their relationship was over.

by Anonymousreply 62May 25, 2023 2:19 PM

[cont.] Not long after their divorce, Hartman met Brynn Omdahl, the woman who proved to be his most tragic mistake. Born Vicki Jo Omdahl, she grew up in Minnesota in a family with three siblings. Her brother Greg said they had an “idyllic childhood.”

“She was always the instigator of fun,” according to Greg. It’s no wonder, then, that Hartman was attracted to her. Omdahl moved to Los Angeles in her 20s with hopes and dreams of becoming a model and actress. She signed a contract with a modeling agency, which led her to find work as a swimsuit model for Catalina swimwear.

Meanwhile, Omdahl was going to auditions. According to her brother, it was around this time in the ‘80s in L.A. that she started to develop an addiction to drugs. “She had a problem with cocaine,” Greg said. “She did too much.” He told her she needed to go to rehab and managed to talk her into it.

“As with Lisa, as with Gretchen, it becomes very intense very fast,” Mike Thomas said about Hartman’s relationship with Omdahl. Thomas explained that as the months went on, the cracks began to show, and Phil did what he did with his last two relationships — he began to withdraw emotionally. They found themselves in the typical on-and-off-again pattern of fighting and making up that marked their relationship from then on.

by Anonymousreply 63May 25, 2023 2:19 PM

[cont.] Hartman delved into his career. He spent 11 years at The Groundlings while working on the side. He played the role of Captain Carl on The Pee-Wee Herman Show, acting alongside fellow Groundling Paul Reubens. The two had a serious feud, too, but we’ll get to that later on…

Hartman’s big break came in the fall of 1986 when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live as both a writer and performer. He was so vital to the show that his nickname was “The Glue” since he was considered the guy that held the show together and was thus one of the network’s most important talents. He was lucky enough to be part of a cast that many fans say was one of the best, with Jon Lovitz, Dana Carvey, and Kevin Nealon.

During his time on the show, Hartman made everyone laugh with his impressions of Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Ronald Reagan and even Jesus. Hartman’s most memorable impression on SNL was his take on Bill Clinton. “Phil was on the map with SNL like never before,” said Thomas.

One year after joining SNL, in 1987, Hartman married Brynn Omdahl. It would be his third and final marriage. They welcomed their first child, a boy they named Sean, in 1988.

After Sean was born, Hartman called his ex-wife Lisa Jarvis. “He calls me and says, ‘I just became a father,’” Jarvis recalled. “And so, I wrote a card. ‘Dear Phil and Brynn… much love from Aunt Lisa. You know, if you ever need a babysitter… I’m so thrilled for you,’” she said.

What Jarvis thought was a nice gesture proved to be a big mistake. She ended up receiving a letter from Omdahl, with “hair-curling, fury, rage and a death threat from Brynn.” The gist of the letter was, “Don’t ever f—ing 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.”

It’s unclear whether Hartman was aware of this letter, but it can be said that this was just one of many red flags that this woman was emotionally disturbed. Their marriage may have been unraveling, but Hartman’s career was soaring.

In 1989, he won an Emmy Award for being part of the writing staff on SNL. In 1991, while still a cast member, Hartman got another job that many can only dream of. He started working on The Simpsons, where he voiced two recurring and iconic characters: has-been actor Troy McClure and shady lawyer Lionel Hutz.

“Phil made the material funnier than we originally imagined, and I couldn’t imagine anybody else doing it,” said the show’s executive producer, Al Jean. As Hartman was on the top of his game, he and Omdahl had their second child, a daughter they named Birgen, in 1992. His friend Lynne Stewart, who played Miss Yvonne on Pee Wee’s Playhouse, said he called her when his daughter was born.

“He was very, very choked up… He said, ‘She’s the most beautiful baby in the world,’” Stewart recalled. Greg Omdahl vouched for the Hartmans’ love for their children, saying that when he 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.”

by Anonymousreply 64May 25, 2023 2:20 PM

[cont.] But Hartman’s work schedule was getting more and more hectic. In addition to SNL and The Simpsons, he was doing commercials for Cheetos and McDonald’s. He was becoming a regular on the late-night talk show circuit, too. It all meant that he wasn’t at home as much as Omdahl wanted him to be to take care of the kids and to be with her.

According to Thomas, Hartman might have liked the idea of fatherhood a little more than actually putting in the hard work that’s required of a father. He was just always working, and Omdahl was resenting him more and more because of it.

