Photo of Phil Hartman
Acting

Phil Hartman

Profession
Acting
Born
September 24, 1948 · Brantford, Ontario, Canada
Died
May 28, 1998

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.

Known for

The Simpsons poster
The Simpsons
Series · 1989 · ★ 8.0
Spaceballs poster
Spaceballs
Film · 1987 · ★ 6.9
Jingle All the Way poster
Jingle All the Way
Film · 1996 · ★ 6.1
Seinfeld poster
Seinfeld
Series · 1989 · ★ 8.3
Small Soldiers poster
Small Soldiers
Film · 1998 · ★ 6.6
¡Three Amigos! poster
¡Three Amigos!
Film · 1986 · ★ 6.3
Coneheads poster
Coneheads
Film · 1993 · ★ 5.5
Pee-wee's Big Adventure poster
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Film · 1985 · ★ 6.5
National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 poster
National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1
Film · 1993 · ★ 6.1
The Pagemaster poster
The Pagemaster
Film · 1994 · ★ 6.4
Animaniacs poster
Animaniacs
Series · 1993 · ★ 8.0
DuckTales poster
DuckTales
Series · 1987 · ★ 7.7

Filmography