Who Was Phil Hartman Dating?
Phil Hartman was married to his third wife, Brynn Omdahl, at the time of his death in 1998 - so the question of who he was “dating” ends in tragedy. The beloved Saturday Night Live star and voice of Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz on The Simpsons married former model Brynn Omdahl on November 25, 1987. They had two children together. On May 28, 1998, in their Encino, California, home, Brynn - who had struggled with substance abuse and, by many accounts, jealousy over her husband's career - shot Hartman as he slept, then died by suicide hours later. He was 49.
It remains one of the most shocking deaths in comedy history: a performer nicknamed “the Glue” for holding SNL together, killed at the height of his powers, leaving two young children behind.
Phil Hartman: Life and Career Background
Philip Edward Hartman (né Hartmann; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian and American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, and his family moved to the United States when he was ten years old. He completed a BA (graphic arts) at California State University, Northridge, and 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. 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. After leaving SNL in 1994, Hartman starred as Bill McNeal in the sitcom NewsRadio. He also voiced Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure on The Simpsons, and appeared in the films Houseguest (1995), Sgt. Bilko (1996), Jingle All the Way (1996), and Small Soldiers (1998).
After two divorces, Hartman married Brynn Omdahl in 1987, with whom he had two children. Their marriage was troubled due to his busy work schedule and her substance abuse and domestic violence. In 1998, while Phil was sleeping, Brynn shot and killed him, and later killed herself. He was posthumously inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2012 and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2014.
Phil Hartman was born Philip Edward Hartmann on September 24, 1948, in Brantford, Ontario. He was the fourth of eight children of Doris Marguerite (née Wardell) and Rupert Loebig Hartmann, who sold building materials. The family was Catholic. Describing his childhood, Hartman later said: "I suppose I didn't get what I wanted out of my family life, so I started seeking love and attention elsewhere."
Hartman was 10 years old when his family moved to the United States. They first lived in Lewiston, Maine, then Meriden, Connecticut, and then on the West Coast, where he attended Westchester High School in Los Angeles and frequently acted as the class clown. After graduating, he studied art at Santa Monica City College, dropping out in 1969 to become a roadie with a rock band. He returned to school in 1972 to study graphic arts at California State University, Northridge. He developed and operated his own graphic art business, creating more than 40 album covers for bands including Poco and America, as well as advertising and the logo for Crosby, Stills & Nash. In the late 1970s, he made his first television appearance on an episode of The Dating Game, where he won.
Working alone as a graphic artist, Hartman frequently amused himself with "flights of voice fantasies." In 1975, seeking a more social outlet for his talents, he began attending evening comedy classes by the California-based improvisational comedy group The Groundlings. While watching one of their performances, he impulsively decided to climb on stage and join the cast. His first onscreen appearance was in 1978's Stunt Rock, an Australian film directed in Los Angeles by Brian Trenchard-Smith. After several years of training, paying his way by redesigning the group's logo and merchandise, Hartman formally joined The Groundlings and by 1979 was one of the show's stars.
There Hartman befriended Paul Reubens, with whom he often collaborated on comedic material. Together they created the character Pee-wee Herman and developed The Pee-wee Herman Show, a live stage show that subsequently aired on HBO in 1981. Hartman played Captain Carl in the show, and reprised the role for the children's TV show Pee-wee's Playhouse. Reubens and Hartman made cameos in the 1980 film Cheech and Chong's Next Movie. Hartman co-wrote the script of the 1985 feature film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and had a cameo role as a reporter. He had considered quitting acting at the age of 36 due to the challenges of finding work; but the success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure changed his mind. After a creative disagreement with Reubens, he left the Pee-Wee Herman project to pursue other roles.
In addition to his work with Reubens, Hartman recorded a number of voice-over roles. These included appearances on the animated television programs The Smurfs, Challenge of the GoBots, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, and in Dennis the Menace as Henry Mitchell and George Wilson and most of the adult male characters. After season 1, Hartman (who by this point had joined the cast of Saturday Night Live) was replaced by Maurice LaMarche. He also developed a strong persona providing voice-overs for advertisements, and worked as part of an automated dialogue replacement group on several films, including Spaceballs, alongside Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNielle and others.