At times, she was jealous of her husband’s celebrity status. “Phil was getting a lot of attention, and Brynn wasn’t getting any attention… I suppose some of that’s natural,” her brother revealed. “She just wanted to be more part of the spotlight than she was, you know.” One thing she probably didn’t complain about, though, was the money that came pouring in. Hartman was buying boats, cars and even a small airplane.

Hartman used his fancy vehicles to get away from the family at times, to head off to Catalina Island, his favorite place in the whole world. “Maybe she felt Phil was spending too much time with his boat or airplane… and not enough time with the kids,” Greg said. Greg reassured his sister that it was normal and that he still loved her.

Hartman’s makeup artist on SNL, Norman Bryn, recalled one fight he overheard the two having behind the doors of a dressing room. He remembers Hartman walking away from that conversation, “white as a sheet.” He asked Hartman what’s wrong, to which he replied in an obviously comedic voice, “Well, Norm, looks like the wife’s gonna divorce me this time.”

Hartman chose to leave SNL in 1994, after eight successful seasons. He started developing his own variety show called The Phil Show, but it was never picked up. In 1995, he signed on to the NBC sitcom NewsRadio, which also starred podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan. According to Rogan, who got to know Hartman well during their time as co-stars, there was a lot of issues he noticed in Hartman’s marriage.

“His wife was a mess,” Rogan said. “Without the drugs, without the Zoloft, she was a mess. She was a failed actress who deeply resented his success, and as he became more and more successful, their relationship became more and more contentious.”

Rogan recalled that Omdahl would like to embarrass her husband and insult him publicly. “They had ugly, ugly falling outs and sort of fights. They would break up and he would go live on a boat, like a little sailboat, and he’d come back, and they would make up.”

by Anonymousreply 65May 25, 2023 2:20 PM

[cont.] Hartman also landed big parts in movies, like in 1996, when he starred with Steve Martin in Sgt. Bilko. He was also in the movie Jingle All the Way with Arnold Schwarzenegger. All the while, Omdahl got only two very minor roles. One being a one-liner in the Rob Reiner movie North, where she played a cocktail waitress, and the other being in an episode of Third Rock from the Sun, as an alien from Venus.

Omdahl’s substance abuse was not going away. Hartman’s NewsRadio co-star Andy Dick revealed on 20/20 that during a Christmas party in 1997, he gave Omdahl some drugs after she asked if he had any. Jon Lovitz, Hartman’s SNL co-star, reportedly blames Andy Dick for being the one to reintroduce cocaine to Omdahl.

Dick, however, asserts that he didn’t cause her to relapse: “She was already in relapse mode, which I didn’t even know she had a problem with at all in the first place.” According to Hartman’s friend Dawna Kaufmann, “Brynn had low self-esteem. She worried about looking older, getting older.” The month before the couple died, Omdahl turned 40, and “For many women, a 40th birthday is a big line in the sand. An emotional event,” Kaufmann recalled.

Though some who were close to the couple say they were fighting more than usual near the time of their death, Greg Omdahl remembers it differently. “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.”

by Anonymousreply 66May 25, 2023 2:20 PM

[cont.]The exact details of what went down on the night of May 27, 1998, and the morning hours of May 28, remain somewhat of a mystery to this day. What we do know – what has been reported – are the accounts from the family’s babysitter, Lorraine Moss, and those who were with Omdahl that night.

“I was waiting for Phil to come home because it was going to be the time for me to go,” Moss said of that day. “Brynn had just gone out, and she wasn’t going to be back till late. So Phil was going to take over in taking care of the children.” That night, Omdahl went out for drinks with her friend Christine Zander.

After drinking with Zander, Omdahl drove to her friend and former lover Ron Douglas’ house at about 10:15 p.m. When ABC News requested a comment from him, Douglas declined. According to what he told the police, though, Omdahl had a few beers and complained to him about her husband.

He told the police that she left his house at around 12:45 a.m. She got into her car and drove home. Sean and Birgen were both home at the time of the murder-suicide. Sean reportedly told the police that he heard a sound that he assumed was “the slamming of a door.”

At 3:45 a.m., according to what Ron Douglas told the police, he was awoken by someone pounding on his front door. It was Omdahl, who told him, “I killed Phil. I don’t know why.” Douglas said he didn’t believe her at first. But once he saw the gun fall out of her purse, he understood. He took it from her and put it in the trunk of his car.

Omdahl and Douglas drove in separate cars to the Hartman residence, where Douglas found Hartman’s body in his bed. Police later learned that he had been shot three times. Douglas stepped into the hallway to call 911. He then saw that Omdahl had locked herself in the master bedroom.

It was about 6 a.m. by this point, and the street in Encino was quiet until the area was suddenly swarming with police, news cameras, and onlookers. Douglas handed the gun to the police, but it wasn’t clear if there were any other weapons in the house. Nine-year-old Sean and six-year-old Birgen were whisked to safety as another shot rang out. By the time the police reached the master bedroom, there was silence.

LAPD officer Daniel Carnahan said finding the two bodies in the bedroom, lifeless, was “one of the most tragic scenes.” Hartman, who lived the American dream, had it all taken away, which to Carnahan, “seems so contradictory and so out of place and so unfair.”

The children were taken into police custody. Upon hearing the news, Joel Diamond, a friend of the family, asked to take the kids out of the police station. The police told him he could take them to a park nearby. “I remember I was pushing Sean on a swing,” Diamond said. He asked the boy, “Sean, is there anything I could do for you?” Sean said, “No… My mom promised me she’d take me to a lot of fun places, and now she’ll never be able to.”

by Anonymousreply 67May 25, 2023 2:21 PM

[cont.0 Medical examiner Craig Harvey determined that Omdahl had a blood-alcohol level of 0.12, as well as cocaine and Zoloft in her system on the night of the murder-suicide. “I’ve lost a sister that was such a wonderful person and a brother-in-law who was wonderful,” Greg Omdahl stated. 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.”

A year after the tragic event, Greg Omdahl filed a lawsuit against Pfizer, the maker of Zoloft, claiming wrongful death on behalf of the Hartman estate. His case alleged that the use of Zoloft caused his sister to not to know what she was doing. In 1999, Pfizer gave a statement to Salon Health stating that “there’s no scientific or medical evidence that Zoloft causes violent or suicidal behavior.”

The suit was ultimately settled for $100,000, with no admission of any wrongdoing. The money has allegedly been given to the children. Omdahl’s sister Cathy and her husband raised Sean and Birgen in the Midwest. Greg said, “they grew up as loved children.” Sean, an artist and musician, is now 32 years old. Birgen, 28, is married and started her own business.

Fin.

by Anonymousreply 68May 25, 2023 2:22 PM

R61 (quoting someone else): “Phil fell in love easily but wasn’t very skilled at continuing a relationship.”

Same here. I fall in love a lot. But the relationship ends when the cum has dried.

by Anonymousreply 69May 25, 2023 2:30 PM

Phil Hartman-designed album cover

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by Anonymousreply 70May 25, 2023 2:33 PM

Jeeezus. Brynn was even more insane than I thought. Poor Phil.

by Anonymousreply 71May 25, 2023 2:33 PM

Phil designed the cover for Steely Dan's Aja! And many more.

God he was talented on so many levels.

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by Anonymousreply 72May 25, 2023 2:36 PM

By ignoring every red flag and choose to be escapist in his profoundly troubled relationship, he ended up paying the ultimate price.

If Phil had been less focused on his career and his material toys, and more actively involved and invested in his marriage and his children, he might have had the notion to get out of that situation before things escalated to such a tragic point. For the children's sake especially, he needed to have his druthers about him as a father and realize that this woman was unhealthy. The woman was unhinged.

He needed to take ACTION. Get custody of the kids, pay a nanny or fly out family to help him, and put down some serious boundaries with Brynn -- shape up or ship out.

Instead, ran away with the fairies, escaped to Catalina Island, tinkered around with his boat and his plane and his toys, wrote more and more unproduced screenplays, took on more and more work --- and allowed a very dangerous and ugly situation to remain inflamed and unhealed. The festering wound became infected, gangrenous, and septic.

It was not going to ever be up to Brynn to heal the wound. She WAS the wound. Phil needed to wake up to the reality of the situation, and take control. He needed to protect his children. He needed to state his boundaries and get him and the kids away from the mentally ill, abusive druggie, until she either sought help or was forced into it. She needed to be removed from the family home until she earned back her privileges with sustained sobriety and therapy.