The Love Story: How Phil Met Brynn
Phil met Brynn Omdahl in the mid-1980s, after his divorce from his second wife. She was a former model and aspiring actress; he was a rising comedy star coming off his work with the Groundlings and Pee-wee's Big Adventure (which he co-wrote). They married in 1987, just as his Saturday Night Live career was taking off - he joined SNL in 1986 and would stay eight seasons. Friends described the early years as happy: two kids, a beautiful home, and Hartman's career ascending toward NewsRadio and movie stardom. But Brynn's struggles with drugs and alcohol, and reported resentment of his success, darkened the marriage in its final years - a darkness that ended in catastrophe.
Who Is Brynn Omdahl? About Phil's Spouse
Brynn Omdahl Hartman (born 1958) was a former model who had small acting aspirations when she married Phil. By the late 1990s she was struggling with cocaine and alcohol abuse and had been in and out of rehab; friends said she was deeply jealous of her husband's fame and threatened him more than once. On the night of May 27-28, 1998, after an argument, she shot Phil three times as he slept, then drove to a friend's house, confessed, returned home and killed herself. Their children, Sean (then 9) and Birgen (then 6), were in the house. They were raised afterward by Brynn's sister and her husband.
Phil's Dating History
Brynn was Hartman's third wife. He was first married to Gretchen Lewis (1970-1972) and then to real-estate agent Lisa Strain (1982-1985). Before fame, Hartman was a graphic designer who created album covers for Poco and America, then joined the Groundlings in 1975, where he helped Paul Reubens develop Pee-wee Herman. His romantic history before Brynn was unremarkable by show-business standards - it was the third marriage, the one that produced his children, that became the tragedy.
Phil Hartman at 49 at death: Career Snapshot
Philip Edward Hartman was born September 24, 1948, in Brantford, Ontario, moving to the U.S. at age ten. After the Groundlings and co-writing Pee-wee's Big Adventure, he joined Saturday Night Live in 1986, where over eight seasons he became “the Glue” - the versatile utility player behind Bill Clinton, Frank Sinatra and the Anal Retentive Chef. He voiced Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz on The Simpsons, starred as Bill McNeal on NewsRadio (1995-1998), and appeared in films like Houseguest and Jingle All the Way. At his death he was developing new projects and was widely considered on the verge of movie stardom.
Family Life and What Comes Next
Phil and Brynn's children - Sean Edward Hartman (born 1988) and Birgen Anika Hartman (born 1992) - were 9 and 6 when they lost both parents in a single night. They were raised out of the spotlight by their maternal aunt and uncle. Both have stayed private as adults. Hartman's comedy legacy has only grown: SNL tributes, the enduring Simpsons characters (retired out of respect after his death), and a generation of comedians who cite him as the gold standard of the versatile sketch performer.
Phil's Love Life: Quick Answers
Still curious? The questions below cover the essentials - marriage status, partner, children and dating history“ if not past else ”the relationship, the history and the legacy, all answered with verified facts. For the deeper story - how they met, who came before, and what Phil has said about love - the sections above have it all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Phil Hartman dating when he died?
He was married, not dating: Phil Hartman was married to his third wife, Brynn Omdahl, from 1987 until their deaths in May 1998.
How did Phil Hartman die?
On May 28, 1998, his wife Brynn shot him as he slept in their Encino home, then died by suicide hours later. He was 49.
Did Phil Hartman have kids?
Two: son Sean (born 1988) and daughter Birgen (born 1992), who were 9 and 6 when their parents died. They were raised by their aunt and uncle.
Who was Phil Hartman married to before Brynn?
Gretchen Lewis (1970-1972) and Lisa Strain (1982-1985). Brynn Omdahl was his third wife.
What was Phil Hartman known for?
Eight seasons on SNL (1986-1994), voicing Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz on The Simpsons, starring on NewsRadio, and co-writing Pee-wee's Big Adventure.
How old was Phil Hartman when he died?
49. He was born September 24, 1948, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and died May 28, 1998.
What happened to Phil Hartman's children?
Sean and Birgen were raised privately by Brynn's sister and her husband, and both have stayed out of the public eye as adults.