Instead, Phil took advantage of the free childcare that Bryn provided -- the REAL reason he didn't rock the boat.

by Anonymousreply 73May 25, 2023 3:06 PM

His is the only celebrity death that still bothers me to this day. For someone as talented as he was, it's heartbreaking he died in such a horrible way.

by Anonymousreply 74May 25, 2023 4:29 PM

In honor of his memory, please enjoy this list of Troy McClure’s films:

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by Anonymousreply 75May 25, 2023 4:43 PM

[quote]Instead, Phil took advantage of the free childcare that Bryn provided -- the REAL reason he didn't rock the boat.

So, in other words it’s his fault he got killed. Imagine saying that if the roles were reversed.

by Anonymousreply 76May 25, 2023 5:18 PM

R76 I never said that. I said it's why he didn't want to rock the boat on that horrible, shitty abusive drawn out mess of a marriage. If there weren't kids involved he would have gotten the hell out of there. He'd already been divorced twice, each previous marriage lasting only one year. So we know he was staying because of the kids. Now, if he rocks that boat, who is raising the kids? Who is tending to them while mom is in rehab?

He didn't have the bandwidth to rock that boat and destabilize his life in those ways while working constantly. So instead he would run away for a few days and the return for the short periods of detente until the next explosion.

He didn't want to rock the boat.

I never said he deserved to die.

by Anonymousreply 77May 25, 2023 5:36 PM

I never said you said he deserved it. You just blame him for it.

by Anonymousreply 78May 25, 2023 5:57 PM

Grow up, R78

I can point out the need and wish for people to take more decisive, proactive action against out-of-control addicts sooner in relationships AND ALSO lament and confirm the horrifically unfair senselessness of Phil Hartman's murder. Both can be true.

It is a cautionary tail for people who stay in horrible relationships though, to be sure. I personally have known friends with children, who rationalize staying in fucked up marriages to fucked up people, because of logistics such as child care. All the while missing the bigger picture completely that if they don't do something SOON, and draw a boundary, or get the cops involved, or GTFO of there asap, then the logistics of how to get Timmy and Tina to gymnastics will be the LEAST of their worries.

by Anonymousreply 79May 25, 2023 6:33 PM

His kids grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and were mostly left alone as the town had experience with one of Charles Manson's children.

by Anonymousreply 80May 25, 2023 6:38 PM

[quote] still bothers me to this day

No, it doesn't R74

by Anonymousreply 81May 25, 2023 7:58 PM

Phil was rich,handsome, and famous. He could have easily found another wife. Maybe he feared that psycho Brynn would hurt the kids if he tried to leave.

by Anonymousreply 82May 26, 2023 4:29 AM

I was in my 20's when he died, I didn't think he was handsome to me he looked like an old man. He didn't have what was considered hot in that time period, he looked like somebody's dad. But I do agree he was talented.

by Anonymousreply 83May 26, 2023 4:46 AM

R55 The Sinatra Group, from the moment it aired, has consistently been my choice for the single best sketch in the history of the show. Perfect.

by Anonymousreply 84May 26, 2023 7:00 AM

I warned him!

by Anonymousreply 85May 26, 2023 7:40 AM

It’s ironic that he died in Encino, considering that one of his characters was an unfrozen caveman. It’s like one of those Kennedy/Lincoln, Lincoln/Kennedy parallels.

by Anonymousreply 86May 26, 2023 7:43 AM

[quote] I warned him!

I warned him first!

by Anonymousreply 87May 26, 2023 7:44 AM

Lots of fathers check out on the kids, but not many of them end up murdered.

by Anonymousreply 88May 26, 2023 8:08 AM

Fun(?) fact: Bryan Singer's infamous party house is just down the street from the Byrd/Hartman house.

Back in the 1960s-70s, Jack Webb & Efrem Zimbalist Jr. lived on that stretch of Encino Ave. The Webb estate was two properties to the south of the Byrd/Hartman house, and the Zimbalists lived toward the north end of the street.

Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. also lived on Encino Ave, south of Ventura Blvd. One night in 1977, some KKK-fucks burned a massive cross into their front lawn. (their house was set back from the street with a large semi-circular driveway, no fence/gates). Marilyn & Billy were out-of-town on tour, but Billy's son (who lived with them) was home with a housekeeper/caregiver. Needless to say, that kinda rocked the neighborhood, at the time.

by Anonymousreply 89May 27, 2023 6:28 PM
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